Menopause symptoms not eased by soy tablets

Taking soy supplements may not help women ease their menopause symptoms or prevent the bone changes that start at that time of life, suggests a new study from Florida.

Women who took the supplements every day for two years didn't have any improvement in their symptoms compared with those who took a soy-free placebo pill - and they suffered more hot flashes by the end of the study.

Researchers also didn't see any changes in their bone mineral density compared to women taking placebos. Low bone mineral density puts women at higher risk of osteoporosis and broken bones.

Women seeking relief from menopause symptoms have been without a clear go-to treatment since the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study of hormone therapy reported heart and cancer risks with estrogen and progestin use.

"What prompted us to do this study was in the wake of WHI when many of our patients stopped using hormone therapy," says Dr Silvina Levis, the study's lead author from the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.

"Many of them had just gone to a health food store and started on soy supplements," she says.

"The study was started to try to answer a simple question: Will these soy isoflavone tablets help women with the issues they were concerned with?"

"We didn't see any protection from bone loss or any relief from menopause symptoms." After this, she adds, "maybe women will reconsider" taking soy tablets during menopause.