August 25, 2025 • 20 mins
Navigating the sweltering waves of perimenopause can feel like a battle against an invisible enemy. My journey with hot flashes was nothing short of a rollercoaster, but it's a ride many of us are on, and I'm here to share the survival tactics that made all the difference. In our latest episode, we strip back the layers on hormonal fluctuations, particularly how a drop in oestrogen levels throws our internal thermostat out of whack, and provide a guide to recognising and managing the patterns of hot flash occurrences. You'll learn how to identify common triggers – like that morning cup of coffee or evening glass of wine – and get practical advice on how to handle this fiery symptom with finesse.
Then, we feast on knowledge as we turn to the power of nutrition in soothing the menopausal inferno. Discover why your kitchen pantry might just be your secret weapon, to bolster your health and wellbeing during this time. I don't stop at diet though. This episode also covers the essential allies like key supplements that might just be the reinforcements you need plus the calming forces of exercise and stress management, offering a holistic arsenal for anyone looking to combat menopause symptoms and emerge triumphantly. Tune in for an episode that's brimming with insight and tailored for those ready to take control of their menopausal journey.
Are you a woman feeling stressed, flat and experiencing the challenges of perimenopause?
It’s time to reclaim your youthful energy, radiance and self-assurance (and your ideal weight).
I’m here to help with my proven method.
Here's how I can support you -
1. Hit your health and wellbeing goals this year, balance your hormones and lose weight with your own personalised protocol, based on your body's biochemistry. Sounds awesome right!! Book a free 30 minute Peri Weight Loss Assessment with me so we can discuss your health and wellbeing goals and also see how I might be able to support you. Book your call here.
2. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook - @the.perimenopause.path
3. Join the waitlist for my innovative NEW 8 week group program, In Your Skin™️, for women in perimenopause and post-menopause who want effective solutions to manage skin changes at this time of life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging, so
that you can be ageless andawesome in your 40s, 50s and
beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's Ageless
and Awesome podcast.
This week, I'm actually focusingon something that I haven't
(00:46):
talked about for a little while,which is hot flashes Hot
flashes, or hot flashes as wecall them in Australia and these
are pesky, annoying and canactually be really, really
distressing in perimenopause andmenopause, so I wanted to talk
about it.
This is something that I havepersonally experienced and, man,
(01:10):
they can be, as I said,distressing sometimes.
I definitely had over the timethat I've had them.
Occasionally I've even justwanted to cry.
I think I have even cried withthem, which is, you know, I
laugh, but it's not nice at all,and it really kind of irks me
(01:32):
that hot flashes can be just solightly dismissed by other
people, whether they're apartner, whether they're a
healthcare practitioner and Isee this a lot that women get
told oh, they're just normal,they're just a part of
perimenopause, you'll be fine,and I think, a lot of the time,
(01:55):
people that are saying this arepeople that have not actually
experienced them.
Because if you experience them,particularly if you're getting
a lot, like some women areliterally getting them every
waking hour at least once ortwice, and that's really hard to
maintain concentration.
It's hard to feel comfortableif you're in a pool of sweat,
(02:19):
and I've definitely had thathappen and so I wanted to talk
about that today, about why weget them, when will they stop
and what can you do about itfrom a natural medicine
perspective.
So let's get into it.
So, as you are probably aware,the hot flashes actually are
(02:40):
because of the hormonalfluctuations that happen in
perimenopause, so you willdefinitely get.
If you're someone that is proneto them, you will definitely
get them in perimenopause.
Now, again, as I say, somewomen don't get them.
I think the stats are about 80%of women will get them, but
then there's also degrees ofwhich that you have them, in
(03:02):
terms of the duration, thefrequency, the intensity and
whether they stop aftermenopause, which I'll get into
in a second, but essentiallyit's the surging, or actually
the drop from the surge, ofestrogen that's probably the
main cause of hot flashes duringmenopause, because estrogen
(03:26):
plays a pretty crucial role inregulating body temperature
Obviously many, many otherfunctions that it has, but who
knew that it also helps regulateyour body temperature.
So when we get that decline inestrogen, we get that tendency
to have hot flashes because ofthis lack of estrogen can
(03:48):
disrupt our internal thermostat.
Because we do have thisinternal thermostat so that when
you go out, say on a cold day,your body will regulate your
temperature.
