Soy unlikely to help hot flashes: Study

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Women who eat a lot of soy-based foods or fiber don't seem to have fewer menopause symptoms, according to a US study - the latest research to find no benefits from eating extra amounts of soy, a food abundant in dietary estrogen.

Hormone replacement therapy, based on estrogen and other hormones, is effective in reducing hot flashes and other menopause symptoms, but carries some risks of heart disease and cancer. Researchers have been testing whether plant estrogens can offer benefits, perhaps without the risks.

"Many women can't or don't want to take hormones," making dietary estrogen an appealing alternative, said Ellen Gold, the lead author of the study and a professor at the University of California Davis School of Medicine.

But studies on plant estrogens have been mixed.