How to end hot flushes in menopause? Try a low-fat vegan diet with soybeans every day

From scmp.com

• Postmenopausal women who tried low-fat, vegan, soybean-heavy diet for a study noted an 88 per cent drop in hot flushes

A low-fat, plant-based diet with a daily dose of soybeans can significantly reduce hot flushes in menopausal women.

The benefit of soybeans in alleviating menopausal symptoms is well established in the scientific community; the latest study combined this knowledge with a low-fat vegan diet.

American researchers found that postmenopausal women who ate the plant-based diet with 86g (3oz) of cooked soybeans daily saw an 88 per cent decrease in the number of moderate to severe hot flushes they experienced.

Having a low-fat vegan diet with a half cup of soybeans daily (above) was found to reduce hot flashes in menopausal women in a recent study. Photo: Shutterstock

After 12 weeks, half of the women on the diet reported no moderate or severe hot flushes at all, according to the study by George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington. The results were published in the medical journal Menopause.

“The diet was more powerful than we had predicted, equalling the effects of hormone replacement therapy. It also led to healthful weight loss, and the participants found it easy, enjoyable, and in some cases life-changing,” said lead researcher Professor Neal Barnard.

The women on the diet lost an average of 3.6kg (8lb) over the 12 weeks; those in the control group lost an average of 0.2kg.

Previous studies have shown that in Japan and other countries whose traditional diets are mainly based on plant-derived food such as rice, soybeans, and vegetables, hot flushes were rare.

But they became much more common when the diet was Westernised, with increasing consumption of dairy products and meat.

Professor Neal Barnard is studying the benefits of a plant-based, low-fat diet, with soybeans every day, on menopausal women. Photo: Elliott O’Donovan

Barnard set out to investigate a vegan diet’s impact on hot flushes after being contacted by a woman who had read his book Your Body in Balance, which explores the impact of diet on hormones and health.

“She said the approach in the book cured her hot flushes within a matter of days. That was actually a stronger effect than I had promised in the book, so I asked her how she had implemented the diet,” he says.

She had used a purely vegan diet, minimised oils, and added a half-cup of mature soybeans daily.

I got my quality of life back. I’m no longer dealing with the hot flushes hat were debilitating at one point. I’m more present with my four kids and my overall mental state is better                        Sherri, study participant

Barnard and his team put exactly this version of the diet to the test in a randomised trial of 84 women who reported at least two moderate to severe hot flushes a day.

Half the women were put on a low-fat, vegan diet with half a cup of soybeans daily while the control group made no dietary changes. The women then recorded the frequency and severity of their hot flushes.

Study participant Sherri said the diet was a “lifesaver”.

“I got my quality of life back. I’m no longer dealing with the hot flushes that were debilitating at one point. I’m more present with my four kids and my overall mental state is better because I’m feeling good.”

Like many women, Sherri was concerned about taking hormone treatment, so a dietary change was a welcome solution.

“Before jumping to any medication, I would try this route because it is easy, it’s simple and has immediate results,” she added.

Barnard said the combination of a low-fat, plant-based diet with daily soybeans had the biggest impact on reducing hot flushes. This meant avoiding oily foods such as nuts, avocados, and vegetable oils.

Mature soybeans (back) contain higher levels of isoflavones than edamame (front left) soy milk, or tofu (front right). 

Photo: Shutterstock

“A vegan diet alone does not do a lot for hot flushes. Soybeans and soy extracts alone are not dramatically effective, either. But surprisingly enough, the combination of a vegan diet, reducing intake of fats and oils, and adding half a cup of cooked soybeans daily led to a dramatic reduction in hot flushes,” he said.

“We do not know exactly why but avoiding oily foods seemed to help, too. All three pieces seem to be important.”

Soybeans may help because of the natural isoflavones they contain – genistein, daidzein, and glycitein – which may also help to reduce breast cancer risk.

