For all women, menopause is a natural phenomenon that accompanies the process of growing old. However, it brings with it lots of frustrations and discomfort. Mood swings and hot flashes are the most apparent symptoms, whereas other conditions such as osteoporosis become evident after many years.
Some women choose to go for hormone replacement therapy to treat the problem, whereas others look for natural methods of treating the symptoms associated with menopause. One such natural solution for treating menopause system is soy pills.
Why Soy Pills?
Soy comprises of phytoestrogens or plant-based estrogen which functions just like the human estrogen. According to a number of scientists, replacing the natural estrogen present in the human body with phytoestrogen during menopause is quite effective in reducing symptoms associated with menopause.
Bone Loss and Soy Pills
National Osteoporosis Foundation carried out a study on the bone loss that occurs in post-menopausal women. In this study, one group of women were given placebos, whereas the other group was given high dose of soy extracts.
Both the study groups were made up of around 250 women who were monitored for a period of 2 years. During the course of the study, the bone mass and other factors were measured in order to determine the level of bone loss that occurs.
After a period of 2 years of study, it was found that degree of bone loss was slightly less in women taking soy pills. Thus, it was concluded that soy phytoestrogens has the same bone protective effect like natural estrogen.
Hot Flashes and Soy Pills
It was reported by the Journal of Oncology, through a series of clinical trials carried out on 150 post-menopausal women, that women experiencing hot-flashes felt relief after using soy products for a period of 9 weeks.
Soy Foods or Supplements: Which one to prefer?
Through a series of researches carried out on the subject, it has been found that eating soy foods is lot more beneficial in comparison to taking soy supplements.
In fact, it has also been found that consumption of soy foods and soy pills also reduce the threat of bone fracture in post-menopausal women. In Japan, people take soy foods as a normal part of their daily diet, due to which the women are a lot less likely to suffer from the symptoms associated with menopause.
Other Sources of Phytoestrogens
Besides the soy pills and supplements that are available in the market these days, you can also consume foods containing soy such as soy milk, soy nuts, tempeh, and tofu as they all are extremely great sources of phytoestrogen.
However, if you do not wish to eat any of the food items rich in soy, you can go for soy powders or soy pills as supplement for the same. Various other plants are also good sources of phytoestrogens, such as wild yam, valerian root, dong quai, and black cohosh. There herbs are also available in the form of creams and pills, so that you can take them easily and take advantage of their benefits.
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