KESEHATAN
Hot flashes refer to sudden and intense hot sensations on your face and upper body. Often hot flashes are preceded or accompanied by other symptoms, such as a rapid heartbeat, excessive sweating, nausea, dizziness, anxiety, headache, weakness or a feeling of suffocation.
Hot flashes are most common in women going through menopause, the time when the menstrual periods stop and many hormonal changes are occurring in the body. The decrease in estrogen in the body that accompanies menopause is the main cause of hot flashes.
The blood vessels on the surface of the skin suddenly dilate to cool the body, resulting in flashing of the skin and sweating. The severity and frequency of hot flashes can be reduced with dietary changes.
Home Remedies For Hot Flashes in Women
1. Healthy Diet
Certain foods like dairy products, meat products, and spicy foods have been found to be the top contributors to hot flashes. Even without menopause, spicy foods can trigger a hot flash in your body, making you feel sweaty and flushed throughout. Instead, opt to eat whole, non-GMO soy foods to increase your protein intake, which helps with hormone production in the body. Edible beans like soybeans can help control hot flashes because they contain genistein and daidzein, which are estrogenic compounds, says Naturalnews.com.
Fun Fact: Soy is an important staple of the Japanese food diet, which may account for why only seven percent of menopausal Japanese women suffer from hot flashes.
2. Wear Comfortable Clothes
Hot weather tends to trigger hot flashes and can often make your symptoms worse. To alleviate the discomfort and pain, choose to wear loose clothing that is not tight around your vaginal or abdominal area. Women who experience an excess of hot flashes can turn to "menopause clothing," or clothing specifically designed to be light and airy, says Consumerhelathdigest.com. Staying cool throughout the day and wearing lightweight clothing can significantly reduce the number of episodes you have throughout the day.
Fun Fact: Menopausal t-shirts are a popular type of menopausal clothing because they can be worn underneath suits or sweaters without having anyone notice.
3. Cut Back On Coffee
Caffeine is a stimulant, so foods and drinks that contain caffeine may aggravate hot flashes. Try to limit yourself to 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine per day, or about one-and-a-half cups of coffee. If you’ve been drinking more than that, cut back your intake gradually by slowly replacing caffeinated drinks with choices like water and decaf coffee. Otherwise, you may develop headaches and fatigue from caffeine withdrawal.
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is very helpful in treating hot flashes. Raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar helps regulate toxins that the body is trying to eliminate through perspiration. This in turn reduces the incidence and intensity of hot flashes and night sweats. Dilute one to two tablespoons of organic and unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, vegetable juice or fruit juice. Drink it once or twice daily until the symptoms subside.
5. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is also associated as a remedy for hot flashes. Some studies have shown that a compound found in vitamin C called bioflavonoid helps in reducing the frequency of hot flashes among women.
6. Black Cohosh
Black Cohosh is a popular herb that is native of Europe and has been used there since centuries to treat hot flashes associated with menopause or perimenopause. Medically, women are given synthetic estrogen to help balance the fluctuating hormones and to avoid conditions that accompany menopause.
However, studies have revealed that black cohosh acts as a better substitute than synthetic estrogen and has absolutely no harmful effects on the body. Apart from providing relief from hot flashes, the herb also cures excessive sweating experienced during night time.
7. Sage
An age-old remedy for hot flashes is sage. According to Ellen Phillips, author of “Everything You Need to Know About Menopause,” sage tea can help reduce the symptoms of hot flashes to a great extent. Sage contains flavonoids, volatile oils and tannins that also promote overall health.
Add one tablespoon of fresh sage leaves (or one teaspoon of dried sage) to a cup of boiling water. Let it steep for five minutes, then strain. Add some lemon and honey for taste. Drink this tea two or three times daily.
8. Evening Primrose Oil
Evening primrose oil is commonly recommended for women to take care of all their problems associated with change of hormonal levels in their body. The herb is sold in the form of tonic and is available in all herbal and organic health stores.
The oil not only helps with hot flashes but also other conditions such as insomnia and dry skin that arise due to menopause. The herbal oil has large quantities of linolenic acid that aids in production of estrogen thereby effectively taking care of menopause symptoms.
9. Flaxseed Oil
Intake of flaxseed oil is a popular remedy for curing high cholesterol level but the herbal oil is also beneficial in treating hot flashes as well as other symptoms of menopause. The herb is a rich source of lignans that are very similar in structure to estrogen and therefore, regular ingestion of flax seed oil helps balance the hormonal levels along with stabilizing the production of estrogen by the body.
10. Quit Smoking
Believe it or not, symptoms of menopause, especially hot flashes can be caused by smoking. Smoking is bad in so many ways and if you are a woman in menopause, you are more likely to have hot flashes as well as other menopausal symptoms than women in menopause who do not smoke. If you are a smoker and hot flashes are driving you nuts, now you have another reason to quit.
11. Yoga
Yoga exercises that involve physical postures (asanas), breathing (pranayama) and deep relaxation (savasana) can help reduce hot flashes in perimenopausal or newly postmenopausal women.
It can also help combat symptoms like mood swings, anxiety, depression and sleep disruption. Take a weekly 90-minute restorative yoga class for at least eight weeks to reduce the number of hot flashes and their severity to a great extent. Try to perform the yoga poses and postures correctly. Also give importance to proper breathing techniques.
