Why Soy Products For Menopause Relief Is Not Recommended

By Graciela Wynn Chavez


Over the past years, there has been popular belief that the use of soy and its constituent products goes a long way in treating several diseases for example the heart disease, osteoporosis as well as cancer-related illnesses. Inasmuch as this may be true, the norm that soy and its products reduces the effects of menopausal symptoms is not validated, neither is it factual. There are many forms of soy, for instance soy milk, soy cheese, soy meat and soy beans, among others. There has also been emergence of powdered soy as well as soy for menopause relief, as produced by some companies.

Soy is extremely rich in isoflavones, some types of phytoestrogen. Phytoestrogens are simply chemicals embedded in plants that are characterized as having similar functions with estrogens. It is argued that the body can synthesize them to work similarly with estrogens.



Since time immemorial, menopause-related symptoms have usually been treated using conventional medicines. However, of late, women have been found to be more intrigued in using natural mechanisms to alleviate these discomforts. Natural approaches have been widely approved by large masses of people, and this has been poised to be the reason behind the making of alternatives to these conventional healers by many supplement and food industries, like the soy foods industry.

The soy food industries have taken advantage of the fact that soy contains high rates of phytoestrogen, which behaves like estrogen. This makes people prefer them to other medicines, majorly because of their natural factor, in reducing the uncomfortable effects of low estrogen levels that is experienced in the course of menopause. Nevertheless, it is not yet absolutely confirmed if isoflavones play similar roles as estrogens. Therefore, the inference that soy products are all that a woman suffering from menopausal symptoms needs to check the menace is not completely appropriate.

Soy and its various forms have no notable impact in eliminating vasomotor signs like vaginal dryness and hot flashes. Research confirms that they only help to negligibly reduce their intensity, and not necessarily eliminating them like the conventional medicines do.Additionally, soy foods encompass anti nutritional factors like oxalates, protease inhibitors, saponins and soya toxins, among others.

These soy phytoestrogens and estrogens however, only diminish the impact and intensity of hot flashes, and not completely eradicating them, like conventional estrogens which eliminate them in a faster fashion. The isoflavones in soy products are aromatase inhibitors, and this reduces the levels of estrogen made in the body. This is as confirmed by several recent studies. This is contradictory to earlier claims that they aid in the treatment of vasomotor symptoms.

The two most harmful soy foods are soy protein powders and infant soy formula. Soy has been linked to malnutrition, breakdown of the immune system, dysfunction of thyroid functions, cognitive decline, infertility, digestive distress, alongside a couple of other demerits.These reports therefore contradict earlier claims that soy foods play a great role in eradicating a host of health-related problems.

Conclusively, though there has been a speculation that the use of soy and its products helps in the managing of menopause discomforts, there is no valid proof for this.




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