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Soy isoflavones are biologically active compounds found in soya and any food made from it, with the exception of the traditionally produced fermented soya products such as soya sauce, miso and tempeh. There are a lot of isoflavones in soya beans themselves, and also in tofu and soya milk.Soy isoflavones mimic various hormones, because of their chemical similarity; but they are not perfect mimics, because they are not quite identical, and this is the reason why they are very useful for helping various hormonal disorders such as PMS and menopausal symptoms, also on a longer term basis osteoporosis. Soy isoflavones, however, do not have the side effects that supplemental hormones such as HRT do, again because they are not perfect mimics.Soy isoflavones are one of a class of substances called phyto-oestrogens; they are called this because they have oestrogenic activity and are from plants. Other sources of these substances are red clover and wild yam.Soy isoflavones help correct the various hormonal disorders because if there is too little oestrogen they help to provide the biochemical signals that natural oestrogen provides; on the other hand, soy isoflavones cannot over-do the signalling because they are not strong enough. For the same reason, soy isoflavones can help men; one of the problems of metabolism that men have is that testosterone can be converted into oestrogen in the body, and if there is too much oestrogen in a man's body things can start going wrong, as you might expect! Soy isoflavones block both this process and the ill effects of its products. Hence, soy isoflavones can help men taking various testosterone boosters to avoid the possible side effects. Soy isoflavones also partially block dihydrotestosterone, which is the substance largely responsible for enlarged prostate.Soy isoflavones can therefore help; menopausal problems, PMT, osteoporosis, heart disease (reducing the risk) and cancer (reduce the risk, particularly of breast cancer).Apart from their hormonal properties, soy isoflavones are also antioxidant, which means that they will reduce the risk of just about any form of degenerative illness.
