When faced with premenopause or menopause, more than half of women experience hot flashes. Sudden rises in heat which may be accompanied by night sweats or chills. Evils which, very painful, are not always easy to treat.
Ah… Hot flashes, a very common ailment! After the fifties, and as premenopause or menopause point the tip of their nose, most women experience it. More precisely, they would be about 70% to feel these sudden rises in heat.
Heat rises which, in some cases, can be accompanied by chills and even sweats (night or not). And yes, not easy to manage… and to deal with either. For what ? Because the most effective medical treatment remains hormone therapy, a hormonal treatment that many women are reluctant to try.
So what to do? How to get rid of hot flashes without resorting to hormone therapy? Do not panic: there are other solutions. Hint, review your lifestyle and take a look at plants.
Hot flashes, kezako?
Before getting to the heart of the matter, let us rest the basics. Yes, if everyone has already heard of hot flashes, not everyone necessarily knows what they are due to. In case the answer is negative, allow us to say it or… to say it again.
Already, let’s start from the beginning, what is menopause? “Menopause is a period of transition giving rise to hormonal imbalances. During premenopause, the secretion of progesterone drops, then a little later the production of estrogen stops” explain, Loic Ternisiennaturopath and energy specialist.
He pursues : “It is the cessation of estrogen production that will give rise to hot flashes, menstrual disorders and sometimes also to an increase in anxiety or the onset of depressive disorders”.
Hot flashes, for their part, specifies the specialist, are similar to “rapid and almost uncontrolled rises in heat rising from the upper body to the face”. Moreover, adds the author of “Naturopathy: the guide, season by season”, “they may also be accompanied by chills, sweating and in some cases night sweats”.
But be careful, insists on his side, Kelly Jastszebskinaturopath, if the latter are often linked to menopause, “it is important to do a hormonal assessment with your doctor to be sure that it is indeed the menopause”.
Indeed, although they often go hand in hand, hot flashes can also be a symptom of premenstrual syndrome (Editor’s note SPM). “You can have during PMS, an excess of estrogen or a lack of progesterone which then lets estrogen dominate. In both cases, you can have hot flashes.” notes the naturopath.
Ok, things are clearer. Hot flashes are rapid heat strokes sometimes accompanied by chills or cold sweats signaling the onset of menopause or PMS. So we know more. But… how to relieve them?
Accept change and adapt your lifestyle
Admittedly, we promised to tell you about alternative treatments to hormone therapy, but they are not the only and unique solutions. Indeed, according to Loïc Ternisien, it is above all crucial to become aware and to accept these changes induced by menopause.
“What is important is to become aware of this change, to accept it. Menopause should not be associated, as is often the case in the collective unconscious, with a loss of femininity. To limit the symptoms, it is important to welcome menopause as a normal stage, a transition. Not fighting it does a lot. Take for example women who welcome menopause as a relief, generally their body reacts better and the symptoms are fewer”.
Once the stage of acceptance has passed, it is also good to look at your lifestyle, and correct it if necessary. “If you have hot flashes, and especially if you also suffer from blood circulation disorders that can intensify them, the overall lifestyle is very important. The better our blood circulation, the fewer the hot flashes will be” develops Kelly Jastszebski.
Concretely, details the naturopath and energy specialist, this means that you have to adapt your diet. “Eating too many processed foods, sugar, gluten, and spices can, in fact, lead to increased hot flashes. We can therefore try to limit them by avoiding gluten, stimulants such as coffee and tea, sugar, etc”.
Then, he continues, “we must limit the consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and have a regular sporting activity. Another thing, you have to pay attention to your sleep, a good quality of sleep is important, and limit stress factors”.
Rest assured, nuance his colleague, there is also no question “to do an intense sports activity but only to move, so we can do walking, yoga… All of this will improve blood circulation and therefore limit hot flashes”.
Once these changes have been made, you should already have a marked improvement. But, as all women do not react in the same way, it may be good to associate an adaptation of the lifestyle with the taking of certain plants or food supplements.
Naturopathy to the rescue
Plants and food supplements can greatly help limit the appearance of hot flashes, but you have to be careful. Loïc Ternisien warns: “With plants, you always have to be careful. Not all plants can be taken by everyone”.
An opinion shared by Kelly Jastszebski, who adds: “We often recommend the same plants, but you have to be careful, and be sure to be menopausal. We do not give the same plant depending on whether the person is menopausal or in PMS, for example, even if in both cases it is to treat hot flashes. In effect, everything depends on the hormonal balance and the risk would be to choose a plant that accentuates the problem. Sometimes it can help, but it can also exacerbate the situation. I therefore really advise to know its hormonal profile before choosing a plant”.
Once your hormonal profile has been determined, several herbs can relieve your symptoms. For example, if you lack estrogen you will certainly be advised to take sage or hops (the plant, not liters of beer….) which are, as Loïc Ternisien points out, “phytoestrogens and therefore make it possible to compensate for the loss of estrogen and, in the case of menopause, to facilitate the transition”.
Besides these two plants, continues the naturopath, we can also take “chasteberry, black cohosh or red clover which will also have regulatory effects. Moreover, for a more global action, ginseng can be interesting, as can aloe vera, which will help to avoid nighttime heat and to have a restful sleep”.
In terms of shape, adds Kelly Jastszebski, we prefer “Infusions rather than essential oils (especially if you are unsure of your hormonal profile) which can be too strong. And above all, if it doesn’t work, we don’t insist!”.
For better efficiency, we also think of associating plants with food supplements. It is, explains Loïc Ternisien, always interesting to “take omega 3, but you can also take vitamin E to replace estrogen and relieve mood swings, night sweats and vaginal dryness or bioflavonoids which will have a similar effect. Let’s also not forget the B vitamins and magnesium, two classics that are always useful”.
And if not, are there other solutions under the sun? Yes, answers Loïc Ternisien who relies on the very good results of “acupuncture, acupressure and homeopathy, which can work miracles”. Another great classic: the specialist advises to meditate and for the more adventurous, sensitive to energy, to test reiki or tai chi.
Last tip, notes Kelly Jastszebski, think “to write down in a notebook the dates of arrival of the hot flashes to see if they correspond to the menstrual cycle or to the PMS, if you suffer from the symptom”.