SubEx
Equol (S-equol)·Balance hormones·finding 02 of 4
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★☆☆Contested — the evidence disagrees with itself, or the finding carries a caution. A caution or conflict always shows one star, however strong the sources are.

Other · not established · contested

Nobody has tested whether making equol changes what soy does

The trial usually cited gave equol directly to women who could not make it. The producer-split study measured who could convert, not who responded.

What the study found

Nobody compared producers and non-producers eating the same soy

The story runs that soy works only if your gut can turn it into equol. The trial usually cited gave equol directly to women who could not make it, and the producer-split study measured who could convert, not who responded. Neither tests whether producing equol changes what soy does.

The caveat · Only these two studies were checked

This states what these two studies were built to measure, not that no such comparison exists anywhere in the wider literature. Both are small: 160 women in the trial, and 41 in the producer-status study, of whom 12 were non-vegetarians.

What we don't know

This states what these two studies were built to measure, not that no such comparison exists anywhere in the wider literature. Both are small: 160 women in the trial, and 41 in the producer-status study, of whom 12 were non-vegetarians.