Plant Estrogen

The current understanding regarding plant estrogen is that it may work by interfering with the body's own estrogen, preventing it from being out of balance. If the body has too much estrogen, the plant estrogen may prevent the body from utilizing it (thereby preventing estrogen-related cancers); if the body has too little estrogen, it might make the body think it has more, reducing some of menopausal side effects.

But what about estrogen creams? There is no research showing that plant estrogens provide any benefit when topically applied to skin. But even if there were benefits, how much do you need to rub on your skin to obtain them? More to the point, because the cosmetics and natural-supplement industries are not regulated, there is no way to really know what and how much you are putting on your skin. Until there is, leaving your health up to guesswork and marketing schemes is not a wise direction to choose.

Paula Begoun