Menopausal related hot flashes / flushes

About

• Hot flashes and Irregular menstruation are the most common signals for the onset of menopause (the cessation of menstruation at the end of a woman'sreproductive period, typically occurs in women around 51 years of age)
• Affect about 80% of women
• Menopausal hot flashes typically occur only occasionally with little distress for about 2 years.   However, about 20% of women can be severely affected, with symptoms disrupting normal life and sleep; a small percentage of women can even have hot flashes for many years.

Symptoms

• Vary in intensity and duration - typically lasting between 30 seconds and 10 minutes
• Feeling of intense heat makes the face and neck red and possibly blotchy
• Described as what feels like a rush of blood from toes to head
• Sweaty skin can change from hot to cold
• Some women also experience:  irratic heartbeat /pulse, heart palpitations, headaches, shaking, dizziness and anxiety

How to treat

For hot flashes, there is no "One size fits all"  remedy, however the following tactics work towards reducing the estrogen dominance causing this problem:

• Take DAILY flaxseed.   Consume 1 ½  to a maximum 2 1/2  tablespoons ground flaxseed (most people prefer the taste of golden flaxseed to that of the brown seeds) by mixing with a little milk or juice or sprinkling on cereal or oatmeal / porridge or such; always drink an additional cup of fluid afterwards, since flax absorbs fluid and swells; consumed in these amounts, the weak phytoestrogens in flax have an overall anti-estrogenic effect in the body, thereby lowering the dominance of estrogen over PROGESTERONE.
• Reduce caffeine intake
• Provide aromatase inhibitors.   The aromatase enzyme converts TESTOSTERONE to estrogen; aromatase inhibitors include, for example, phytochemicals in grape juice and red wine;
• Reduce alcohol consumption.   Red wine contains aromatase inhibitors, but should still be consumed in moderation :)
• Reduce stress.    Stress causes your body to use PROGESTERONE to produce CORTISOL,  which depletes PROGESTERONE needed to balance estrogen
• Reduce sugar intake.   Sugar converts to fat, and aromatase enzymes in fat tissues convert (aromatize) TESTOSTERONE to estrogen
• Eat more cruciferous veggies.     Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage etc contain indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and diindolylmethane (DIM), which have an estrogen-reducing effect;
• Take herbs black cohosh and vitex (aka. chaste berry)

Vitex supports pituitary gland supervision of PROGESTERONE production.    Take 160--240 milligrams twice daily; slow acting (2-3 months) and supplement for a year for permanent results

Details on these estrogen-reducing tactics and more are found at:

How to reduce estrogen levels in the body

Essential oils of thyme and basil.    May be helpful; inhale. use in a bath or foot rub or massage oil.