10 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Menopausal Hot Flashes

Hot flashes rank as the top complaint of menopausal symptoms, and even during perimenopause (the time just before menopause begins). And if you’ve ever had one—you know why! Feeling a hot flash coming when you are talking to someone and knowing you’re about to turn red in the face with a glistening sheen of sweat. Or the annoyance of night sweats making you swing back and forth between overheating and shivering. And the worry in the back of your mind about what other changes are going on in your body as hormones shift.

If you discuss this with your doctor, they’re likely to offer one of two options to treat hot flashes: hormone replacement therapy or birth control. And for many women, neither of these options may be the best choice to treat menopause symptoms, especially if you’re a breast cancer survivor, or have certain risk factors for heart disease, stroke, or blood clots (1).

Dealing with hot flashes undoubtedly makes for a difficult time, but there are a variety of natural remedies effective for reducing hot flashes—and that can improve other menopause symptoms as well.

Looking for a place to bring together personalized wellness and a supportive community all under one digital roof? Find out if the Superwoman Circle is right for you.

What causes hot flashes?

Despite hot flashes being the #1 complaint of menopausal women, the medical community is still not sure what exactly causes these personal heat waves.

The clearest current explanation for hot flashes is that the body is resetting the “internal thermostat” located in the hypothalamus (2). Basically, it appears that women who experience hot flashes have a narrower range of temperatures the internal thermostat sees as comfortable. Anything above that triggers hot flashes.

Abrupt shifts in estrogen levels can cause this kind of thermal-dysregulation, but not all research points to estrogen as the root cause. The general factors that affect the frequency and severity of hot flashes are:

Weight – overweight women tend to experience more hot flashes
Ethnicity- African American women report the highest rates of hot flashes, and Asian women the lowest.
Smoking – smokers are more likely to experience hot flashes
Physical activity – active women experience fewer hot flashes than sedentary women, and typically less severe hot flashes.

If you are suffering with hot flashes, it’s likely you’re not necessarily interested in the date, but just want some relief. Rest assured hot flashes do come to an end—eventually.

When do hot flashes end?

Hot flashes typically become less of a problem later menopause and after you’re postmenopausal. This is due to lower levels of estrogen. After your estrogen evens out at a new (lower) baseline, hot flashes usually decrease in intensity or stop completely.

This means that the most challenging time for hot flashes is during the transition from higher levels of estrogen (prior to menopause) to lower levels of estrogen (after menopause). So, during perimenopause and early menopause tend to be the most intense. So what can you do to ease this transition?

Common hot flash triggers

There are a variety of things that can trigger hot flashes. If you are trying to avoid hot flashes, be aware of these common triggers:

Caffeine
Alcohol
Hot drinks
Spicy foods
Stress
Smoking
Tight clothing
Heat (being in a warm room or outside on a hot day)

Anything that pushes your internal thermostat out of homeostasis is likely to trigger a hot flash, even if the change is only temporary.

Read: What to Expect During Perimenopause

Try these natural remedies to hot flashes

Herbs & other supplements

Black cohosh

Black cohosh is the most extensively studied herb to treat hot flashes. One of the largest studies back in 1982 involved 629 women and showed that after 4 weeks of supplementing with 20 mg dried extract of black cohosh, about 80% experienced improvement in their hot flashes, and after 6 weeks about half of the women had their symptoms completely resolve (3).

Newer studies also support the use of black cohosh to treat hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. Plus, available evidence shows it’s well-tolerated and safe for most women (4).

Evening primrose oil

Evening primrose oil can also reduce the severity of hot flashes. In one study, women taking 500 mg of evening primrose oil twice per day for 8 weeks noticed less severe hot flashes (5).

Listen: How to Heal Menopause Symptoms using Nutrition with Esther Blum

Red clover

Red clover is another widely available herb that’s high in plant compounds known as phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are known to have the potential to reduce hot flashes and night sweats. They may also have anti-cancer and other hormone-friendly benefits.

