Miscellaneous

Clinical studies have not indicated that S-equol causes weight gain.

No major side effects have been reported. There have been occasional reports of gas and bloating.

• No known thyroid hormone concerns have been seen in human or animal studies to date.
• In Japanese human clinical studies, all hormones have been reported within normal limits.

The only way to know for sure is through a special test under controlled conditions. The test requires an individual to drink a quart of soy milk a day for three days and on the fourth day urine is tested for the presence of equol. However, this test is usually conducted only by special researchers in this field of study and is not normally available from your physician. Antibiotic therapy can destroy the equol-producing bacteria that are found in the intestine.

The safety of S-equol was confirmed by standard animal testing, including a study documenting that S-equol itself, as well as the supplement containing S-equol, did not increase or stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells.

Mood improvements were seen in peri- and post-menopausal Japanese women given a 30 milligram amount per day for 12 weeks. In addition, irritability was reduced by 10 mg/day of S-equol (P=0.076)

One study of 12 weeks of use of the supplement containing S-equol in those individuals with metabolic syndrome or elevated hemoglobin A1c significantly lowered hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), LDL cholesterol (p‹0.01) and improved vascular stiffness(p‹0.01), all factors that occur as part of metabolic syndrome. The average change in glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), which reflects the average amount of the sugar glucose in a person's blood over three months, decreased significantly by -0.2 percent in the S-equol group vs. an increase of +0.1 percent in the placebo group, (p‹0.05).¹⁹

S-equol administered as part of the daily diet in clinical studies in Japanese women and men indicate that blood panel measures were all within normal limits.