How to Stop Hot Flashes: The Ultimate Guide to Relief

Are hot flashes turning your life into a scorching nightmare, keeping you up at night and ruining your day? You're not alone. Around 75% of North American women experience Hot flashes during perimenopause [1]. The sudden waves of intense heat can be incredibly uncomfortable, disruptive, and, at times, embarrassing. If you're looking for effective ways to cool the flames and find relief, you've come to the right place.

Jump to:

• Understanding Vasomotor symptoms: Hot Flashes and Night Sweats
• The typical age for menopause-related hot flashes
• What Causes Hot Flashes?
• Hot Flash Control: Your Action Plan for Diet & Lifestyle Changes
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• Related

Understanding Vasomotor symptoms: Hot Flashes and Night Sweats

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) are sudden changes in how your blood vessels constrict and widen, often leading to hot flashes, night sweats, and flushing. These symptoms are primarily associated with hormonal fluctuations like those experienced during menopause.

Hot flashes, also known as hot flushes, entail a sudden sensation of intense heat and are a defining symptom of menopause. While the exact cause remains unclear, experts believe hot flashes stem from changes in the hypothalamus, the brain's temperature control center. When the hypothalamus mistakenly senses overheating, it triggers a cooling response – dilating blood vessels near the skin's surface (causing flushing) and increasing perspiration. This might also lead to a faster heartbeat and chills. Hot flashes vary in intensity and frequency, ranging from mild to debilitating.

Hot flashes vs night sweats

While both hot flashes and night sweats involve the sensation of heat and sweating, the primary difference lies in timing. Night sweats are a type of hot flash that happens exclusively while you sleep.

The typical age for menopause-related hot flashes

Perimenopause, the period leading to menopause, begins around 10 years before the actual menopause happens. It begins in the mid-40s but can start earlier as well. The average transition period from perimenopause to menopause is four years, but it varies from person to person. For some women, perimenopause could be as short as a few months or longer than the average four years.

What Causes Hot Flashes?

While the primary cause of hot flashes is hormonal changes associated with menopause, there are several other factors that can contribute to their occurrence. Understanding these triggers can help you identify and manage your hot flashes more effectively.

1. Hormonal changes: A decline in estrogen levels during menopause is understood to be the primary cause of hot flashes. Estrogen is crucial in regulating body temperature, so any fluctuations in estrogen levels can lead to hot flashes.
2. Stress and anxiety: Stress and anxiety can trigger hot flashes through a complex interaction with your body's "fight-or-flight" response.
   • The Fight-or-Flight Response: When you feel stressed or anxious, your body activates its sympathetic nervous system. This system releases a cascade of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, preparing you for perceived danger.
   • Changes in Body Temperature: These stress hormones can increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. Your brain may misinterpret this internal heat rise as a sign you're overheating.
   • Triggering a Hot Flash: To counteract that perceived overheating, your brain signals the hot flash response: blood vessels dilate near the skin (leading to a flushed appearance), you begin to sweat, and your heart rate may further increase.
   • Anxiety Loop: The sudden physical sensations from a hot flash can cause additional anxiety, potentially fueling a cycle and making it harder to calm down.
   • Being "hangry" (hungry + angry) can trigger a hot flash because low blood sugar impacts your body's stress response and hormonal balance.
3. Foods that make hot flashes worse: Though individual responses vary, foods and beverages that may raise your body temperature can potentially trigger hot flashes.
   • Foods with processed sugar: Processed sugar causes rapid blood sugar spikes and crashes. These fluctuations can disrupt the body's temperature regulation, especially in those already prone to hot flashes. The sudden drop in blood sugar after a spike may be mistakenly interpreted as a signal to cool the body down, triggering a hot flash.
   • White grains: The more processed a grain is, the higher its potential to spike blood sugar. White rice, for example, works almost exactly like processed sugar.
   • Caffeine: Caffeine acts as a stimulant, increasing heart rate and potentially raising internal body temperature. Your body may misinterpret this heat rise as a sig you're overheating, triggering a hot flash response. Surprisingly, even seemingly harmless treats like dark chocolate or coffee can sometimes trigger a hot flash due to high caffeine content. Caffeine can also worsen existing hot flash sensitivity, especially during hormonal shifts like menopause.
   • Hot beverages: Hot beverages raise your internal body temperature. Your body, especially the temperature-regulating hypothalamus, may misinterpret this as overheating. This can trigger the hot flash response as your body tries to cool itself down, leading to flushing, sweating, and potentially chills.
   • Alcohol: While any alcohol can potentially worsen hot flashes, red wine is often considered a major culprit. Red wine contains substances like tannins and sulfites that can dilate blood vessels, further increasing the flushing and heat sensation during a hot flash. Here is a breakdown on how alcohol can
     • Blood Vessel Dilation: Alcohol causes your blood vessels to widen (dilate), leading to increased blood flow near the surface of your skin. This can intensify the feeling of heat and flushing during a hot flash.
     • Confusing Your Temperature Regulation: Alcohol interferes with your brain's ability to regulate body temperature. Your brain may mistake the internal heat rise from alcohol as a sign of overheating, triggering a hot flash to try and cool you down.
     • Disrupted Sleep: Alcohol can negatively impact sleep quality. Poor sleep patterns are known to make hot flashes worse.
     • Hormonal Imbalance: Alcohol can disrupt the balance of estrogen and other hormones, potentially contributing to hot flashes, especially for women experiencing perimenopause or menopause.
   • Spicy foods: Spicy foods trigger hot flashes for a couple of reasons:
     • Capsaicin Trickery: Capsaicin is mainly found in hot peppers like cayenne or jalapeno. It is the compound that gives spicy foods heat and binds to receptors in your mouth and body that detect warmth. This sends a signal to your brain that you're overheating.
     • The Body's Cooling Response: Your brain initiates a hot flash response to cool you down, causing flushing, sweating, and potentially a faster heartbeat
     • Worsened Sensitivity: If you are already prone to hot flashes, mainly due to menopause, spicy foods can further exacerbate the likelihood and intensity.
4. Smoking: Smoking has been linked to increased hot flashes in some studies. Quitting smoking can not only improve your overall health but also help reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes.
5. Environmental factors: Hot weather, a hot room, or excessive layering of clothing can all contribute to the occurrence of hot flashes. It's important to maintain a comfortable temperature and dress in layers so you can easily adjust to changes in your body temperature.

