Every era of the human race has its now iconic problems. This iconic problem for women’s menopause is definitely ‘hot flashes’. Even as a comedy element, it has been engraved in our minds because it is used everywhere as ‘the moon made me hot’.
These ‘hot flashes’ are challenging for women, although their seriousness may go unnoticed. It is a fact that women often encounter this problem during menopause. But according to a new study, the symptom of hot flashes during menopause can be easily reduced or even eliminated.
Let’s see first, why does the hot flash symptom occur?
The symptom of hot flashes during menopause is due to the irregular secretion of hormones, as the female body begins to lose its reproductive function. A woman experiencing hot flashes suddenly starts to get hot in places such as her face, neck and chest area. This feeling of warmth can be so great that the heated areas of women turn red. Their heart rate may change, sweating and a panicked mood prevail.
Until the experiment we will talk about shortly, experts were recommending estrogen supplements to solve this situation. However, taking hormone supplements can be risky in some cases, especially for older women.
Being vegan disables the hot flashes symptom of menopause
The project, which is part of the Women’s Study for Relief of Vasomotor Symptoms (WAVS) trials conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington non-profit organization that promotes a plant-based diet, studied 84 menopausal women.
The dietary habits of the menopausal women, who were randomly divided into two groups, were changed. One group ate the same way they used to eat, while the second group ate a low-fat vegan diet that included half a cup of cooked soybeans per day.
The committee was stunned by the results, as 8 out of every 9 hot flashes symptoms in the 42 postmenopausal women on a vegan diet had disappeared, ie 88% reduced. The situation was much better for 3 out of 5 people in the 42-person vegan diet group, as the hot flashes had completely disappeared.
So how does being vegan get rid of this symptom?
The research team has three different answers on this issue; not consuming animal products, reducing oil consumption and soybean consumption. Soy food contains plant compounds with estrogen-like structures. When consumed, soy interacts with the body’s naturally produced estrogens in various ways. The research team says that this may have the effect of taking a kind of hormone supplement.
Still, the team says they need to continue researching the issue in order to get clearer answers to the link between a vegan diet, menopause, and hormone levels. What do you think? Please do not forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.