This article introduces a new series entitled Hot Flashes: Health Tips for the Mature Woman. In this series, we’ll take a look at the issues that affect women’s health, specifically during the years from your late 30s and beyond. This is the time when women begin the transition into menopause and perimenopause.

This latter phase is described as the shift from the childbearing years and normal menstruation to the time when menstruation has stopped for at least one full year—the passage called menopause. Perimenopause, a term our mothers weren’t familiar with, usually takes an average of 4 years, but can be as short as a few months or last up to 10 years for some women.

Women’s bodies go through numerous changes their entire lives—from menarche, to childbirth, to menopause—and we deal with different health issues at each stage. We hope to enlighten, entertain, and inform you about your body and some of the changes it’s going through as we take this journey together.

We thought it appropriate to look at one of the most bothersome aspects many women face as they wend their way through this passage of life—hot flashes, one of the most common menopausal symptoms cited by American women.

Hot Flashes

Hot flashes – what are they, why do they happen, but more importantly, how do you get rid of them? First of all, what are they? Really, they’re pretty self-explanatory…or maybe not. Anyone who’s had them can tell you all about them. Your doctor may refer to them as ‘vasomotor flushes’—which doesn’t mean much to the layman or woman—but you know when that familiar sense of overwhelming heat starts creeping into your neck, face or chest…you’re having a hot flash.

While they usually begin in the face or upper body, they can spread into the arms and even the hands. They can also be accompanied by more frightening events, such as heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea and occasionally headaches.

Why do they happen?

What’s happening behind the scenes—or underneath—is that a rise in your skin temperature causes your blood vessels to dilate or open up, increasing blood flow. The exact cause is not known, but there appears to be a temporary glitch in how your body regulates temperature. This originates from the hypothalamus—the part of the brain that controls your body temperature—and is believed to be caused by fluctuations in estrogen levels.

Hot flashes affect anywhere from 50% to 85% of women going through menopause. Women in the United States seem to experience them—along with other menopausal symptoms—more frequently than women in other countries.

Hot flashes can be the result of other conditions besides menopause, so be sure to talk with your healthcare provider when you have concerns about what’s happening with your body. Other causes can include tumors, migraines, Parkinson’s disease or spinal cord injury. Hot flashes can also be caused by such innocuous things as spicy food, MSG (monosodium glutamate), prescription drugs (certain antibiotics, heart medications, or antidepressants) or even vitamin B3—niacin.

How to cope with them

Various practitioners have various means of dealing with hot flashes. Your MD might recommend hormone replacement therapy (HRT), antidepressants or other prescription medication. Although after the latest brouhaha surrounding the safety of HRT, the North American Menopause Society now recommends that lifestyle changes and nonprescription remedies be the first line of attack for menopausal symptoms. More alternatively minded practitioners have always preferred to take the natural approach, using dietary changes, herbs, phytonutrients, and vitamins, along with lifestyle modification, to manage menopausal symptoms. Here’s a look at some of the botanical, nutrient and dietary options.

Black cohosh has been shown in clinical trials to be helpful in reducing hot flashes, along with certain other menopausal related symptoms. Dong quai, another herb that is popular in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), is also used frequently for menopausal relief. While clinical trials have not shown it to be any more effective than placebo for hot flashes when used alone, most practitioners of TCM argue that they typically use it in combination with other herbs.

Diets high in soy tend to lessen the frequency of hot flashes in some women. The isoflavones are believed to be the therapeutic component in soy products.

Progesterone cream—made popular by the work of John R. Lee, MD—has also been shown to minimize hot flashes. Vitamins C and E have also been used to decrease hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.

While used extensively, red clover has not been shown to be significantly more effective than a placebo when compared head to head in clinical trials.

Check with your healthcare provider about adding supplements to your routine to make sure they are right for you and won’t interact with other drugs, herbs or vitamins you are taking.

Above all, it’s important to remember that menopause is simply another passage to a new phase of life—it is not a disease. Look at it as an opportunity to learn new ways to improve your health as you transition to the next stage of your life.

Tips for Dealing with Hot Flashes:

• Dress in layers: Maybe you can inconspicuously shed your sweater more easily than you can carry around a battery-operated fan

• Change your diet: Certain foods and drinks can bring on hot flashes. These include spicy foods and caffeinated drinks. Keep a cool beverage close by to sip on when a hot flash does strike.

• Don’t smoke: Smokers tend to have more hot flashes than nonsmokers. And the more you smoke, the more likely you are to have hot flashes

• Chill out: Certain relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga, and deep breathing, have been shown to give some women relief and may improve your sleep patterns as well. 

• Get moving: Exercise does wonders for your body in many respects, so even if it doesn’t significantly ease your hot flashes, it will improve your overall health and well being.