Surprising
A 12-week vegan diet plus soy dropped body weight by 3.4 kg more than controls – but the study's main target (severe hot flashes) didn't budge, making the weight loss an unexpected side finding.
This is one of the first trials to link isoflavone intake — particularly daidzein — to weight loss in postmenopausal women, but the effect comes from a secondary analysis of a study designed to test hot flash relief (which failed), so treat the weight result as hypothesis-generating, not proof.
In this 12-week trial, 84 postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to a low-fat vegan diet with soy or to a control diet. The vegan group lost about 3.6 kg (nearly 8 lb) on average, while the control group lost 0.2 kg — a solid difference. But the study was originally designed to see if the diet reduced severe hot flashes, and that outcome showed no significant effect, so the weight loss finding emerged from a secondary analysis and should be interpreted with caution.
Where this fits in the evidence
This is among the first studies we've indexed on Pueraria for Reduced Body Weight — treat it as an early signal until more research accumulates.
The study
- Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)
- n = 84
- 2025-07-05
- Maturitas
This is a plain-language summary of a research finding, not medical advice. Pillser surfaces research signals to help you decide what's worth investigating — always consult a qualified professional before changing what you take.