[AbiDrew85]

Hm, interesting. Thanks for the adivce, AbiDrew! I've been using spearmint myself. Seems to help my skin, not too sure about the effects on NBE as its too soon to tell.

I came across this site because I am weighing the pros and cons of taking concentrated isoflavones vs. taking whole red clover and dietary soy. So I was also really intrigued by this section regarding the use of isoflavones to treat menopausal symptoms:

"What can one make of this mixed evidence? The problem here is that placebo treatment has a strong effect on menopausal symptoms. In such circumstances, statistical noise can easily drown out the real benefits of a treatment under study. Estrogen is so powerful for hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms that its benefits are almost always clear in studies; most likely, soy or concentrated isoflavones have a more modest effect, not always seen above the background."

That cleared a lot of things up for me.

Honestly even concentrated, isoflavones really aren't all that powerful. Hops and pueraria mirifica are the only real exceptions when it comes to strong phytoesterols. PM being strongest, but hops is notable because it's also anti-t and pro-aromatase with some of the other constituents.

Good luck with whatever you're after!