Free Natural Remedies For Hot Flashes

There are many natural remedies for hot flashes, including herbs like black cohosh, and dietary changes. However, one of the most universally effective remedies is meditation and relaxation techniques.

This is most easily understood when you consider the relationship between our brains and nervous system, and our hormonal system.

"What has been well documented, however, is that the brains of women who suffer the most from PMS-like symptoms are more susceptible to the effects of fluctuating hormone levels. In other words, it is not the hormone levels per se that ate the problem. Rather, it is the particular combination of a woman's hormone levels and her pre-existing brain chemistry along with her life situation, that results in her symptoms." (Wisdom of Menopause, Dr Christiane Northrup)

Whilst Dr Northrup was describing PMS, she did so to demonstrate how entwined our body systems are.

Hot flashes, where the blood vessels in the skin open up more than usual to allow more heat and redness to release into the skin, are indeed influenced by external factors as well as our hormones.

These external factors include stress, anxiety, tension, and dietary considerations like high levels of simple carbohydrates (bread, fruit juices, sweets, alcohol), and simple sugars (like chocolate and candy). For those women interested in natural remedies for hot flashes, meditation is the most natural remedy available. And it has the added benefit that it supports the introspection, the desire to spend time alone, in reflection, that characterizes menopause.

Dr Northrup describes how this transition period, and the inner questing that accompanies it, is almost 'hard wired' into menopausal hormones.

When estrogen levels are higher and constant for longer periods, as they are during a woman's life generally before perimoenopause, a woman's emotions and outlook is directed more towards the outer world. Two doctors found this when studying women's hormonal cycles and psychotherapy records.

Yet they found in the period after ovulation and before menstruating, that women were more likely to be focused inward. Interestingly, it is during this period that progesterone is at its highest.

When women go through menopause, their estrogen levels start to decline, and they have longer and longer periods where their hormones mimic this brief period that was present in their cycles for most of their adult life so far.

Natural remedies for hot flashes such as finding time for self reflection, getting to know your own needs, and creating the time and space for uninterrupted 'me time', honor the deep processes that are reflected in our bodies, via our hormones.

There are other natural remedies for hot flashes that can also help, on a purely biochemical level. These include cutting down on simple sugars and simple carbohydrates, and including more soy in the diet. Dr Northrup suggests getting 45 to 160mg of soy isoflavones a day. But the mind is a very powerful healer, and as one woman who followed her inner promptings during menopause said:

"We do come with an instruction kit, if we will just quiet ourselves to receive the information and learn some new skills." (Wisdom of Menopause)

If you're interested in learning meditation, try the Maharic seal. It is one of the most powerful and nourishing meditation techniques available, and it's also free!

References: Dr Christiane Northrup, The Wisdom Of Menopause

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