Menopause and Soy

If you are nearing menopause you have probably heard about the potential benefits of soy. In fact, many magazines, news outlets, and websites tell women that soy can help their menopause symptoms, help them avoid cancer, osteoporosis, and even heart disease. Many women have begun incorporating more soy into their diets as a result of this information. Unfortunately, the whole story has not been told and women may believe that they should eat soy at every meal every single day in order to benefit from what’s good about soy. However, this is not the case and women may be getting too much of a good thing. Soy is good and healthy, but eating too much has a downside that is often overlooked.

There are many Asian foods that are rich in soy including miso, tofu, and tempeh, however they were not included in many other foods until the last few years. Now, soy is found in cereal, cheese, hot dogs, protein powder, sports bars, and more. In fact, many vegetarians have begun eating soy cheese, soy meat, and more as a substitute for meat and to get protein. Soy phytochemicals are placed in capsules and sold as supplements to help fight menopausal symptoms, fight cancer, and more.

Many women want to ward off their menopausal symptoms all the while doing so naturally. Doing this with soy sounds like the perfect solution, however women need to keep in mind what the soy industry has to gain from it due to the phytoestrogen in soy.

During menopause women experience lower levels of estrogen in their bodies and since soy has phytoestrogens it is a good replacement, right? Unfortunately, studies have shown that women taking soy to prevent their menopausal symptoms don’t get relief from vaginal dryness, hot flashes, or night sweats.

There is nothing wrong with taking soy for menopausal symptoms, but keep in mind it might not be as helpful as once thought.

Posted in Menopause

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