Hey gang, a friend of mine is wondering what online or readily available material would cover the alleged effects of soy products on menopause and estrogen levels. Any pointers available? John the Wysard jvinson *at* WysardOfInfo *dot* com http://seniorhealth.about.com/library/weekly/aa081902a.htm http://amazing-hgh.com/estrogen.htm http://health.discovery.com/centers/althealth/bkgmenopause.html http://www.drdonnica.com/display.asp?article=45&pg=4 http://www.menopause.org/ a search on the site will pull up scientific news on soy http://www.womenshealth.com/patientinfo/menonewsletter/menowithoutest... Just for balance, I'd also suggest:
http://makeashorter_link_.com/?R29212451 ... a Mayo Clinic article which notes that the clinical trials on soy for hot flash relief are less than conclusive. And this:
http://www.cetos.org/agbioarticles/soystory.html ... a fascinating look at how US agribusiness has sold us on soy. Soybeans are reasonably good food, and a number of fine whole-food products - such as tofu - can be derived from them. However, soy isolates may be a mixed blessing. There's evidence, for instance, implicating high soy intake with thyroid problems and, in one study, with the early onset of some forms of dementia. And there's the question of breast cancer - some studies suggest that, like pharmaceutical estrogens, soy phytoestrogens increase the proliferation of breast tissue. As well, there's the fact that much of the soy available in the US is genetically modified and grown with with intensive crop management techniques (read: Lots of chemicals). For some people, that may be of concerns, especially if they're thinking of soy as a health food. Back when I hung out at alt.support.menopause, I spent a lot of time looking into the claims made for supplements, as well as the ones made for pharmaceutical remedies. For the most part, I found all of them lacking. The truth is, menopause isn't a disease, and there's no magic `cure' for it. Many women find it best to look at their own personal symptoms - hot flashes, excessive bleeding, etc. - and look for ways to deal with those, rather than using systemic approaches that may have unexpected negative consequences. Oh, and by the way: You might tell your friend that some women find increasing soy actually *cause* hot flashes. I know. I'm one of them.
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