Monday, June 27, 2016

By Kendra L. Linhardt


All women experience menopause after attaining the age of 40 to 60 years. This is a time when the ovaries do not produce the estrogen and progesterone hormones. These hormones control the menstrual cycle and after the ovaries stop secreting them, the menstrual cycle stops.

After reaching menopause, most women suffer from uncomfortable side effects such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness because of the diminished levels of hormones in their bodies. Thankfully, women can tweak their diets in order to minimize menopausal symptoms. One of the things they can do is to consume more products that contain soy. Taking soy products for hot flashes is effective.

The soybean is different from other plant foods because of its high protein content. It also contains isoflavones and fiber. Isoflavones are a kind of phytoestrogen, which is a chemical that is found in plants and functions like estrogen. The human body uses isoflavones like estrogen in a certain way. They have a beneficial effect on health. The most recent evidence comes from a review of nineteen studies that involved more than 1,200 women.



The interest in soy and menopause stems from Japan where researchers found that the low frequency of hot flashes could be attributed to the consumption of high levels of soy products in their lifespan. Soy is still helpful even for women who have never consumed it in their life. Even though phytoestrogens are effective in reliving hot flashes, they may fail to totally eliminate this menopausal symptom if it is severe. Just like with other natural approaches, it is essential to allow sufficient time for the treatment to take effect. In general, you can expect to see results after 4 to 12 days.

Some experts state that the majority of women use natural remedies in order to cope with symptoms such as night sweating, mood swings and hot flashes. The reason for this is that they fear side effects experienced when using hormone replacement therapy. According to various studies, women who consume large amount of soybeans that have phytoestrogens are less likely to experience menopausal complications.

Some soy products that menopausal women can eat or drink are miso, soy ice cream, soy hot dogs, soy nuts, edamame, tofu and soy milk as well as other foods containing soy or soy protein. There are no known risks of consuming foods containing soy every day, even though some people may experience stomach upset. Researchers have not studied the effects of using soy foods for many years. For the best outcome, women should seek to consume just an average amount of soy.

The effects of Isoflavones last for a short time. If you want to use soy foods and supplements for your health, your daily consumption of isoflavones should be between 40 and 80 milligrams. Note that soy protein is not soy isoflavone. Therefore, consuming high protein soy foods does not mean that you will consume a large amount of Isoflavones.

Apart from using soy products for hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, you can also use them for skin care. Soy is known to have several positive effects on the skin. Using soy products for skin care is a great way to tighten sagging skin, reverse sun damage and diminish wrinkles. Soy acts as a good moisturizer. Moisturizers that contain soy have a smoothing or softening effect. They also help even out the skin tone.




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