Which Foods Can Trigger Hot Flashes during Menopause

Ladies, we all know what menopause is and in general, it hits us around 50. There is no set age and some women can start as early as their 30s, some as old as 60. It causes many issues including; hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, insomnia, and more.

The fact that we wake up one or more times during the night drenched in sweat or feeling so hot we can’t breathe tends to make us irritable. The fluctuation in our hormones can even cause some of us to go “crazy” and everything is on our last nerve.

Knowing what causes hot flashes or night sweats can help us control them a little better.

Triggers for hot flashes and night sweats

You may not know that certain foods and beverages can trigger hot flashes or night sweats.

Some of those triggers are:

• Caffeine
• Spicy foods such as those with cayenne pepper or other hot spices in
• Alcohol
• Sugar – and not just added sugars but sugars from fruit as well.
• Nicotine
• Hot foods, I don’t know about you but when I’m hot the last thing I want is something hot to eat; I found it does not sit well in my stomach and makes me hotter.
• Stress and anxiety; yoga or meditation can be a big help with both of these

Now that we know what some of the triggers are, what can we do to help reduce the frequency and intensity of the symptoms?

Taking a wholistic approach to menopause

For many women, taking a holistic approach to menopause helps a great deal; other women combine both a holistic and prescription approach. It will depend on you individually what works best for you.

If you are looking to take a holistic approach first or add it to the HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) you need to know about certain foods, beverages, and even essential oils that can help you reduce the intensity of menopause symptoms. Please understand these all-natural remedies do not work for everyone.

Foods and herbs

Foods and herbs that can help you reduce the symptoms and their intensity is:

• Soy – isoflavones from soy foods can help balance out your hormones
• Flaxseed – lignins from the flaxseed help modulators of hormone metabolism
• Black cohosh – helps alleviate the symptoms of hot flashes
• Vitamin E – 400 IUs  helps with hot flashes
• Vitamin B – this group of vitamins can help manage stress from menopause
• Calcium – this is good for bones but can be lost during hot flashes and night sweats
• Vitamin C – can help reduce hot flashes especially when combined with a flavan-on glycoside found in citrus fruits called Hesperidin
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids – has been known to help reduce the frequency and intensity of the hot flashes
• Red Clover – may reduce the symptoms of hot flashes

Remember these are all natural vitamins and remedies that may or may not work for you but some women have reported that one or more of these has helped them.

Essential oils

Essential oils may or may not help you, just like vitamins and herbs.

A note of caution, you should only try one at a time, and like the herbals and vitamins, it is trial and error.

The following essential oils may help reduce hot flashes:

• Phytoestrogens
• Lavender
• Rose
• Peppermint oil applied to a tissue then hold to your nose and inhale
• Basil –diluted and rubbed on your feet or back of the neck

There are some other essential oils that reportedly relieve other symptoms of menopause but again it is a trial and error process.

Meditation and deep breathing can also help improve your mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and even help with hot flashes.

You should exercise 4 to 5 days a week, walking and yoga are too that do well. This helps you from gaining weight, relieves stress and anxiety as well as, sleep better.

A routine of daily exercise, meditation, and holistic remedy (possibly mixed with HRT) can help you get through menopause.