Help and Hope for Hot Flashes
Hot flashes…they decide when they come, and it never seems to be the right moment!
Did you know that 75% - 85% of menopausal and perimenopausal women experience hot flashes and night sweats!
According to the SWAN study, hot flashes and night sweats last between 3.5 and 10 years for most women.
For women who’s hot flashes began before their menstrual cycles ended, their hot flashes would continue for an average of nine to ten years.
For those women who didn’t start experiencing hot flashes until after their last menstrual cycles, their hot flashes tended to last an average of three-and-a-half years.
For approximately 8% of women, they will continue to experience hot flashes even after 20 years of menopause!
Who is most at risk for experiencing hot flashes?
From a lifestyle perspective, women who are obese, have a history of premenstrual symptoms, have a sedentary lifestyle, and who smoke are more at risk for experiencing hot flashes.
What causes hot flashes?
An underlying cause for hot flashes is an abnormality in the hypothalamic thermoregulatory mechanisms modulated by estrogen, serotonin and norepinephrine.
Estrogen reduction is clearly associated with hot flashes, and estrogen therapy significantly improves hot flashes for many women. The most effective treatment for hot flashes is systemic estrogen, with up to a 75% reduction of the frequency of vasomotor symptoms. But, estrogen reduction alone does not explain the occurrence of hot flashes because there is no relationship between hot flash symptoms or frequency, and plasma, urinary, or vaginal levels of estrogens, nor are there differences in plasma levels between women with and without hot flashes.
Estrogens stimulate the production of serotonin and endorphins, and there is 50% decrease in levels of serotonin after menopause corresponding to declining estrogen levels.
Decrease in serotonin results in increase in levels of norepinephrine which disturbs the hypothalamic thermostat. Hot flashes have been shown to improve in some women when they take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Norepinephrine plays an important role in thermoregulation as well. Researchers have theorized that elevated brain norepinephrine levels, in combination with estrogen withdrawal, are part of the cause of hot flashes. Clonidine has been shown to relieve hot flashes in some women by reducing central sympathetic activation and reducing brain levels of norepinephrine.
If you don’t want to use pharmacological therapies, there are a number of natural strategies to optimize estrogen levels through menopause, reduce norepinephrine in the brain, and calm the sympathetic nervous system response.
Let's explore some actionable strategies you can implement to decrease the incidence and severity of hot flashes:
Try these steps to minimize small increases in temperature that can trigger hot flashes:
Sleep in a cool (62 degrees is optimal) room
Sleep on cooling sheets or use a cooling pad such as the one from Chili Sleep
Reduce spicy food
Reduce hot drinks
Reduce exposure to excessive heat
For a “homeopathic” take on exercise, do hot yoga or other heat generating, but calming exercise to acclimate the system to heat while calming the sympathetic nervous system response.
Sauna to increase heat and support the system to adapt.
Cool contrast showers
Try these steps to calm the sympathetic nervous system:
Regular mindfulness practice
Regular meditation practice
Blood sugar balancing diet
Hydration with electrolytes
Optimize the gut microbiome
Eat plenty of protein to build healthy levels of brain neurotransmitters
Eat plenty of beneficial fats to improve hormone health.
Support healthy hormone levels through functional medicine lab testing with Reclaim Vitality Now
Test and optimize cortisol levels.
Test and optimize thyroid hormone levels, and thyroid antibody levels.
Test and optimize estrogen levels.
Add these nutrients to your diet to support antioxidant levels and calm your sympathetic nervous system:
Magnesium
Ashwagandha
Fish Oil (DHA)
B vitamins
Potassium
Alpha lipoic acid
Green tea
Quercetin
Curcumin
Garlic
Zinc
CoQ10
Selenium
Maca
Melatonin
Want to learn more?
My Reclaim Vitality Now program is designed to help you learn more about the balance of hormones and your gut microbiome, and how each of them could be contributing to preventing you from feeling your best.
Taking an individualized functional medicine approach through specific lab testing will help you discover EXACTLY what your body needs to to be in balance and to help you find success in achieving more of your overall health and wellness goals!
TODAY is the day to start.
TODAY is the the day to take control of your health and wellness journey.
TODAY is the day to invest in yourself!
Reclaim Your Vitality Now!
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