Practial playbook for reducing hot flash-promoting foods and environmental factors

1. Hydrate, as drinking plenty of water helps maintain the body thermostat at normal and balance hormones as well.
2. Meditate to reduce stress, this can indirectly take the weight off your flight-and-flight response system.
3. Keep a food diary to see which hot flashes-causing foods actually cause hot flashes.
4. If you love hot, caffeinated beverages, drink those in the morning. The added benefit is that you would also sleep better.
5. Enjoy hot-temperature foods at room temperature.
6. If you love spicy foods, try at a lower spice level and record in your food diary if they still cause hot flashes.
7. Layering clothing with lightweight, breathable fabrics gives you options when a hot flash strikes. Remove layers easily to cool down quickly. Choose natural fibers like cotton or linen for optimal comfort.

Hot Flash Control: Your Action Plan for Diet & Lifestyle Changes

If hot flashes and night sweats are disrupting your life, the good news is that you can take control with simple diet and lifestyle changes. Discover how to cool down hot flashes fast and prevent them from returning. Learn what foods to add to your diet, find relaxation techniques that work, and understand how everyday habits can offer lasting relief.

Load up on plant-based foods

A study performed with a small cohort of post-menopausal women and published in the journal Menopause, found that a vegan, low-fat diet accompanied by 1/2 cup of cooked soybeans twice a day for 3 days a week helped reduce or eliminate hot flashes [2].

Another study, which included both perimenopausal and menopausal women, suggests that increasing plant-based foods and reducing animal products during menopause transition may lessen hot flashes and other bothersome symptoms [3].

This is likely why phytoestrogens help cool down hot flashes as they are only found in plant-based foods [4]. Phytoestrogens have a structure similar to human estrogen, allowing them to weakly interact with estrogen receptors in the body.

Here is a list of foods high in phytoestrogen:

Soybeans: Whole soybeans, tofu, edamame, & tempeh

Studies listed above [3] [4] suggest using soybeans in whole form to reduce hot flashes. However, heavily processed soy products, like those found in burgers or protein powders, may not offer the same benefits and could negatively impact overall health. It's best to purchase whole soy products in organic variation as soy is the biggest GMO crop. Find the following tasty recipes using organic tofu on TLC and other foods high in phytoestrogens:

Other phytoestrogen-high foods

• Chickpeas & Lentils
• Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale help with hot flashes and have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. They are also positively linked with a lower risk of many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.
• Dried fruits such as apricots, dates, and prunes. But enjoy these in moderation as they tend to be high in sugars.
• Flaxseeds offer phytoestrogens as well as omega-3, the kind of fat that is low in modern-day diets.
• Pumpkin seeds
• Garlic is found to influence estrogen levels in some animal studies [5]
• Peanuts are high in phytoestrogen, but they are high in aflatoxin, the naturally occurring, poisonous compounds produced by certain types of mold (primarily Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus). Make sure to buy from trusted sources.
• Sesame seeds
• Strawberries
• Sunflower seeds

Addition of vitamin E is also linked with relief from hot flashes according to a study [5]. While the study was performed with the supplement, foods high in vitamin E can also help. Here is a list of foods high in vitamin E.

• Almonds
• Avocado
• Hazelnuts
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Peanuts and peanut butter
• Red bell peppers
• Spinach
• Sunflower seeds
• Wheat germ oil

Here is the healthy and tasty ways to add vitamin E through these recipes :

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