Can What You Eat Cool Hot Flashes? What the WAVS Trial Found

Hot flashes are usually treated as something to be medicated or simply endured. A trial Dr. Kahleová helped lead suggests food may be a far more powerful lever than previously assumed.

The WAVS trial

The Women's Study for the Alleviation of Vasomotor Symptoms (WAVS), published in the journal Menopause, enrolled 84 postmenopausal women who each reported two or more moderate-to-severe hot flashes a day. They were randomly assigned either to continue their usual diet or to follow a low-fat vegan diet that included about half a cup of cooked soybeans daily, for twelve weeks.

The result

In the diet group, moderate-to-severe hot flashes fell by 84% - from nearly five a day to fewer than one. By the end of the study, close to 60% of the women had no moderate-to-severe hot flashes at all. Body weight fell as well.

Why soy and plants

Soybeans are rich in isoflavones, plant compounds that can gently mimic some effects of oestrogen. On their own their track record is mixed - but combined with an overall low-fat, plant-based pattern, the effect in this trial was striking. Notably, even plant foods often dismissed as "ultra-processed," such as soy milk and meat alternatives, were part of a diet that delivered these benefits.

A measured note

This was a twelve-week study in a specific group of women, and diet is not a universal substitute for medical treatment of menopause. But for a symptom that millions manage with limited options, the size of the effect is hard to ignore - and the intervention is a plate of food.

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Educational content, not medical advice. Individual results vary. Discuss menopause symptoms and any major dietary change with your healthcare professional.

Study: Processed foods in the context of a vegan diet - Menopause (2025) · Physicians Committee summary