This article looks at what has been tested on diet and menopause symptoms. It covers what the NHS advises, what diet trials found for hot flushes, what is known about soy, and what the research on dates does and does not show.
What the NHS says about diet and menopause
The NHS page on things you can do for menopause and perimenopause symptoms says that eating well, exercising and looking after your mental wellbeing can help with symptoms. Its diet advice is short. It says to try to eat a healthy, balanced diet, and to eat calcium-rich food like milk, yoghurt and kale, if you can, to keep your bones healthy.
For hot flushes and night sweats, the same page suggests avoiding or reducing potential triggers, such as spicy food, caffeine, hot drinks, smoking and alcohol. It also suggests regular exercise and keeping to a healthy weight. To protect against weak bones, it advises a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruit, vegetables and sources of calcium, along with strength exercise, some sunlight on your skin and vitamin D supplements.
The NHS symptoms page says menopause symptoms usually last for 7 to 9 years, sometimes longer, and that weight gain during perimenopause and menopause is common.
A large trial of lower fat and more fruit and vegetables
The Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification trial tested a diet designed to reduce fat and increase fruit, vegetables and whole grains. An analysis by Kroenke and colleagues (2012) looked at hot flashes and night sweats in 17,473 postmenopausal US women aged 50 to 79 who were not taking hormone therapy.
Among women who had symptoms at the start, being in the diet group was linked to a higher chance of the symptoms going away (odds ratio 1.14). Weight loss mattered as well. Women who lost 10% or more of their body weight in the first year were more likely to lose their symptoms than women whose weight stayed the same (odds ratio 1.56). For moderate or severe symptoms, large weight loss of more than 22 lb was related to symptoms ending, but the dietary changes were not. The authors concluded that weight loss as part of a healthy dietary modification "may help" eliminate these symptoms.
Two trials of a vegan diet with soybeans
Barnard and colleagues at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine ran two randomised trials. Both compared a low-fat vegan diet that included half a cup (86 g) of cooked soybeans a day with a control group that made no diet changes, for 12 weeks.
In the first trial (2021), 38 postmenopausal women with two or more hot flashes a day took part. Total hot flashes fell by 79% in the diet group and by 49% in the control group. Moderate to severe hot flashes fell by 84% and 42%.
The second trial (2023) enrolled 84 postmenopausal women with at least two moderate to severe hot flashes a day. These fell by 88% in the diet group and by 34% in the control group. At 12 weeks, 50% of those who completed the diet arm reported no moderate to severe hot flashes at all.
Each trial tested the vegan diet and the soybeans together, against a group that changed nothing, so the results apply to that combination.
Diet patterns in a long-running Australian study
A prospective cohort study by Herber-Gast and Mishra (2013) followed 6,040 Australian women with a natural menopause for 9 years. Women in the top fifth for a fruit pattern or a Mediterranean-style pattern were less likely to report hot flushes and night sweats than women in the bottom fifth (odds ratios 0.81 and 0.80). A high-fat and high-sugar pattern went the other way (odds ratio 1.23). This is an observational study, so it shows a link and not cause and effect.
Soy isoflavone supplements
Soy has also been tested as extracted or synthesised isoflavone supplements. A 2012 meta-analysis by Taku and colleagues pooled double-blind randomised trials of extracted or synthesised soy isoflavones against placebo. Taking a median of 54 mg a day for 6 weeks to 12 months cut hot flash frequency by 20.6% and severity by 26.2% compared with placebo.
A 2016 review in JAMA by Franco and colleagues covered 62 studies of plant-based therapies with 6,653 women. Phytoestrogens were linked to a fall of 1.31 in the number of daily hot flashes and to lower vaginal dryness scores, but not to fewer night sweats. The authors noted that 46 of the trials (74%) had a high risk of bias in 3 or more areas. They called the reductions "modest" and said more rigorous studies are needed.
The NHS advises talking to a doctor before taking herbal supplements or complementary medicines.
What the research says about dates and menopause
A 2025 systematic review by Shirdel and colleagues gathered 21 studies of date fruit products and women's health. According to its full text, three of these studies were about menopause, and only one of the three used the fruit itself.
