More Exercise and a Little Soy Help Hot Flashes
May 11, 2004(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Beat hot flashes with a little more sweat. New research shows exercise may enhance the beneficial effects of soy to reduce hot flashes.
Among women who had an average of five hot flashes per day before the new study, those who exercised more than 276 minutes cut their hot flashes nearly in half when soy was added to their diet. Those who exercised 30 minutes to 90 minutes per week had a 26.5-percent reduction.
Women who exercised more than four days per week had a near 50-percent reduction in hot flashes. That was compared to women who exercised one time to two-and-a-half times per week who had a 25-percent reduction in their hot flashes.
Lead researcher Stacey Panagotopulos, Ph.D., from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, adds, “The women weren’t doing vigorous exercise. They weren’t running. Seventy percent of them were walking, riding a bike, or swimming.”
Previous research has shown either soy alone or exercise alone may reduce symptoms of menopause.
Many studies use soy supplements or processed soy, which Panagotopulos says may lose some of the benefits of native soy. Native soy, used in the study, is considered especially rich in isoflavones, which are plant compounds that mimic the effect of some human hormones.
SOURCE: Presented at the American Heart Association’s Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology in San Francisco, May 6-8, 2004
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.