What Are the Benefits of Red Clover & Soy?

Red clover is a wild plant with bright red or pink flowers, while soy is a product derived from soy beans. Both red clover and soy are commonly used in herbal medicine due to the isoflavone chemicals found in both substances.

Function

• In your body, the isoflavones in soy and red clover are converted to a chemical that is similar--yet not identical--to estrogen, reports the Rx List Website.

Benefits

• The isoflavones in red clover and soy provide an estrogen substitute for people who are suffering from estrogen deficiencies or require extra estrogen due to a health condition. Isoflavones also remove the build up of cholesterol or fatty deposits in your blood vessels.

Uses

• Because of the benefits of isolfavones, red clover and soy are both used to treat symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and prevent osteoporosis in post-menopausal women. The cholesterol-lowering properties of them make the supplements beneficial for people diagnosed with heart disease, while the estrogen-like effects of isoflavones help slow the growth of some types of prostate cancer, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Controversy

• There is a great deal of debate surrounding the use of soy and other products that contain isoflavones in women who have estrogen-dependent tumors like breast or ovarian cancers. Some doctors believe that isoflavones increase the risk for a return of estrogen-dependent cancers, while others site evidence that suggests the isoflavones bind to the receptors that cancer cells require to divide and actually prevent or delay the return of cancer.

Considerations

• Before using a supplement product with soy or red clover if you have a history of endometrial, ovarian or breast cancer, talk to your doctor to see if it is safe for you to use these products. If you are pregnant or nursing, suffer from protein-S deficiency or have a history of kidney disease, it may not be safe for you to use red clover or soy.