A Nutritional Supplement on Vasomotor Symptoms in Women

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), such as flushes, sweating, and sleep disturbances, are experienced by up to 80% of women during the menopausal transition. Night sweats, which are hot flushes that occur at night, can be particularly bothersome in women and contribute to disturbed sleep. These symptoms occur mainly during the 1-3 years prior to menopause (late perimenopause) and early menopause (\~4 years after menstruation ceases). Many women look to supplements for the management of menopausal symptoms. Soy isoflavones and their metabolites are one category of dietary supplements that have been extensively studied for the management of VMS. The most active soy isoflavone is S-equol, which is not found directly in soy, but rather is the metabolite that is produced by gut microflora from consumption of the soy isoflavone daidzein. However, only 20-30% of US women are actually able to produce S-equol from the consumption of daidzein. Equelle® is a currently available dietary supplement that has S-equol as its active component, which allows the delivery of the active soy isoflavone metabolite directly without dependence on the gut microflora metabolism. The intention of this study is to assess the effect of a product containing S-equol on the management of VMS in normally healthy women. Condition or disease: Vasomotor Symptoms Intervention/treatment: Dietary Supplement: S-equol Dietary Supplement: Placebo