Soy Can Cool Hot Flashes
Taking soy to relieve hot flashes has received mixed reviews over the years.
Now, researchers who took another look at 19 published studies find that soy supplements may indeed help many women.
Hot flashes and night sweats are two common menopause symptoms and can become quite distressing due to their severity, frequency and intensity. This makes it important to get your menopause symptoms under control to prevent them from disrupting your sleep, daily activities and over sense of well-being.
The cause of hot flashes can often be found in common triggers that seem to bring them about more often and much more severely. These triggers include stress, anxiety, alcohol, cigarettes, spicy foods and hot beverages. You should also avoid tight, thick and restrictive clothing as well as hot baths, hot showers and saunas. You should also turn your thermostat down a few degrees and try to keep your bedroom as cool as possible at night when trying to sleep.
The body will begin to reduce production of female hormones during the premenopause stage, which triggers the ovaries to stop functioning and menstruation to cease. Often the female hormones of estrogen and progesterone will fluctuate quite dramatically during this time and cause a variety of distressing menopause symptoms. The cause of hot flashes is due to these hormone fluctuations and the reduction of estrogen in the body. Estrogen is used by the hypothalamus within the brain to help regulate your body temperature and also affects other body functions, such as sexual appetite and sleep cycles. The hormone changes that occur before and during menopause create a deregulation of body temperature by the hypothalamus. The cause of hot flashes and night sweats is due to the hypothalamus falsely thinking your body is overheating, which produces a sudden, intense reaction.
Relief with Soy
According to a study published in Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, soy may help reduce hot flashes.
Soy has been heralded as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy after HRT was linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
Previous studies compared soy to a placebo. More than 1,200 women were in the studies, which included the U.S. and nine other countries. The studies continued for six weeks up to a year and included different amounts of soy supplements.
The researchers pooled the results of the individual studies to come up with their findings. Overall, they found, women who used soy isoflavones extracts had a 21 percent greater reduction in hot flashes compared with women given a placebo. When they did have hot flashes, they tended to be less severe.
The extent of the effects did vary among the different studies. But nearly all showed a pattern of soy isoflavones working better than a placebo, according researchers at Loma Linda University in California.
If you prefer to get your soy from food, they suggest two servings of soy foods per day. That is about equal to two glasses of soy milk, seven ounces of tofu, or half a cup of edamame.
The results of the study varied and it doesn't seem to be a quick fix. In the studies of longer duration, the effects were greater.
For most women, quality nutrition and herbal remedies are enough.
The biggest triggers of hot flashes are anxiety and stress. It is essential that you reduce the stress in your life as much as possible. Be sure to take time out each day for yourself and adopt healthy avenues for releasing stress. Creating a daily exercise program will not only create better fitness, but is also a well-known stress and anxiety reducer. Exercise has also been shown to reduce the experience of menopause symptoms overall. You should also follow a low-fat, high-fiber diet and avoid caffeine, alcohol and cigarettes.
Anxiety, depression, severe mood swings, irritability and mental confusion are all menopause symptoms that can in themselves cause higher amount of stress. There are many herbs for menopause that are used to achieve a healthier mental balance and also reduce the experience of hot flashes. Don Quai is a natural menopause treatment that has been used for many centuries within Asia to maintain female hormonal balance. It is effective in the reduction of hot flashes and the emotional symptoms brought on by menopause.
Menopause and the symptoms associated with it can severely disrupt your quality of life.
A wonderful natural formula to help you live a longer, healthier life is Women’s Natural Balance (click here to view), a safe, and effective daily supplement that contains many of the top ingredients. This specially blended formula contains many safe and all natural substances that include black cohosh, soy isoflavones, red clover, Mexican yams and red raspberry extract.