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Prague (dpa) - Women struggling with the discomforts of menopause may soon find relief in a cold glass of beer.
Experts in the Czech Republic are working on a beer specifically brewed for women experiencing hot flashes, troubling sleeping and other woes during this phase.
The low-calorie, low-alcohol beer being developed by the Prague- based Research Institute of Brewing and Malting contains heightened levels of phytoestrogen, a plant form of the hormone estrogen often lacking in menopausal women, said the institute's director Karel Kosar.
Phytoestrogen is found in the hops and barley malt used in many types of beer. Kosar said breweries could produce the special beer by increasing the levels of these ingredients.
A gynaecologist working with the institute reported good results from clinically tests with the beer on 20 women. The volunteers who drank three decilitres nightly for two months reported fewer menopausal symptoms.
The gynaecologist, Dr Milan Anton of Masaryk University in Brno, plans to expand the research.
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
