July 21, 2003 – Red clover supplements may help relieve vaginal dryness that some postmenopausal women suffer from, British researchers say.
Recently, another study indicated that these same supplements were not more effective than a placebo in relieving the hot flashes from which these women could suffer (see the article of PasseportSanté.net on this subject, dated July 9, 2003. ).
In this case, all 29 participants took either a placebo or red clover supplements for eight weeks, then took a two-week break and then switched to the other treatment.
This allowed researchers to find that postmenopausal women who took red clover supplements suffered less vaginal dryness than those taking a placebo. Traditional estrogen supplements have the same effect, but increase the risk of cancer by causing thickening of the vaginal wall, an unwanted side effect that red clover supplements would not have.
The benefits of red clover supplements are said to be based on their content of isoflavones, a substance that mimics the effect of estrogen in the body.
The researchers believe that larger studies now need to be done to measure the validity of their findings.
The results of this research have not been published, but were made public at the annual meeting of the British Menopause Society.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
According to WebMD; July 9, 2003.
