Changes in gut microbiome associated with a low-fat, vegan diet and cooked soybeans may reduce the frequency and severity of postmenopausal hot flashes.
Randomised Controlled Trial Gut Microbiota
In this study, 84 postmenopausal women experiencing two or more moderate-to-severe hot flashes daily were randomly assigned to a low-fat, vegan diet with daily cooked soybeans or allowed to maintain their usual diet. Over a 12-week period, the frequency and severity of hot flashes were tracked using a mobile application. In 11 women from the group, gut microbiome was analyzed at the start and after 12 weeks of the dietary intervention, using deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing.
The women who underwent gut microbiome testing experienced a substantial decrease in total hot flashes during the dietary intervention, and severe hot flashes disappeared entirely in this group. Alpha and beta diversity within the microbiome showed no significant difference in the intervention group between baseline and the end of the 12 weeks. Interestingly, adjustments in the relative abundance of certain bacterial strains, notably Porphyromonas and Prevotella corporis, were linked with the reduction in severe day hot flashes, while changes in the relative abundance of Clostridium asparagiforme were associated with a reduction in total severe hot flashes and severe night hot flashes.
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