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How Soy Rich Foods Help In Menopause

By Padmapreetham Mahalingam

Menopause is experienced by women across the globe. It usually occurs between the age group of 45 to 55 years especially when the ovaries begin to stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone (which are essentially required for the monthly menstrual cycles). If the hormonal production drops, it would cause certain side effects such as hot flashes, mood swings and insomnia.

There have been drawbacks when it comes to usual medicinal treatment for women during menopause. And that is predominantly the reason why most of the women choose to switch to natural approaches to relieve menopausal discomforts.

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However, recent studies state that soy is one of the supplements that can minimise hot flashes or any other uncomfortable menopausal symptoms that women go through. On the other hand, there are also certain dietary changes which would help reduce some of the menopausal symptoms.

When it comes to relief from these symptoms, soy protein has been proved to be an effective treatment for women having lower rates of bone loss. Some experts have suggested that soy can provide relief from hot flashes for menopausal women. Soy diet offers many benefits for menopausal women because of its high Phytoestrogen content. Here are some of the benefits of soy rich foods before and during menopause.

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Benefits Of Soy Rich Foods During Menopause

Drink Two Glasses Of Soy Milk
Drinking two glasses of soy milk could relieve menopausal women from the curse of hot flashes. Complete servings of food from the soya plant would bring down the severity of the hot flushes at least up to 26%. Those who consume 1-2 portions of soy daily, suffer lower rates of cholesterol issues, osteoporosis, dementia and breast cancer.

Improvement In Menopausal Symptoms
Apart from potential estrogen action, foods that contain Phytoestrogens have nutritional benefits (which include protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals). Soy protein would help lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol). Moreover, the potential benefits of consuming Phystoestrogens found in soybeans (hormone-like substances) can help women cope up with menopausal symptoms.

Benefits Of Soy Rich Foods During Menopause

Vasomotor Symptoms
Most postmenopausal women who are going through the distressing stage of their life will have vasomotor symptoms and mood swings. But with the benefits of soy rich foods before menopause, they can experience less of hot flashes.

Night Sweats
Postmenopausal women who eat reasonable amounts of dietary soy protein (which includes 20 to 60 g per day) will be able to diminish the intensity of hot flashes and night sweats compared to those who consume less of it. In general, whole soybean-based foods, such as tofu and soy milk have the highest protein content in them as well as Isoflavone content. It manages to help your body survive the loss of estrogen.

Benefits Of Soy Rich Foods During Menopause

Isoflavones
Soy has the highest sources of Phytoestrogen which contains the richest levels of isoflavones in food. The benefits of soy come from the Isoflavones (it is a type of phystoestrogen). Isoflavones are also found in legumes such as peas, beans and lentils.

Some scientists suggest that soy isoflavones which are similar to the body's estrogen in terms of structure has the influence to support health by connecting to the estrogen receptors. It can produce some of the benefits of estrogen without causing any negative side effects. These are one of the benefits of soy rich foods during menopause.

Isoflavones contain estrogen like plant hormones that have a favourable effect on health. They also have strong antioxidants which could impersonate the effects of estrogen.

Benefits Of Soy Rich Foods During Menopause

Vaginal Dryness
It is important to consume one or two servings of soy per day which means an intake of around 25 to about 50mg of isoflavones. Some of the soy rich foods during menopause can protect even from coronary heart disease (CHD), vaginal dryness, hot flashes and lower the risk of osteoporosis. Studies have shown that increasing the intake of soy foods like soy drinks, soy nuts, tofu can cut down the frequency of hot flashes by half. These are some of the benefits of soy rich foods before and during menopause.

Story first published: Tuesday, November 10, 2015, 18:49 [IST]
Read more about: wellness soy menopause