His and Her Health

Hello,

I would be interested in learning of other premenopausal women's experiences when it comes to incorporating soy into their diet.

It's a subject that I find extremely confusing. I author a blog for midlife women and have done much research on the subject. However, I haven't written much on soy because it's so "all over the board." I admit that it's a topic I've avoided, just because I'm so darned confused myself.

Personally speaking, I am a vegetarian and have been for about 15 years. Up until two months ago, I was eating soy for breakfast (soy bacon strips), for lunch (soy burgers) and for dinner (edamame for appetizers, then on to some other soy-based goodie).

I have been eating this type of diet for many years, thinking that what I was doing was very healthy. But I've always had horrendously painful periods--that became even worse with the onset of perimenopause. I am 46 and have been peri-menopausal for about two years now.

A nutritionist with whom I consulted while visiting a spa, of all places, advised that I was eating way too much soy--which likely accounted for my very painful, problematic periods.

I was skeptical of her theory, but two months ago I completely and consciously cut soy out of my diet as an experiment--and magically my problematic periods have disappeared and peri-menopause seems to be something that I can now live through.

I know that we are getting soy through "hidden" sources in our foods (unless we read the packaging labels carefully). So perhaps I was simply eating way too much of it, because I know that it has proven benefits.

Cutting it out of my foods list completely seems to have done the trick for me. I feel much better and have actually made it through the past two periods relatively unscathed where pain's concerned. And I still get some soy through nutritional supplements--but not at the same level I was getting it when I was eating soy three times a day at every meal, and munching on soy snacks in between.

If there are any other preimenopausal or menopausal women out there who have experiences with "too much soy," I'd really appreciate hearing about them.

There is so much conflicting research and information, so it's hard to know the right thing to do when it comes to this food.

Thank you!

Eating too much of anything can't be good for you. Everyone is looking for "the answer". The key to a happy and healthy life is MODERATION. Your genes play the biggest role in what disorders and diseases you will get. After that, everything in moderation. Every week there is a new study that debunks an old study. Just yesterday we learned that antioxidants aren't that great for us after all! Ignore all the hype and just use your common sense. Eating soy 4 times a day every day is a good example of what not to do. Don't hyperanalyze your diet. Relax about it and focus on other joys in life.

Red Hot Mamas expert, Dr. Machelle Seibel wrote the book "The Soy Solution For Menopause". He is an expert on the topics of menopause and soy. I will pass along your interesting question to him and see if he has had any experiences with this type of thing. If he hasn't, I'm sure he would be interested in learning about it. I'm glad you are feeling better and you found the solution to your problem through diet change. Many people commonly think they need to add something to their diet or daily pill regimen to feel better.

Dr. Seibel's response:

There really isn't much data on too much soy. There is data on what amount is recommended. Most experts agree that if one consumes an amount typical of the Asian diet, there is not a risk and the benefits should follow. The amount of soy is about 50 to 200 milligrams (mg) of soy isoflavones daily (most people take between 50-100mg daily but some Asian diets do include up to 200 mg daily) or between 25 and 40 grams of soy protein.

That amount of soy protein is also recommended by the FDA and is on food labels, etc. there are studies in the New England Journal of Medicine supporting this amount.

If you are consciously trying to consume soy, you should keep a log of what you're eating. Most foods list this on the label. If it isn't on the label, in theory, the amount contained is very small.

How many milligrams per day were you eating? How much was "too much" for you?

Oh my gosh. I would have no idea of the number of milligrams. But I was having soy bacon for breakfast, soy for lunch and a soy chicken-type breast for dinner. I don't know how many milligrams, but it must've been a lot.

As a vegetarian, I think I may have over-dosed on the soy.

I still take it in supplements--which seems to work fine, and they actually help with hot flashes. But I don't eat the soy burgers, etc., except on occassion.

I think perhaps I was just "stuck" with my diet. As one of the others who replied to my post suggested: too much of anything is not good for you.

Thank you, also, for the suggestion on the amount of milligrams. That was very helpful. I'm sure I'm in the "correct" range now.

As I said earlier, I suspect I just OD'd on the soy.

It's difficult being a vegetarian... . You try to come up with creative ideas for meals, and I think I really went overboard with soy!

Thanks again for your insight.

Hello, I had a TAH in Dec. 2006. I use vanilla soy milk in my coffee and with my cereal. I also have about an 8 oz. cup of chocolate soy milk during the day. I also have a small glass of pomegranate juice in the morning. I take one fish oil capusule and vitamin a day. I think this has helped me with hotflashes and night sweats.

Thank you, secondfamily. I will note your "formula."

What is it about the pomegranate juice that helps? I have never heard of drinking that for hot flashes and night sweats. Interesting.

Pomegranates are great. They are packed with antioxidants which help fight cardiovascular disease. Also, they contain helpful substances that are linked to reducing menopause symptoms.

Some of these substances include tannis (also found in black cohosh), flavonoids (found in soy), polyphenols (found in green tea), etc.

Some women use pomegranate seed oil topically as a skin moisturizer or orally as a dietary supplement.

OK! I'm picking up some pomegranates this week!! I learned something new today. THANK you.

I think the supplements would have a higher dose than the juices and foods. But, I love the taste of pomegranates (the juice especially). Let me know if it helps!!

I'm having a problem finding pomegranate juice; I can find a juice blend but it has too much sugar. Do I need to go to a specialty store?

***Moderator's Note
You can ask the manager of your local grocery store if they can order 100% pomegranate juice for you.

<small>[ 05-04-2007, 05:54 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

I get mine at a health food store but I've seen them at major grocery stores too (i.e., Albertson's). All fruit juice has a ton of sugar! I'll look and see how much mine has next time I pick some up. Then we can compare. Good luck!

Where do I find Zane's Diet? I have searched the whole site and can not find it. Thank you