Research
Hormonal
Equol supplementation prevents bone mineral density loss and reduces bone resorption in postmenopausal women.
Postmenopausal women may benefit from 10mg/day of equol to help maintain bone density and reduce bone loss. This is particularly relevant for those at risk of osteoporosis.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
In humans, the treatment of postmenopausal women with 10 mg/day of equol for one year prevented a reduction in bone mineral density in the entire body [143]. This work further showed that equol supplementation markedly inhibited bone resorption, as demonstrated by reduced urinary deoxypyridinoline excretion concentrations.
Why this rating
Based on a specific human trial and meta-analyses of soy isoflavones; results are positive but the field is mixed.
Source
Equol: A Bacterial Metabolite from The Daidzein Isoflavone and Its Presumed Beneficial Health Effects
Baltasar Mayo et al. · Nutrients · 2019
DOI 10.3390/nu11092231
narrative_reviewCited 400×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Equol is produced by only 25-50% of humans via gut bacteria, and this 'equol producer' status determines whether dietary soy provides significant health benefits.Good
- Supplementation with S(-)-equol (10-30 mg/day) reduces the severity and frequency of menopausal vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) in both equol-producing and non-producing women.Moderate
- Equol supplementation improves arterial stiffness and may lower LDL cholesterol in overweight individuals, suggesting cardiovascular benefits.Moderate
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