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 Eating Soy to Prevent Menopausal

Weight Gain

Menopause brings many challenges – not the least of which is weight gain.

Menopausal weight gain is a particularly

   frustrating problem for women since their  weight seems to climb even when they watch what they eat.

 Exercise helps many women deal with weight gain during menopause, and now new research brings more good news to women wrestling with weight gain during menopause. Eating soy may help offset mid-life weight gain.

Eating Soy to Prevent Menopausal Weight Gain

Soy is a low-calorie food that’s high in protein, so it’s not surprising that eating more soy-based foods would “tip the scales” in a woman’s favor. Researchers put this idea to the test by feeding rats a diet high in soy during menopause and found that the soy-eating rodents gained less weight than rats on a control diet fed similar calories.

The soy-based diet seemed to increase their resting metabolic rate.

What about humans? Eating soy to reduce menopause weight gain looks promising in humans too. Several small studies suggest that soy not only reduces weight gain during menopause in human subjects, but soy eaters have a lower body fat and waist size than those don’t eat soy foods.

Why Would Eating Soy Reduce Menopausal Weight Gain?

As women go through menopausal, their estrogen levels drop. This reduction in estrogen not only triggers weight gain but causes a subtle, or sometimes not so subtle, redistribution of body weight.

Women may lose fat on their thighs and buttocks, but fat that previously padded their thighs shows up on the tummy and waistline – and they’re left with the frustrating problem of excess abdominal fat.  Skirts and pants that once fit in the waist become uncomfortably snug – all thanks to dwindling estrogen levels.

Soy foods are a good source of phytoestrogen, compounds that mimic the effects of estrogen, although they’re less potent than the estrogen the body produces. The effect of these weaker estrogens may offset some of the weight gain and fat redistribution that happens around the time of menopause.

Eating soy may not only reduce menopausal weight problems but help with the problem of excess abdominal fat that leads to an unattractive “pot belly”.

Should You Eat Soy During Menopause?

There are benefits to eating soy. It’s low in calories, high in protein and has a low-glycemic index. Soy foods also help to lower cholesterol and prevent bone loss. On the other hand, no one knows how much soy a person needs to eat to prevent menopausal weight gain.

In addition, there are still questions about soy and its effect on breast tissue. Most recent studies suggest that soy is more likely to reduce the risk of breast cancer, especially pre-menopausal breast cancer, but women at high risk for breast cancer should talk to their doctor before eating soy.

Encouragingly, a recent study showed that women who eat soy after a breast cancer diagnosis have a lower risk of recurrence if they had a hormone receptor positive tumor.

There are also concerns that soy may alter thyroid function by interfering with iodine. Although a recent study disputes this idea, it’s not a good idea to take soy isoflavone supplements until more is known.

The best plan is to eat moderate amounts of unprocessed fermented soy foods such as miso and tempeh during menopause, after consulting with your doctor, of course. Combine this with a regular exercise program and you can get a better handle on menopausal weight gain – before your pants become too tight.