other · for hot flashes
S-Equol
A stronger, more targeted version of the soy compounds it is made from.
Say that in clinical terms
S-equol is a more potent and more selective estrogen-receptor-beta agonist than the isoflavones it is derived from, but only reaches meaningful blood levels in people whose gut bacteria can perform the conversion (or who take it directly as a supplement, bypassing that requirement).
How strong is the research?
The Menopause Society names equol as not recommended for hot flushes.
3 papers read, 2 supporting, 1 against.
Tested as: S-equol (natural, soy-fermentation-derived; e.g. SE5-OH), 10 mg or 40 mg/day, generally tested against soy isoflavones rather than placebo alone. Benefit is concentrated in equol nonproducers - roughly 70-80% of Western women, whose gut bacteria cannot convert the soy isoflavone daidzein into equol.
Who was studied: Postmenopausal women, with the clearest effect in those having eight or more flushes a day.
How much to take
10–40 mg