We know this.
We know that if we walk out ona hot day we will start to sweat
.
We know that if we are in acold situation, our hands and
feet and your ears, maybe thetip of your nose, will be the
(04:10):
first kind of places to get coldbecause your body starts
shunting all of your blood intoyour internal organs.
Because they're a priorityright.
We want to keep the blood warm.
We want to keep the body warmbecause we only have a fairly
narrow temperature range atwhich the body functions really
well.
So having our thermostatinternally is really important,
(04:34):
but with this disruption inhormones and progesterone also
has a role, but estrogen isconsidered to have the the more
major role.
Yeah, this.
You get this inability of thebody to really adjust
temperature properly, and sowhen we get any sort of trigger,
now sometimes you can get a hotflush and there's no particular
(04:56):
trigger, which is kind ofannoying.
It just happens.
If you've had hot flushes for alittle while, you may have
started to notice patterns.
You may notice that they'rehappening during the night, for
example, or you might noticeyou'll wake up in the morning
and there's a hot flush, oryou'll get out of the shower and
(05:18):
there's a hot flush.
You have a cup of coffee,there's a hot flush.
So you know, you start tonotice patterns and that's
helpful.
Actually, that would probablybe my first hot tip is start to
really note down how many hotflushes are you having in a day
and if you've known them over afew days, you might start to
(05:41):
notice these patterns and thatmaybe patterns related to
certain foods that you're eatingor activities that you're doing
or when your stress levels geta little higher.
So many things can trigger itand that, if you kind of can get
a sense of that or patterns,and that can really help with
managing it.
You don't feel so out of control, because I know, for me
(06:02):
personally, one of the thingsthat really annoyed me about hot
flushes was that feeling ofjust being completely out of
control with your body andfeeling and I think that's
probably why I cried a few timesis you just get this sense of
oh, you know, it's just this.
I'm trying not to swear,obviously, but you know it's
(06:25):
just this sense of oh, forgoodness sake, what, what now?
You know what is happening nowthat I just have no control over
.
It's just very frustratingsometimes and actually quite
distressing.
So some of the things that cantrigger them, as I mentioned
stress.
I think that's probably one ofthe most common things that that
(06:47):
does trigger hot flushes.
Caffeine is pretty well known,unfortunately.
Alcohol definitely.
The thing is with alcohol, evenwithout the context of
perimenopause or menopause.
You know, in your teens, 20s,30s, when you're not really
(07:08):
impacted by this, alcohol willactually cause hot flushes
anyway to anyone.
So but when you're particularlysusceptible, that's why alcohol
can be even worse.
And the same with things withalcohol, with sleep, for example
.
Alcohol, we know, prevents deepsleep and REM sleep.
(07:30):
So if you have alcohol on topof the sleep disruption which
can happen in perimenopause andmenopause.
Sorry everybody, but alcoholcan be a real problem.
In perimenopause you may needto think about what can I do to
reduce my alcohol but still feellike I can't.
I can participate fully insocial kind of events, so it's
(07:55):
something to think about.
But anyway, I digress.
Other things which we know cantrigger hot flushes are spicy
foods, hot environments eventhough I have seen some work
that being saunas can actuallyhelp with hot flushes, that's
relatively new research, butthat might be something to
(08:18):
consider.
Smoking, unfortunately can.
There are certain medicationsthat can exacerbate those hot
flushes.
So if you are on medicationsand experiencing hot flushes of
perimenopause or menopause, itmight be worth having a
discussion with your healthcarepractitioner about are there
(08:38):
alternatives that may not be aslikely to trigger it.
Also, just tight clothing,clothing that traps heat close
to the body, can exacerbate hotflashes and make them feel more
uncomfortable, and it can alsojust add, I think, to that
distress if you're wearingclothing that you can't easily
(09:00):
de-layer.
I know I've had that experiencein the past where I have been
wearing like jeans and a jumperand nothing underneath the
jumper.
Because I live in Queensland,when it's winter Often you don't
need anything else in cold days.
But yeah, if you get a hotflash on a cold day, you need to
(09:23):
be able to de-layer, andwearing tight or heavier
clothing can add to that feelingof distress if you're in a
position where you literallyjust can't de-lay and you just
have to sit there in this saunaof clothing because of that hot
flash on a cold day.
