09/26/2019 / By Melissa Smith
Women who are approaching or already in their menopausal age experience many uncomfortable symptoms, but they may find relief by supplementing with equol. In a review published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, researchers from the U.S. and South Korea found that equol can reduce the incidence and severity of hot flashes in menopausal women.
Equol is not a very common compound. In fact, it is found exclusively in soybeans and other legumes, and structurally belongs to a class of compounds known as isoflavones.
It can also be produced in the body as an intestinal bacterial metabolite of the soy isoflavone, daidzein. However, not everyone can produce equol – only about 50 percent of Asians and 25 percent of non-Asians host the intestinal bacteria that convert daidzein into equol.
For this review, the researchers viewed the efficacy of equol against hot flashes in menopausal women. They searched 12 English, Korean, and Chinese language scientific and medical databases, and found six studies with 779 participants in total that met all criteria for the systematic review. Five of those could be included in the meta-analysis.
All studies assessed the effect of equol – either equol itself or soy isoflavone in equol producers – on menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes, in peri- or postmenopausal women. Three studies in the meta-analysis reported significant benefits of equol.
The meta-analysis revealed that equol significantly lowered hot flash scores and revealed a generally low risk of bias. The results also suggested that women who can produce equol are more likely to benefit from soy consumption than non-producers. Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that supplementing with equol reduced the incidence and severity of hot flashes in menopausal women.
About 70 percent of all women experience hot flashes and night sweats, also known as vasomotor symptoms (VMS) during the menopause transitions. Many women use estrogen-containing hormone therapy, which is effective in managing these symptoms. However, increasing evidence has shown that prolonged use of hormone therapy comes with many side effects. For this reason, many women are now using other non-hormonal options to manage their symptoms, including alternative medicines like soy isoflavones, black cohosh, and omega-3 fatty acids.
There are many natural remedies you can try alongside certain lifestyle changes for relieving hot flashes.
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Tagged Under: alternative medicine, equol, food cures, food is medicine, functional food, herbal medicine, Herbs, hot flashes, menopausal women, Menopause, natural cures, natural medicine, Naturopathy, phytonutrients, relaxation, remedies, research, soy, soy isoflavone, supplements, vasomotor symptoms, women's health
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