Women need estrogen, but it's a fact that the hormone diminishes with age and that most women from their forties on won't produce enough to prevent or minimize the short-term symptoms of menopause -- hot flashes, night sweats, unclear thinking -- or to help safeguard their hearts and bones in the long term. There are 40 million menopausal women in America who face the frightening reality that traditional hormone replacement therapy, which restores estrogen through pills, often causes distressing symptoms and appears to require long use in order to secure long-term benefits. But with long-term use seems to come the increased risk of breast cancer.

The exciting news Nina Shandler discovered is that estrogen occurs naturally in certain foods, primarily soy and flaxseed, which can be used as ingredients in every kind of recipe imaginable, from breakfast bars to soups, main courses, and desserts.

Estrogen: The Natural Way shows how you can do a gentle yet effective version of hormone replacement therapy using the kitchen instead of the drugstore.