Red Clover for Hot Flash Reduction
Red clover isoflavones produce small-to-modest hot flash reductions, best in women with five or more daily flashes.
Overview
Verdict
How It Works
Dosing & Protocol
Typical dose
- Recommended dose
- 40–80 mg/day isoflavones standardized extract.
- Expected timeframe
- 12 weeks
Protocol
- form
- Standardised extract providing isoflavones - biochanin A, formononetin, genistein and daidzein. Promensil, standardised to 40 mg isoflavones per tablet, was used in most trials
- duration
- 12 weeks minimum before judging - hot flush trials show high placebo response early
- co factor
- Take with food. Evidence is mixed. A Cochrane review of phytoestrogens for menopausal symptoms found red clover isoflavones produced no consistent reduction in hot flush frequency compared with placebo, though some individual trials and a later meta-analysis suggested modest reductions of roughly one to two flushes per day at 80 mg/day. Placebo response in hot flush trials is unusually high - often 30-50% - which makes small effects difficult to detect and easy to overstate. Mechanism is weak oestrogen receptor binding, with preference for ER-beta.
- titration
- Increase to 80 mg/day if no response after 8 weeks; most trials used 40-80 mg/day
- starting dose
- 40 mg/day of standardised red clover isoflavones with food
Evidence
What the studies say
Evaluation of Clinical Meaningfulness of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L.) Extract to Relieve Hot Flushes and Menopausal Symptoms in Peri- and Post-Menopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Kanadys W, Baranska A, Blaszczuk A +4 more
Red clover isoflavones significantly reduced daily hot flush frequency versus placebo, with a modest effect size.
Safety and Efficacy of Black Cohosh and Red Clover for the Management of Vasomotor Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Geller SE, Shulman LP, van Breemen RB +10 more
Neither red clover nor black cohosh reduced vasomotor symptoms significantly more than placebo over 12 months.
Phytoestrogens for menopausal vasomotor symptoms
Lethaby A, Marjoribanks J, Kronenberg F +3 more
Pooled trials of red clover extracts showed no consistent reduction in hot flush frequency compared with placebo.
Safety
Caveats
Estrogen-sensitive conditions: discuss with a clinician. May interact with tamoxifen. Allow a full 12-week trial.
Less likely to help if
Medical Disclaimer
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Individual results may vary. The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.