Evidence suggests that women in Japan and Asia, who have diets rich in phytoestrogens appear to have much lower incidences of "Western diseases", such as heart disease, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer. Interest in phytoestrogens has developed because of this evidence. Women in these countries do not appear to suffer from menopausal symptoms like hot flushes and night sweats, as much as women do in the Western world.
 
Phytoestrogens are a group of compounds produced naturally in a number of edible plants. They have the ability to mimic or modulate the actions of human oestrogen, usually by binding to oestrogen receptors. The reason they can do this is that their chemical structures are very similar to that of human oestrogen.
 
Most research focuses on Isoflavones which are a type of phytoestrogen. Studies have shown that by mimicking human oestrogen at certain sites in the body, isoflavones can provide a range of health benefits, in particular, the alleviation of menopausal symptoms, contributing to bone health in post-menopausal women and in controlling blood cholesterol.
Isoflavones are found most abundantly in soya beans and soya products such as soya milk, tofu (soya bean curd), and soya flour and can also be found in extracts of certain herbs like Red Clover.

Isoflavones can be taken either by increasing dietary intake or from supplements. To rely on dietary intake alone would involve eating large amounts of legumes, such as peas and beans.  A wide range of isoflavone supplements are now available, mainly as chemically extracted isoflavones, in capsule form. However, research has shown that if the isoflavones are extracted, they do not demonstrate many positive health effects. It is believed that the effectiveness of extracted isoflavones is damaged by the extraction process, which separates the isoflavones from other bioactive components.

Given this, formulations where the isoflavones are not extracted are far more effective in benefiting health, especially during and after the menopause – formulations such as Nutri5^®.