Almost 1 out of every 2 women will experience hot flashes when entering menopause.
As women age they will make less and less estrogen every year which can lead to higher hot flashes.
Isoflavones have been suggested to be helpful for reducing the symptoms of hot flash because they can interact with the estrogen receptor. This will result in a lower number of hot flashes.
Read here to see the results of a clinical trial evaluating genistein for hot flashes.
Recently a review was conducted of 12 different clinical trials that evaluate Trifolium pratense for hot flashes published in the journal Phytomedicine.
Here was how the review was conducted:
- Literature searches were performed in Medline, Scopus, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane, AMED and InforRMIT and citations obtained from 1996 to March 2016.
- 20 clinical trials were identified and 5 were selected based on inclusion criteria.
Here’s what the authors concluded:
- The evidence suggests that red clover isoflavones
- The dose that seemed to be effective was 80 mg/day of red clover for reducing menopausal hot flashes.
- Red clover appeared safe over a 3 month period.
- A reduction in hot flashes by 30 to 50 percent was observed and is considered clinically significant.
Here is a comment from the authors of the study in regard to quality of the products:
This difference* may be due partly to the low quality of certain preparations, or in part to the amount of aglycones within the extract in comparison to glycosylated isoflavones. Aglycone-rich isoflavone supplements are thought to be more bioavailable than glycoside-rich products.
( *’difference’ refers to the results of clinical trials with red clover.)
When reading about aglycone, this means the sugar chemical group is removed from the isoflavones. Sometimes the manufacturer will say it is “hydrolyzed”.
Read more articles about women’s health here.
Take away message:
This systematic review focused on five clinical trials testing red clover for reducing hot flashes in menopausal women. The results suggest a 30 to 50% decrease in hot flashes and all of the studies suggest it was safe over a 3 month period.
The quality of the product seems to be very important in terms of red clover so you want to make sure to select a high quality product.
Reference:
Phytomedicine. 2017; Volume 24: Pages 141-147.
His research on plant medicine has led to more than 45 publications and abstracts.This research has been presented at international meetings in the USA, France, Turkey, Peru, Israel, Austria, and Italy.
Categories: Antioxidant, Herbs, Menopause, Plant Medicine, Women's Health