The role of soy foods in the treatment of menopausal symptoms

Abstract

The findings of the Women's Health Initiative resulted in a sharp decline in the use of estrogen therapy. Increasingly, menopausal women have been interested in soy foods as an alternative to estrogen therapy for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. This article provides an overview of the limited number of studies that assess the effectiveness of soy foods to alleviate vasomotor and urogenital symptoms. The evidence of the efficacy of soy foods in improving menopausal symptoms is limited due to the small number of trials reporting conflicting results. © 2010 American Society for Nutrition.