Natural Ingredients Address Menopausal Symptoms (Women on the Verge: Ingredients to Ease Menopause Changes)

The most common menopause-related discomfort is hot flashes (or hot flushes). They are thought to be the result of changes in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates the body’s temperature. If the hypothalamus senses the woman is too warm, it starts a chain of events to cool her down. Blood vessels near the surface of the skin begin to dilate, increasing blood flow to the surface in an attempt to dissipate body heat. It may also make a woman perspire to cool the body. An increased pulse rate and a sensation of rapid heart beating may also occur. Some hot flashes are followed by a cold chill. For women with frequent hot flashes, clinicians may suggest isoflavone supplements at about 40 to 80 mg/d or whole soy foods. Isoflavones are well-known phytoestrogens, active substances derived from plants that have a weak-estrogen-like action. Isoflavones are commonly found in soy and red clover. Lignans have also been identified as phytoestrogens.

Isoflavones from soy have been shown to provide several benefits ranging from heart health to maintaining good bone health in postmenopausal women. In a double blind prospective study, 60 postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to receive 60 mg/d of isoflavones (from soybean) or placebo for three months.² In the women who received isoflavones daily, hot flashes and night sweats were reduced by 57 percent and 43 percent, respectively. The study implied isoflavones could be used to relieve acute menopausal symptoms. A study from the Beth Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found consuming soy nuts three or four times throughout the day, along with therapeutic lifestyle changes, decreased incidence of hot flashes and improved menopausal symptoms.³ Research from Harvard Medical School found a dietary supplement rich in the soy isoflavone daidzein could reduce the incidence of hot flushes by 52 percent.⁴ Researchers gave 147 post menopausal women a placebo, 40 mg/d or 60 mg/d of daidzein-rich isoflavone-aglycone (DRI). Researchers found the number of hot flushes in the group that received the lower dose of isoflavones was reduced by 52 percent, women receiving the higher dose experienced a 51-percent reduction, and the placebo group reported a 39-percent reduction in hot flushes.

The efficacy of soy isoflavones to ease symptoms of menopause, specifically hot flashes, continues to be debated. A study published in Maturitas found supplementation of soy isoflavones does ease hot flushes.⁵ A meta-analysis from Griffith University School of Medicine reviewed 17 randomized, controlled studies and found isoflavone supplementation was associated with a 20 percent reduction in the amount of flushes in women experiencing 10 or more flushes every day.⁶ A study out of Italy confirmed in a larger population study of postmenopausal women that taking 56 mg/d of phytoestrogen aglycone genistein (as Bonistein®, from DSM Nutritional Products) can reduce the number and severity of hot flushes without exerting adverse effects on the endometrium.⁷ A total of 389 women were randomly assigned to receive genistein or placebo; the effect of the genistein was apparent after the first month and reached its peak after 12 months (56.4 percent reduction in the number of hot flushes). Researchers concluded genistein is effective on vasomotor symptoms and decreases the number and severity of hot flushes and night sweats.