So yeah, in terms of when dohot flashes stop?
(09:46):
For the majority of women, oncethey hit menopause, so that 12
months after the last menstrualperiod, often the hot flashes
because it essentially meanswhen you get to that point is
that your estrogen is no longersurging so it's low, but it's
not having that dramatic falland that can mean that hot
(10:06):
flashes can actually eitherdisappear or become much less
intense or less frequent.
Small percentage of women,unfortunately, will continue to
experience hot flashes, and soknowing and having a good
management plan for them canreally help for you to feel like
(10:28):
you're taking back control ofyour body, for you to feel less
uncomfortable and feel likethey're not actually just taking
over your life.
So what can you do to help?
I've already mentioned a coupleof things, but let's talk about
diet specifically.
As you know, I am anutritionist as well as a
(10:48):
naturopath and I am reallyreally big on food as medicine
is pretty much the majority ofthe work that I do these days.
I still do work with some herbs, but I really love food as
medicine and I am consistentlykind of blown away by how
(11:08):
powerful it is, and some of thespecific foods that can really
help with hot flashes are thingslike flaxseeds.
So some of these foods I'mgoing to mention are
phytoestrogens, so plant-basedestrogens.
These phytoestrogens can mimicthe effects of estrogen in the
body.
(11:28):
Now, they're not going toreplace the estrogen in your
body, but they can support.
So foods like flaxseeds arefabulous, so I have ground
flaxseed every morning in mybreakfast and I really think
that makes a difference to me.
(11:51):
Soy products are also a littlecontroversial.
If you're going for soyproducts, I really highly
recommend you go for organic,non-gmo soy.
So things like tofu, soy, milk,edamame, tempeh they're all
great sources of soy, and thegreat thing about soy is it is a
(12:11):
complete protein.
So it is.
But many plant-based proteinsare not what we call complete
protein, so they don't containall nine essential amino acids,
whereas soy does.
So that's a really good,particularly if you're
plant-based or wanting to eatmore.
Plant-based soy is a greatprotein source for you, as well
as helping to support thereduction or less intensity of
(12:35):
hot flashes.
Whole grains like brown rice,quinoa, oats barley contain
complex carbohydrates and thathelps to stabilize your blood
sugar levels.
And I've spoken I think itmight have even been last week
or the week before I spoke aboutinsulin resistance and blood
sugar levels, and again, that'sa lot of the work that I do with
(12:56):
food is managing that, becausewhen we get into that
perimenopausal time, we, throughsome of the metabolic changes
that go on in the body.
We tend to be more towards aninsulin resistant type of
metabolism and when you havesome insulin resistance, that
makes it more likely that you'regoing to store fat around the
(13:18):
midsection.
We know if your blood sorry, ifyour waist measurement is above
100 centimetres, if you're aman or a woman, your likelihood
of having a degree of insulinresistance is pretty much 100%.
So getting the waistmeasurement down is a priority
in the work that I do with myclients.
(13:39):
And so, yeah, these kind ofcomplex carbs can help stabilize
your blood sugar levels andthat helps to stabilize hot
flashes, because sometimes thatfluctuation in blood sugar can
actually trigger a hot flush.
Fruits and veggies I'm alwaysgoing to say fruits and veggies
and eating the rainbow eating avariety of fruits and veggies
(14:02):
ensures you're getting a reallygood variety of vitamins,
minerals, antioxidants, all ofthose beautiful beneficial plant
chemicals and plant nutrientsthat we all need, and this
supports overall health.
But and it will also help withreducing the frequency of hot
flashes.
Cold water fish so fatty fishlike salmon, mackerel, sardines
(14:28):
these are all really rich inomega three fatty acids, as is
flaxseed or you could addflaxseed oil into that hemp seed
oil.
If you're looking for moreplant based options, these are
anti-inflammatory andincorporating these sort of fish
or these those are theplant-based omega threes into
your diet can help reduceinflammation in the body and
(14:51):
that potentially will decreasethe severity of hot flashes.
And also nuts and seeds, likeparticularly almonds, walnuts,
sunflower seeds and pumpkinseeds, are excellent sources of
healthy fats, fiber andnutrition generally.
Lots of nice little minerals inthere.
And we're talking raw, but youcan roast them or toast them
(15:16):
yourself.
You are beautiful, just dry.