Sage

One study involving 71 women in Switzerland examined the effects of a daily tablet of fresh sage leaves to reduce the frequency and severity of menopausal hot flashes. Results showed that half of the women experienced a “significant decrease” in hot flashes after 4 weeks, and 64% experienced benefits after continuing with the treatment for 8 weeks. Hot flashes decreased every week, and severe hot flashes were eliminated completely (6).

Other studies show sage is beneficial to reduce other menopause symptoms too, like night sweats, panic, fatigue, and trouble concentrating (7).

You can easily make sage tea by steeping 1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried sage in boiling water for five minutes. You might also like: 7 Tonics to Balance Hormones, Detox, and More

Acupuncture

Among women dealing with moderate to severe menopause symptoms, acupuncture was associated with reductions in hot flashes, excess sweating, mood swings, sleep disturbances, and skin and hair problems. For 70 women participating in one study, most (80%) of the women reported that a weekly 15-minute acupuncture session had helped them (8).

During menopause, an acupuncturist will work to strengthen yin energy, while calming yang; this helps activate the cool, calm energy within your body and dampen the fast-moving, active, and loud energy. I recommend acupuncture for many of my patients to support a number of health issues.

Read: Battling Brain Fog? Balancing Hormone Can Help!

Do breathwork

Deep breathing activates your vagus nerve, which induces a kind of relaxation response in the body. And anything that can calm that temperature control center in the hypothalamus is a big plus. Activating the vagus nerve switches off the “fight-or-flight” part of your nervous system (sympathetic) and switches on the “rest-and-digest” response (parasympathetic).

A short breathwork routine twice per day has been shown to cut the amount and intensity of hot flashes significantly (9). There are many great breathing and meditation apps out there to use, but a simple system to remember is the 4-7-8 breath.

Mindfulness practices

Chronic stress can make it harder to deal with any difficult situation, and menopause symptoms are no different. A substantial number of women say that they experience psychological distress, social embarrassment, and anxiety associated with hot flashes. And that this distress only worsens their perception of how they’re feeling. Like a vicious cycle.

This is where a solid mindfulness practice comes in. While you’re working on finding what works to reduce hot flashes, you can still develop a better way to cope with what you’re feeling, so it doesn’t cause such a high level of distress. Not to mention, studies show it helps reduce intensity regardless (10).

Mindfulness-based stress relief is effective to cope with many menopausal symptoms, including reduced sleep disturbance, perceived stress, anxiety, and panic. Plus, good news for women who meditate! Women who regularly practice meditation also have fewer hot flashes than those who do not (11).

For a natural solution to balance cortisol and quiet the mind before bed, try Sleep Savior.

Balance blood sugar

During a time when your body’s undergoing such a big transition, many women completely overlook the importance of blood sugar balance. Keeping blood sugar levels within a healthy range brings stability to other hormones as well, which may help curb big fluctuations in estrogen that triggers a hot flash.

To keep blood sugar balanced, follow a few basics:

Avoid simple refined carbohydrates and added sugar
Add a good source of protein (fish, chicken, beef, egg, nuts, beans, and legumes), fat (avocado, nuts and nut butters, olive oil, and animal protein with natural fats in them), and fiber at each meal
Choose healthy carbohydrates, like fiber-rich vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, red leaf lettuce)

Listen: What You Need to Know About Metabolic Flexibility with Rachel Gregory

Holistic support for menopause symptoms

And finally, your experience matters! Adjusting your attitude around menopause, and also trying to navigate what’s deemed “socially acceptable” is hard. And even though things are changing, most women dealing with hormonal changes receive so little personalized support. When you change your inner self-talk around menopause, and surround yourself with voices who build you up, it helps your body and mind step into a new place of power.

While hot flashes will subside soon, your transition into this next chapter of life requires a different approach. This is something we work toward inside the Superwoman Circle. While meeting with those who are on a similar journey of holistic growth, you can take a deeper look into expanding your perception of what it means to be a mother, sister, friend, wife, or partner.

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