An Interesting Observation

Scott and I went out to dinner tonight and as we were talking about things like diet and supplements. I was speculating about why my hot flashes were worse last week. I thought it was because I missed one of the doses of the herbal formula that replenishes my yin energy. Yin helps with hot flashes.

Then, I talked about how my hot flashes have been better since I got home, and particularly, they've gotten better in the last day or so.

So, what was the difference?

I thought, well, I'm back to drinking my soy chai in the morning.

And, oh yeah! I had a tofu dish with peanut sauce at a Thai restaurant yesterday. I ate most of the tofu!!

For women going through menopause, they sometimes suggest that they eat more tofu and soy because soy has phyto-estrogen (I think is what it's called) which helps relieve hot flashes.

Wow. I didn't have any soy at all last week in Norway. I had hot flashes all the time - maybe 6 or 7 during the day and many 3 or 4 at night. Maybe more. I would sweat, particularly on my face.

I haven't had hot flashes that bad this whole week. I wondered if it had something to do with my old menstrual cycle (before they took my ovaries).

But I think the hot flashes have more to do with my soy consumption. I'll have to talk to my doctor about that, since the jury is still out about whether or not women who have breast cancer should eat (or drink) a lot of soy if their cancers are estrogen positive. I think I just found out how much soy helps me regulate hot flashes, which may affect my level of sleep.

Hmmmm.