Phytoestrogen

• Hot flushes and night sweats are the most common of these, affecting 75% of women and the symptom for which most women seek treatment.
• In Australia it is estimated more than one-third of women seek complementary or alternative medicines to manage menopausal symptoms.

What’s on the market?

• They include everything from mind-body practices (hypnosis, cognitive behavioural therapy and meditation) to alternative medicine approaches (traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture) and natural products (herbal and dietary supplements).
• There is some evidence to support the use of hypnosis and cognitive behaviour therapy for the treatment of hot flushes.
• But there is less certainty around the benefit of other commonly used complementary and alternative medicines, particularly nutritional supplements.

What are phytoestrogens?

• There are numerous types including isoflavones, coumestans and lignans.
• In the latter category, extracts from soy and red clover yield isoflavones and flaxseed gives us lignans.

What does the evidence say?

• Overall, evidence regarding the benefit of phytoestrogens for hot flushes is fairly mixed.
• A Cochrane review synthesised study results and failed to find conclusive evidence phytoestrogens, in food or supplement form, reduced the frequency or severity of hot flushes or night sweats in perimenopausal or postmenopausal women.
• Another recent study showed marked reductions in hot flushes in women following a low fat, vegan diet supplemented with daily soybeans.

Can phytoestrogens help the psychological symptoms of menopause?

• Less research has explored whether phytoestrogens improve psychological symptoms of menopause, such as depression, anxiety and brain fog.
• A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found phytoestrogens reduce depression in post- but not perimenopausal women.

The bottom line

• If you do wish to see if they might work for you, start by including more phytoestrogen-rich foods in your diet.
• Examples include tempeh, soybeans, tofu, miso, soy milk (from whole soybeans), oats, barley, quinoa, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans and alfalfa.
• Try including one to two serves per day for around three months and monitor symptoms.

• The growing food and beverage industry and increasing consumer preferences for vegan food products, represent as the key factors creating a positive outlook for the market.
• How has the global hemp-based food market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?
• What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global hemp-based food market?
• What is the structure of the global hemp-based food market and who are the key players?

• "We'vealreadyseen significant evidence that prunes have a positive effectonbone healthin women, so it's particularlyexcitingtofindthat prunes can also play a beneficial role in men's bone health.
• The study authors also reported the men who ate prunes showed improvements in bone geometry indicating greater bone strength.
• Historically, research has focused on osteoporosis and bone health in women, already indicatinga favorable bone response to prunes specifically among postmenopausal women.
• "Prunes are a shelf-stable and nutrient-packed food that provide a preventive, proactive, palatable option for men to optimize their bone health."