Phytoestrogens and women’s health

Phytoestrogens are natural substances found in plants. When consumed, they can affect in the same way as estrogen that is produced in the body. In adolescence, estrogen plays a role in the development of female sexual characteristics, and until menopause, estrogen controls menstrual cycles.
The term phytoestrogen is most often associated with the alleviation of various female ailments, especially those that occur during the menstrual cycle, and in perimenopause and menopause.

Interest in plants with such an effect, at a time when there is an increasingly pronounced return to nature in all segments of human life, is completely understandable and justified. The popularity of their use is also contributed by statistical data, according to which women living in the East during the menopause have different and less severe complaints than women living in the West. The incidence of breast and uterine cancer is also significantly lower among them. The merits for this are attributed primarily to a different diet. This is supported by the fact that women from the East, by moving to the West and accepting a different lifestyle and diet, also become prone to the same ailments as women in the West. The usual diet of the East implies the consumption of large quantities of vegetables, soy and soy products, while in the West the preference is for cereal and meat products, with a much smaller share of vegetables. From a nutritional point of view, the diet of the East and the West differs significantly in the intake of plant fibers, vitamins and minerals and other biologically active ingredients, including phytoestrogens. According to the results of a study conducted in several European countries, the intake of phytoestrogens on the old continent does not exceed 1 mg per day, while, for example, in Japan, this amount is 50 to 100 times higher.

Phytoestrogens do not bind to estrogen receptors as tightly as estrogen produced by the body, so their effects may be weaker. Phytoestrogens can be beneficial for women who want to balance their hormones. Symptoms of hormonal imbalance in women include:

• hot flashes
• sore breasts
• decreased sex drive
• fatigue
• irregular menstrual cycles and
• mood swings.

Phytoestrogens are divided into two basic groups, isoflavonoids and lignans. Isoflavonoids are the most famous of the phytoestrogens.

Phytoestrogens can be found in nuts, legumes, especially soy and its products, flax, sesame, oats, barley, apples, carrots, rose hips, wheat germ, ginseng, hops, fennel and anise, i.e. in seeds, roots, berries and flowers plants. The best source of isoflavones are legumes, especially soybeans, soybeans, soybean protein, flour, soybean flakes, while soybean oil and soy sauce contain almost none of them.

The best source of lignans is flax and flax meal, and there are very few of them in linseed oil. Lignans are found in fiber-rich foods such as seeds and grains, and are most concentrated in flaxseed. Kumestans are similar to isoflavones, and can be found most often in alfalfa, red clover and vetiver sprouts.

Phytoestrogens are also present in a very mild form in medicinal plants: St. John’s Wort, St. John’s wort, St. John’s wort… these are all herbs that have been used for centuries to heal wounds and cure various disorders. And in them they are found in the right form, in the right amount that can help us, but will not harm us.

Phytoestrogens also affect cognitive functions in women and reduce the risk of depression, neurodegenerative diseases and dementia.