In over 25 years at our healthcare clinic, countless women have asked us about soy. They want to know what soy can do for them, whether there are risks or side effects, how to avoid digestive issues while using soy, and how to use soy in conjunction with other herbal supplements. We’d like to share with you what we tell our patients — it’s what every woman should know about soy.
All that from a little bean?
The soybean, like most legumes, is high in protein and low in fat. Soy is low on the glycemic index, meaning it doesn’t cause blood sugar spikes, which is important for the prevention of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Soy is also a good source of fiber, B vitamins, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids.
In addition to the nutritional benefits, there is substantial research that credits soy with protecting women from certain cancers including breast cancer, preventing heart attacks and stroke, and promoting bone health, and weight loss.
But while these potential benefits of soy are nothing to shake a stick at, most women we see want to know if soy can alleviate their menopause symptoms. We have over two decades of experience using soy therapeutically to help heal symptoms of hormonal imbalance that are common during perimenopause and menopause. In our experience, soy can be very effective in alleviating hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, panic attacks, difficulty losing weight, and joint pain — especially when used as a component of a holistic approach such as our Personal Program.
Is soy safe — and can I digest it?
It’s become a recent trend to claim that soy is dangerous because of a reputed estrogenic effect. This criticism is misleading and uninformed. Rest assured, soy does not contain estrogen nor does it replicate the effects of estrogen. It will not cause your body to increase (or decrease) estrogen production.
Soy helps relieve menopause symptoms because it contains adaptogenic phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are plant molecules that bear a resemblance to estrogen to the extent that they can weakly bind to estrogen receptors. They do not create the same chemical reactions as an actual estrogen molecule would, but they can calm the body’s need for estrogen in an estrogen-deficient woman, quelling her symptoms without estrogen supplements. In women with too much estrogen, phytoestrogens can block excess estrogen molecules from binding to receptors, mitigating the negative effects of high estrogen levels. In short, phytoestrogens are tools that your body uses as needed to regulate its own, natural estrogen levels.
Some women — about 20% of us — have difficulty digesting beans because they are lacking the necessary digestive enzyme. This can result in heartburn, gas, bloating, or irregularity when ingesting soy. Fortunately, a simple digestive enzyme supplement can remedy this problem so that these women can also enjoy the benefits of soy.
Soy — the final touch in the holistic approach
At Women to Women, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of a holistic approach. Thousands of women come to us for help with their hot flashes, and many don’t yet realize that their hot flashes are connected to their mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, depression, food cravings, vaginal dryness and more. The truth is, all these symptoms share an underlying cause — hormonal imbalance — and a holistic approach can provide your body with the support it needs to restore balance.
Although soy can be effective in alleviating certain symptoms like hot flashes and anxiety, it needs to be used as part of a broader approach to solve the underlying cause of your symptoms and help you to enjoy total menopause relief. That’s why we always recommend a foundation of support before adding specialized supplements like soy, and why we offer our soy products only to members of our Personal Program for hormonal balance.
Some companies try to sell you specialized supplements for each of your symptoms — soy for hot flashes, black cohosh for libido, and so on. This approach is like building a pyramid upside-down — it simply wasn’t designed to work that way! In contrast, if you give your body the broad base of support it needs, you will enjoy faster, lasting symptom relief while promoting long-term health. In fact, most women with mild to moderate symptoms find that their symptoms resolve themselves on this foundation alone, without the added use of soy.
To build your foundation of health we invite you to try our Personal Program, risk-free. It comes in four versions to match your level of symptoms. Of course, if you decide you want to try soy, you can easily layer our SoySational supplement onto your Personal Program. The two are designed to work synergistically to expedite your symptom relief.
To assess your symptoms and find out which version of the Personal Program is right for you, take our free Hormonal Health Profile. It takes most women only two to three minutes to complete and you will receive personalized recommendations on how to improve your hormonal health.
Last Modified: 01/22/2009
[...] SOY and Menopause [...]
There are as many opinions on the positive or negative effects of soy and women in menopause as there are women in menopause.
I personally have experience relief by adding soy products into my diet. Other things I do to alleviate symptoms are exercise daily, eat LOTS of fresh fruit and vegetables, and limit and processed foods.
Good article. I’m still on the fence about using anything but fermented soy (i.e., miso). But, I did find this other article from the same site (women to women) to be pretty good in addressing the “soy controversy”: Update on the soy controversy