In “Is Soy Actually Beneficial in Balancing Hormone Levels?”, we examined the nutritional value of soy and how one of the ways it helps stabilize moods is that it provides carbohydrates without triggering a strong insulin response, which is good news for those whose moods are affected by unstable or fluctuating sugar levels.
But what about the claim that soy can help balance hormones, particularly those related to PMS and menopause? How does adding soy to a diet help in that case?
This article will examine the question: does soy have an effect on PMS symptoms and, if so, what kind of an effect?
The Problem with PMS
Approximately two weeks before the onset of a woman’s menstrual period, her estrogen levels increase. These increased estrogen levels can lead to a variety of symptoms that affect moods and emotional health including:
- feeling “out of control”
- anxiety
- irritability
- depression
- crying spells
- panic attacks
- feelings of hostility and anger
- inability to concentrate
- decreased work or social performance
- bloating
- clumsiness
- fatigue
- food cravings
- fluid retention
- headaches
- heart palpitations
- weight gain
About 40 million women suffer from some form of PMS in the United States and, for some, it affects their entire lives for two weeks out of every month.
No two women experience the same symptoms or the same severity of symptoms. Some women’s symptoms are mild and easy to deal with. Other women find themselves fighting with their family, husbands, boyfriends, and/or children, and have difficulty concentrating at work or on assignments. In general, our bodies don’t quite feel right and we don’t quite feel right within them – just after two normal weeks where we thought things were fine.
For years, the search has continued for a way to balance off these hormones and most agree that the most natural way to do something is often the best, decreasing our dependence on man-made chemicals.
Soy has been discovered to be one of those methods.
How Soy Works for PMS
“Soy isoflavones have the ability to bind to estrogen receptors and partly block the effects of estrogen. This function reduces excess estrogen for those who produce too much in the body…The estrogen receptor binding function…may be complementary to the effects of estrogen for those who produce too little estrogen in the body” (www.naturalypure.com).
“Two new studies from England and Japan suggest that soy isoflavones are effective for supporting better PMS health. Japanese researchers noted that physical symptoms of PMS were ‘significantly improved’ in women consuming soy isoflavones daily” (www.pmsfactor.com).
Ways to Ingest Soy
The key to maintaining this estrogen blocking system is to increase the amount of soy isoflavones not soy protein isolate. It is the isoflavones (“water-soluble chemicals found in many plants”) that bind estrogen receptors. Through processing, in which the fat and carbohydrate content is washed out of the soy using alcohol, leaving only the protein, most of the isoflavones are also washed away.
This is where label reading, and understanding what you’re reading comes into play. Soy protein isolate (soy without or with decreased levels of isoflavones) is used by food processors to enhance flavor or texture in a variety of products: processed meat, poultry, fish, breakfast cereals, energy and protein bars, weight loss ready-to-drink beverages, soups, sauces and other prepared foods, ice cream, yogurt and other dairy or dairy-free products, and meat alternatives (www.soya.be). Different processors may have different ways of doing things, so it’s a good idea to research those practices too so you know which products to trust.
Soy isoflavone is available in capsules from most health food and natural products stores, soy beans, tempeh (a cake of fermented soybeans), and soy flour. Also look for red clover products as a soy alternative. By comparison, soy protein and soy milk have very low levels of isoflavones--so drinking soy milk to try to balance hormones will likely not be very effective.
Sources: www.soynutrition.com; www.cbn.com; www.soya.be; www.naturalypure.com; http://healthlibrary.epnet.com; http://blog.wellnesstips.ca; www.drkomer.com; www.pmsfactor.com;