Soy is not helping to avoid the symptoms of menopause
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Soy is not helping to cope with the tides in menopause. This conclusion was made by scientists from the University of California. Experts have found that eating soy products such as milk or cheese does not help avoid the symptoms of menopause.
Unlike other studies, this study of scientists was large-scale and long-term. The participants of the experiment were more than 1 600 women and they were monitored for more than ten years.
"Given that most women experience unpleasant symptoms during menopause, particularly hot flashes and sweating at night, we hoped that a certain diet would be a good alternative to hormone therapy," said lead author Ellen Gold. "Unfortunately, based on our research, we can state that soy products do not have that magical effect that was attributed to them earlier."
Scientists analyzed the state of women throughout the country and studied the life span of 3,000 women at the onset of menopause and for the next ten years, and also conducted an annual visit to doctors for the entire length of time.
The authors focused on 1,650 women who had not yet had vasomotor symptoms. They were interested in the influence of specific foods on the well-being of the subjects.
The main interest in this study was directed to the study of the effect of phytoestrogens, also known as plant estrogens, which are predominantly contained in tofu, soy milk and other soy products. Phytoestrogens have a chemical structure similar to estrogen and were supposed to mimic the effect of female hormones in the body.
Since the level of estrogen during menopause could fall, the researchers suggested that a diet high in phytoestrogens might reduce the symptoms of menopause.
The study did not reveal any consistent correlation between dietary phytoestrogens and the onset of menopausal symptoms in women who were not yet in postmenopause when the study began.
[