In that study, from Indonesia (Kurniawan, 2023), 44 perimenopausal women aged 42 to 48 ate seven Ajwa dates (60 to 80 g) a day for 8 weeks or had no intervention. The outcome was anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), which the review treats as a marker of ovarian reserve. The date group had a smaller fall in AMH.
The other two studies gave capsules of date palm pollen extract, not dates. In a trial by Loripoor and colleagues, 110 postmenopausal women took 300 mg capsules or a placebo for 4 weeks, and the authors found the extract "had no effect on improving sexual disorders". The review lists a second trial of 60 women over 5 weeks as showing a significant effect on vaginal lubrication and pain during sex.
None of the three studies measured hot flushes, night sweats or sleep. The review's abstract says date products helped with dyspareunia in menopause, but in its table that result comes from the pollen capsule trial, not from eating dates.
Where dates fit in a menopause diet
The NHS 5 A Day guide counts a 30g portion of dried fruit, such as dates, as 1 of your 5 A Day. It says dried fruit should be eaten at mealtimes, not as a snack between meals, to reduce the impact on teeth.
Dates are high in sugar. The USDA FoodData Central record 168191 for Medjool dates lists 66.5 g of total sugars and 64 mg of calcium per 100 g. The NHS calcium page says adults need 700mg of calcium a day, so 100 g of Medjool dates gives under a tenth of that. The calcium foods the NHS names include milk, cheese and other dairy foods, green leafy vegetables such as curly kale, soya drinks with added calcium, and fish where you eat the bones.
Piarom dates come from Iran (Hormozgan). They are dark and semi-dry, with a thin skin. For more about dates, see Supplier Kurma Green diamond and Pemborong kurma.
When to see a GP
The NHS symptoms page says to contact your GP if you think you have symptoms of menopause or perimenopause and want to know what your options are, or if you have symptoms like a fast heartbeat. Also contact your GP if you have not had a period for 12 months or more and you have any vaginal bleeding.
For questions or orders, see About Kurma Piarom or message us through the contact page.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk to a GP or pharmacist about menopause symptoms and before taking any supplement.
References
- NHS. Things you can do to help menopause and perimenopause symptoms. nhs.uk
- NHS. Symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. nhs.uk
- Kroenke CH, Caan BJ, Stefanick ML, et al. Effects of a dietary intervention and weight change on vasomotor symptoms in the Women's Health Initiative. Menopause. 2012;19(9):980-8. PMID 22781782
- Barnard ND, Kahleova H, Holtz DN, et al. The Women's Study for the Alleviation of Vasomotor Symptoms (WAVS): a randomized, controlled trial of a plant-based diet and whole soybeans for postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2021;28(10):1150-1156. PMID 34260478
- Barnard ND, Kahleova H, Holtz DN, et al. A dietary intervention for vasomotor symptoms of menopause: a randomized, controlled trial. Menopause. 2023;30(1):80-87. PMID 36253903
- Herber-Gast GC, Mishra GD. Fruit, Mediterranean-style, and high-fat and -sugar diets are associated with the risk of night sweats and hot flushes in midlife: results from a prospective cohort study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;97(5):1092-9. PMID 23553160
- Taku K, Melby MK, Kronenberg F, Kurzer MS, Messina M. Extracted or synthesized soybean isoflavones reduce menopausal hot flash frequency and severity: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Menopause. 2012;19(7):776-90. PMID 22433977
- Franco OH, Chowdhury R, Troup J, et al. Use of plant-based therapies and menopausal symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2016;315(23):2554-63. PMID 27327802
- Shirdel E, Rahimi F, Jafarzadeh M, Abdi F, Rahnemaei FA. Improving female health at various life stages: a systematic review of the impact of date fruit products. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2025;25(1):38-49. PMID 40641695
- Loripoor M, Esmaeili F, Vazirinejad R, Dan S. The effect of palm pollen extract on sexual disorders in postmenopausal women: a randomized clinical trial. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. 2023;11(1):14-22. PMID 36650842
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, SR Legacy 168191: Dates, medjool. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- NHS. 5 A Day: what counts? nhs.uk
- NHS. Calcium. nhs.uk