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Hot Flush Self-Help
When approaching peri-menopause and during menopause itself, you may experience hot flushes. It something that I support people with on a regular basis, with tailored herbal prescriptions, but there’s quite a few things you can do alongside your herbal medicine, to support reducing those flushes. This list is by no means exhaustive, and not everything here may work for you, but here’s some helpful tips about thing you could try:
Food and drink to reduce / avoid:
Reducing your intake of the these foods and drink could help to reduce the severity of your flushes:
- Caffeine containing drinks – not only coffee, but also tea, energy drinks and cola.
- Alcohol – it’s heating & dehydrating! Check out alcohol free alternatives.
- Sugar & Carbs – heating, dehydrating & inflammatory. Try opting for low carb/no sugar options
- Trans Fats – Overheated & cooked oils, and smoked food changes the molecular structure of the oils that can then block the flow of oxygen & free radicals – raising body heat.
- Spicy & hot foods & hot drinks – can raise body temperature, so see if you notice anything triggering your flushes.
- Some vegetables (and spices, naturally) can also raise body temperature, including: Watercress, ginger, avocado, radishes are regular culprits.
Foods and drink to help cool the body:
Conversely, there are some foods that can be really helpful in helping to reduce hot flushes, Why not try including more of these in your diet:
- Eating fresh cucumber
- Watermelon & other melons
- Pomegranate, mango, pear, papaya
- Asparagus spears
- Green leafy veg: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, parsley
- Tomatoes
- Water – An easy one to forget, but so helpful!
Adapt your self-care:
There’s other practical things you can do to help to make you to feel more comfortable, depending on what’s possible and achievable for you:
Light, loose-fitting clothes made from natural fibres such as cotton are much less likely to aggravate sweating
Try incorporating lighter clothing layers underneath a jacket or cardigan, that can easily be taken off to cool down (and then put back on again, once you’re cool).
Cotton nightwear and bed linen. This one can be a real game changer! If you’re finding night time sweating particularly troublesome, I’ve known some people to sleep on towel or folded sheet so they can throw it off if it becomes wet, rather than having to change the sheet.
And last, but by no means least, where you can, try to reduce your stress levels, in whatever way you can. It does make a difference! There’s herbs that can help your body improve it’s response to stress too, and I usually include the right ones for each person in herbal prescriptions for supporting you through the menopause.
