Equelle Ingredients
Calcium – 120 MG - Calcium is a mineral that is found in most dairy products, and it is famous for its ability to boost the health of the bones, joints and heart. This will stop your bone density from deteriorating or your bones and joints from getting damaged, which are both common symptoms during the menopause.
Calcium can then also help to balance your hormone levels, which will prevent or reduce many of the symptoms of the menopause, while making it far easier for you to fall asleep, enter REM sleep, and then wake up feeling totally fresh, all of which is greatly beneficial for menopausal women (1).
With at least 100 mg of calcium being required each day to produce these effects, the 120 mg used in each serving of Equelle actually falls right within the optimal range for menopausal women to take, so the formula starts off looking very strong.
S-Equol – 5 MG - S-equol is an isoflavonoid chemical found in soya beans that is considered to be a non-steroidal alternative to oestrogen, as the two compounds share many of the same structures and functions. There are claims that it can help women going through the menopause return their oestrogen levels back to normal and restore a healthy hormonal balance, with some studies specifically claiming that they can help relieve certain menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, as well (2).
The issue is, while the early results admittedly look promising with regards to the ability of s-equol to combat hot flashes, all of the studies into the chemical are still in the very early stages. This means there is no guarantee that its presence in Equelle will do anything to help menopausal women at all.
Even if the results do turn out to be true though, the fact that Equelle contains just half the dosage of s-equol that studies suggest would be required for it to produce these effects mean it is almost assured that it will add no benefits to the pills whatsoever.
Other Ingredients
Beyond its two key active ingredients, Equelle capsules also contain a number of “other ingredients”. This includes dicalcium phosphate, fermented soy germ, silicon dioxide, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, and a coating of hypromellose, glycerine and hydroxypropyl cellulose.
Dicalcium phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate and silicon dioxide will not do anything to improve the efficacy of the product, although could cause side effects in some people, and are only used to boost the texture, durability and stability of the pills.
Likewise, the three ingredients found in the coating will do nothing other than make it easier and more enjoyable to take, although they could again cause some side effects, especially glycerine.
Fermented soy germ is merely a byproduct that is produced when s-equol is being extracted from soya beans, so its presence in the pills will do absolutely nothing other than take up space.
Equelle Pros & Cons
Pros
- Dairy, gluten and hormone free and causes no RX interactions
- Reasonably priced and vegan friendly
- Contains a dose of calcium that is proven to be of use to menopausal women
Cons
- The main active ingredient has not been conclusively proven to work and is present in a dosage far too low for it to produce results even if it turns out it could
- Not suitable for women who are allergic to soy
- Contains a lengthy list of other ingredients which could cause side effects
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3866235/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25692726/
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
- Opens in a new window.