Soy Supplements Do Not Improve Women’s Cognitive Abilities, Except Maybe Visual Memory

A 2.5-year study of middle-age and older postmenopausal women found that soy supplements had no significant impact on overall mental abilities. The study’s lead author said there were no large effects, either positive or negative, on cognition. Soy and soy-based products contain estrogen-like compounds  called isoflavones; some women take soy supplements as an alternative to estrogen s a postmenopausal therapy. The researchers did note that women in the study who took soy supplements showed a greater improvement in visual memory (memory for faces). This could be important, they noted, but "the finding needs to be replicated in future studies."