Soy Menopause: A Natural Remedy For A Natural OccurrencePerhaps you are now at that stage women are so afraid to be in: menopause. A lot has been thought, said and written about it. Many women fear its effects both physically and psychologically. But there have also been many breakthroughs in understanding how to deal with it. Several different branches of science are providing better menopause treatment methods to help menopausal women live normal lives. Aside from this, natural remedies like soy for menopause are also proving to be good alternative treatments for menopause relief. For many, the severity and frequency of menopause symptoms is such that it can still be tolerated and may not necessarily need such serious treatments as hormone replacement therapy. There are alternatives to menopause treatment, other than HRT and they have no considerable side effects that may cause more damage than repair. Simple changes in diet can help in alleviating the effects of menopause on the body. Some of these diet changes can even help prevent other health problems experienced by older women such as osteoporosis or heart disease. Supplementing diet with soy is one of the possible alternatives that can do this. It is estimated that 80% of North American women in the menopausal stage suffer from hot flashes and night sweats, a common menopausal symptom. But in Asia, the estimates are only 30%, considerably much lower. One reason for the huge disparity appears to be due to the higher intake of soy in the diet of Asian women. Menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and mood swings, occur due to the drastic reduction of estrogen levels in a woman’s body during menopause. So how does soy come into the picture? Soy contains phytochemicals, chemicals that combat illness and disease. It contains phytoestrogens, which is a similar but weaker form of the estrogen that the body produces. This apparently helps fight the symptoms of menopause. Aside from this it also contains other phytochemicals, such as isoflavone, believed to help fight other menopause related illnesses, like osteoporosis and heart disease. While there have been no conclusive findings on the effects of soy for menopause, there are however definite studies proving that soy have health benefits such as:
With such promising findings, it is no wonder that it is recommended as a menopause supplement. Even though actual benefits at combating menopause symptoms through soy are still unsure, its effectiveness in reducing the risks of other illnesses related to menopause clearly justifies it as a supplement worth trying. The key here is moderation. Like any diet, it is never advised that one take any food or food supplement in excess. Include soy in your diet but do not over do it. Going back to the comparison of menopausal Asian and American women, you must remember that soy is very much a part of the Asian diet from the time they were born and so their body’s are not saturated with it in a short period of time. This is what many Americans are now doing, trying to get as much benefit, as quickly as possible, by binging on soy. |