If you are a woman approaching or experiencing menopause, you may be familiar with some of the symptoms associated with the “change of life.” Almost 75 percent of Canadian women experience some unpleasant symptoms during the years surrounding menopause. These include hot flashes and night sweats (the most common symptoms), mood swings, weight gain, headaches, tiredness, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia and depression.
To help women cope with these conditions, doctors have traditionally prescribed Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). For many women, HRT provides a much-welcomed relief for menopausal symptoms. However, the recently published studies pointing to increased risk in some cancers and heart disease among menopausal women on HRT, have caused enough concern for some women to abandon their therapy. Other women who experience troubling menopausal symptoms have never taken prescription hormones, preferring to “let nature take its course.” For women who have decided not to use HRT, nature offers effective alternatives.
Soy Isoflavines
Soybeans are a rich source of estrogen-like substances known as isoflavones. When ingested, these substances behave like the body’s own estrogens, helping to restore the delicate hormonal balance. (In Japan, where the average daily intake of isoflavone-rich soy foods is close to 30 times that of North Americans, hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms are rare.)
A growing number of clinical studies support supplementation with soy products to help alleviate the symptoms of menopause and perimenopause (the years immediately preceding the complete
cessation of menstrual cycles).¹
The benefits of soy supplementation do not stop at relief of menopausal symptoms. Studies also show that isoflavones from soy foods likely reduce the risk of heart disease in perimenopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal women by reducing the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol².
Soy isoflavones may also help prevent osteoporosis. A short-term study reported at the Second International Symposium on the Role of Soy in Preventing and Treating Chronic Disease, in 1996, showed that
post-menopausal women taking soy isoflavones had significant increases in bone density compared with a control group.³ (Although this result appears positive, more long-term studies are needed to support this finding. Medical professionals therefore caution women not to depend on soy supplements as a sole means of preventing osteoporosis.)
Black Cohosh
The herb, black cohosh, is a natural source of estrogenic compounds that help balance mood and prevent hot flashes. Black cohosh has been used in Germany for more than 40 years and its ability to relieve menopausal symptoms has been established in eight separate clinical trials.4 Black cohosh may be brewed as a tea or taken in convenient supplemental form.
References:
1. Adlercreutz H, et al. Dietary phytoestrogens and the menopause in Japan. Lancet 1992;339:1233.
2. Tikkanen MJ, Adlercreutz H. Dietary soy-derived isoflavone
phytoestrogens. Could they have a role in coronary heart disease
prevention? Biochem. Pharmacol. 2000 Jul 1;60(1):1-5.
3. Potter, Susan M.; Baum, Jo Ann; Teng, Hangyu; Stillman, Rachel J.; Shay, Neil F.; and Erdman Jr, John W., "Soy protein and isoflavones: their effects on blood lipids and bone density in postmenopausal women", American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1998, Vol. 68 (Supplement), pp. 1375S-1379S.
4. Lieberman, S., A review of the effectiveness of Cimicifuga
racemosa (black cohosh) for the symptoms of menopause.
J. Women’s Health, 1988: 7(5) 525-529.
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