August 2026
Plant-Based Diet + Soybeans = Relief From Hot Flashes
Postmenopausal women are highly familiar with the symptoms of hot flashes– as many as 80% of this patient population suffers from them– but the mechanisms behind this widespread phenomenon are still not well understood, and effective treatment remains elusive. However, one recent study has shown that a plant-based diet including soybeans can offer postmenopausal patients relief from hot flashes.
Hot flashes are often experienced as a sensation of heat rising from the chest, causing flushing, sweating, and chills that can last for 15 seconds to a few minutes. At night, hot flashes often interfere with sleep, causing night sweats or insomnia, which in turn can lead to fatigue, anxiety, and depression. While these symptoms often moderate or resolve with time, some women experience hot flashes for up to 30 years after menopause. Hot flashes are a serious burden on quality of life for many postmenopausal women.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) in the form of estrogen-based patches or cream or progesterone-based capsules or creams is effective at treating hot flashes. However, some women are not good candidates for BHRT because of chronic health issues, sensitivity to medications, or– increasingly– chemotherapy for breast cancer that contraindicates BHRT.
Botanical medicines such as black cohosh or red clover can relieve hot flashes. Plant-based isoflavone extracts from soybeans may also relieve hot flashes, but some women still suffer from hot flashes which affect their quality of life.
In the ongoing search for effective treatment, one study examined the role of a plant-based diet plus soybeans as treatment for hot flashes. The study, known as the WAVS trial (the Women’s Study for the Alleviation of Vasomotor Symptoms), showed that changes in diet can be much more powerful for treating hot flashes than scientists had expected.
Instead of hormone-based medications, the research team tested a combination of a low-fat, plant-based diet plus half a cup of ordinary soybeans added to a salad or soup each day.
In the WAVS study, postmenopausal women reporting two or more hot flashes per day were assigned randomly to either an intervention group consisting of a low-fat, vegan diet including half a cup of cooked soybeans daily, or to a control group that made no dietary changes for 12 weeks. The data collected included vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual symptoms.
The study findings showed that, in the intervention group, total hot flashes decreased by 79%, and moderate-to-severe hot flashes decreased by 84%. At the study’s conclusion, 59% of the intervention-group participants reported freedom from moderate and severe hot flashes, while there was no change in this variable in the control group. Many study participants in the intervention group also reported improvements in sexual symptoms, mood, and overall energy.
In other randomized trials, soy products were also shown to reduce the frequency of hot flashes modestly.
The researchers in these studies theorize that the effect may be a result of the isoflavone content in soy products, which can be metabolized by gut bacteria into equol—a nonsteroidal compound that has been shown in some studies to reduce the incidence and severity of hot flashes. Prior studies had also shown that those following vegetarian or vegan diets produce higher levels of equol. The WAVS study showed a more robust response from using the combination of a plant-based diet plus soy.
In conclusion, a plant-based diet with soybeans can offer postmenopausal patients relief from hot flashes.
July 2026
Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Many patients visit me at Whole Family Wellness in Hardwick and Burlington Vermont for help with managing the symptoms of autoimmune disease. The most common autoimmune disease that I treat is Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (HT), the unpleasant effects of which include fatigue, weight gain, “brain fog,” and hair loss.
What causes these symptoms? When the immune system attacks the thyroid gland, its weapon is a thyroid-degrading enzyme known as TPO (thyroid peroxidase). TPO gradually inflames and destroys the thyroid gland, and the symptoms of HT emerge as the thyroid loses its capacity to produce crucial hormones that regulate body metabolism.
The standard allopathic treatment of HT uses levothyroxine (synthetic T4), which treats only the symptoms; not the root cause. While some patients feel a slight increase in energy after taking levothyroxine, the active thyroid hormone T3 is absent in this medication, though in some cases liothyronine (synthetic T3) is added to a patient’s treatment plan.
Unfortunately, treatment of HT is complex and involves a whole system approach. The essence of naturopathic medicine is to look beyond symptoms to address the root cause, and always with care to protect and support the body’s natural healing potential.
My treatment of choice in HT is low-dose naltrexone (LDN). Some people may know naltrexone as an FDA-approved treatment for opioid addiction, but the prescription of LDN in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is much different. The micro-dosages that I typically prescribe for use in HT can be as little as 1/2000 of the dosage used in opioid addition. This micro-dose of LDN is typically prepared in a tablet or capsule form by a local compounding pharmacy and is relatively inexpensive and available.
In addition to lowering the risk of thyroid damage that synthetic hormones pose, LDN addresses thyroid inflammation itself. Reportedly, LDN modulates the immune system by increasing the body’s production of endorphins, while also inhibiting production of cells that cause autoimmunity.
However, research on LDN is sparse, and there have been no specific studies or clinical trials on its use in HT. At the same time, there is considerable clinical evidence that LDN can reduce harmful, high levels of TPO and improve other markers of thyroid function.
In my clinical experience, patients feel improved energy, improvement of brain fog, and reduced hair loss after a six-month course of LDN. But LDN is not a panacea for autoimmune disease– I consider it one element of an integrated treatment including whole foods, nutrition, a healthy lifestyle, and botanical medicine or homeopathy. Like any other drug, it is also not risk-free: Reported side effects include nausea, headache, mood changes, and liver toxicity. Liver enzymes must be monitored carefully through bloodwork during use.
HT and other autoimmune diseases are complex, and allopathic medicine does not have much to offer patients. In contrast, Dr. Thauna Abrin at Whole Family Wellness in Hardwick, Vermont and Burlington, Vermont is skilled in naturopathic medicine, which encourages the body’s natural healing capacity. In Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, LDN is one tool used to dampen thyroid inflammation and can yield positive clinical results.
June 2026
The Bioidentical Bonus
For women experiencing menopausal symptoms such as insomnia, bioidentical hormones offer a natural alternative to synthetic hormone replacement therapy– one that can be as effective and potentially safer.
Unlike synthetic hormones, bioidentical hormones are just their name implies — chemically identical to those the body produces naturally. In my experience, they offer a better balance of estrogen and progesterone levels and better reduction of night sweats, hot flashes, and other symptoms that interfere with sleep.
Restful sleep is the keystone to maintaining overall health and well-being during menopause. When you sleep well, your body is more resilient against other menopausal symptoms such as mood swings, vaginal dryness, and memory loss.
As natural compounds, bioidentical hormones may also be the safer alternative. Synthetic hormones are usually given in an oral form, and this method of delivery has been linked with blood clots in women. In contrast, the bioidentical hormones that I prescribe are transdermal forms such as patches and creams that are not associated with cardiovascular risks in women; in fact, these forms have been shown to offer cardiovascular protection.
The transdermal forms of delivery also allow an individualized approach to treatment, which enhances their effectiveness. Menopausal symptoms may be common, but each woman’s health needs are unique, and that is the principle at the heart of my practice.
As a menopause expert serving women in the northern Vermont towns including Hardwick, Morrisville, Stowe, Jericho, and Burlington, Dr. Abrin is dedicated to improving the lives of peri- and post-menopausal women.