The type of soy is important. In the hot flushes study, the diet incorporated mature soybeans, which contain higher levels of isoflavones than edamame – immature soybeans in the pod, soy milk, or tofu.

“We suspect that these isoflavones act like natural medicines to reduce hot flushes. But while edamame, soy milk, or tofu are all healthful foods, they would not be expected to have as strong an effect as mature soybeans,” Barnard says.

A soybean farmer in her field. The isoflavones contained in mature soybeans are believed to help reduce hot flushes, as well as lowering breast cancer risk. Photo: Shutterstock

Although the full explanation for the benefit of a plant-based diet has yet to be deciphered, Barnard believes high fibre and low fat play a role.

“We know that diets that are high in fibre and very low in fat tend to moderate the effects of oestrogens. We previously found that such a diet was effective for menstrual cramps.

“So we suspect that women on plant-based diets are more accustomed to lower oestrogen levels and have less of a change at menopause. Also, a plant-based diet causes weight loss, which reduces hot flushes.”

For study participant Marta there is no turning back.

“My hot flushes were very severe before the study. I had them almost every hour on the hour, and during night-time I had night sweats. After starting my diet, I felt a lot more healthy and energetic. I was sleeping better at night and my hot flushes had diminished tremendously.

“I enjoy eating this diet and won’t go back to my American diet because I feel my hot flushes are now under control.”

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3267465/how-end-hot-flushes-menopause-try-low-fat-vegan-diet-soybeans-every-day 

Can Going Vegan Make Menopause Easier? Here Are Our 3 Tips

From peta.org 

People experiencing menopause and perimenopause may benefit from taking a holistic approach to their health, including examining what they eat and how it may affect their bodies. Going vegan, eating a low-fat diet, and getting regular exercise can help manage hot flashes, mood swings, unexpected weight gain, and a variety of other symptoms.

Here are three ways going vegan can help you manage menopause.

1. Low-Fat Vegan Meals Are the Secret to Minimizing Hot Flashes and Other Symptoms

According to Neal Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, women in Asia are less likely to suffer from hot flashes, likely because they consume much less meat and animal-derived fat than women who eat standard American diets.

Barnard says that women who eat high-fat foods have more oestrogen activity than those who consume low-fat foods. During menopause, when the ovaries’ production of oestrogen comes to a halt, women who eat high-fat foods experience a sudden and extreme drop in oestrogen levels. This drop seems to be less dramatic—and the resulting symptoms are much milder or non-existent—for women with lower oestrogen levels.

Barnard believes that non-smokers who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, limit their salt and caffeine consumption, and get enough vitamin D are less likely to suffer from hot flashes, broken bones, vaginal dryness, and other symptoms of menopause.

2. Vegan Foods Help Manage Hormonal Weight Gain

Actors Gabrielle Union and Drew Barrymore shared how their bodies were affected by the onset of perimenopause symptoms, including unexpected and rapid weight gain in the stomach caused by the stress hormone cortisol. One solution: ditching dairy and other animal-derived foods.

Going vegan has helped countless people shed excess fat, especially around the midsection, where it can cause the most health problems. The American Heart Association recommends a diet rich in vegetables for managing the increased risk of heart disease that comes with menopause-related abdominal weight gain.

3. You Can Keep Your Bones Healthier With Calcium From Plants

Calcium is a key nutrient for maintaining bone health during and after menopause, when bone density begins to decrease due to lower levels of oestrogen. While cow’s milk, cheese, and yogurts have previously been touted as calcium-rich options, studies have shown that dairy may do more harm than good.

A Harvard Nurses’ Health Study found that consuming two or more glasses of cow’s milk daily put people at higher risk for broken hips and arms than those who drank one glass or less per day. If you want to retain the calcium that you consume and keep baby cows with their mothers, try these vegan sources of calcium, which will strengthen your bones, not weaken them the way dairy does.

https://www.peta.org/living/food/vegan-menopause/