Frying up some almonds withsome balsamic vinegar is
delicious and you can snack onthat.
You can chop them up, make itinto a granola and that can
really help stabilize your bloodsugar as well and that can help
with your hot flashes.
(15:40):
Of course, there are going to bethings that you just need to
work for yourself.
Some things that I've mentionedyou might find are not helpful
to you specifically.
So that's why I love workingwith personalized nutrition,
because I'm getting the exactfoods for the individual that
has been scientificallyevaluated for the individual
based on blood biochemistry.
(16:00):
So whenever I'm giving thesesort of suggestions, they are
very much general suggestionsand not medical advice, not
health advice and not takinginto account your specific
circumstances.
So always just keep that inmind If you try some of this ago
.
Well, it's not working for me,yeah, it's.
These are not for youspecifically, they're just
generally.
We know these things will help.
(16:20):
Also, avoiding spicy foods.
Now, I love chilli, I lovespicy foods.
I haven't found a need to givethem up and you know, again,
some people will find thatthat's always gonna trigger them
off into a hot flush.
Caffeine oh my gosh Caffeine.
(16:41):
You know, often even justgetting rid of caffeine or
drastically reducing to half toone shot a day can be quite
helpful when it comes toreducing hot flashes.
There are some herbal medicinesthat can help, like black
co-hosh is one.
(17:02):
Evening primrose oil can alsobe quite helpful.
Those sorts of herbs andevening primrose oil is an
omega-6 oil.
You can get them pretty easily.
Just a little bit of cautionwith the black co-hosh.
If you're taking othermedications, you do need to talk
to your pharmacist about that,whether that's appropriate, so
(17:23):
that there are some interactionsthere with that particular one.
Also, magnesium magnesium's gotsome pretty good data actually
to support a reduction in hotflashes.
In fact some of the researchshows it can be more than 50% of
women will see a reduction intheir symptoms of hot flushing.
So and I mean gosh, I mean I'vespoken, I think, a lot about
(17:45):
magnesium, but I put almost allof my clients on a magnesium of
some form.
Now it does need to be theright form.
For my peri-ladies, I lovemagnesium glycinate.
That is very helpful to take atnight because you're not only
getting the benefit of themagnesium, but when that
magnesium is broken down in thebody biochemically, you're
getting magnesium and you'realso getting glycine, and
(18:07):
glycine is really calming to thenervous system and helps with
sleep.
So magnesium glycinate is theone that I really recommend for
my peri-ladies.
And also stress management.
I mentioned before that stresscan really trigger off your
perimenopause symptoms and hotflashes, and so having a good
(18:28):
stress management strategy inplace already, so you're not
just putting it in place whenyou have the stressful event,
but if you're training yournervous system to be
self-regulated, that will helpyou a lot.
And finally, exercise I meangetting into your body is so
grounding.
So many of my clients loveexercise for mental health and I
(18:52):
love it myself for mentalhealth.
I've had an injury this pastweek and I haven't been able to
go to a reformer and oh man, Imiss it so much.
So I'm gonna try and go todayand hopefully I've got a bit of
a pelvis injury and hopefullythat will be okay.
It's just from a long-termdoing yoga in the 90s, where
(19:13):
they didn't have a goodknowledge of the body then like
they do now, and so any who longstory.
So I hope this has been helpful.
I would love to know yourexperiences.
Please feel free to message meat Susie Garden Wellness on
Instagram or directly throughthe podcast, if you're on
Spotify.
I hope you have a lovely restof the week.
(19:33):
I'll be back on Thursday withQ&A.
Thanks so much for joining metoday on the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked today's episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple podcasts, or the follow
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(19:54):
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I'd love to connect with you.
Hi, I'm Susie Garden and this is the Ageless and
Awesome podcast.
I'm an age-defying naturopathand clinical nutritionist and
I'm here to bust myths aroundwomen's health and aging, so
that you can be ageless andawesome in your 40s, 50s and
beyond.
The Ageless and Awesome podcastis dedicated to helping women
(00:24):
through perimenopause andmenopause with great health, a
positive mindset and outrageousconfidence.
Hit, subscribe or follow nowand let's get started.
Hello, gorgeous one, andwelcome to this week's Ageless
and Awesome podcast.
This week, I'm actually focusingon something that I haven't
(00:46):
talked about for a little while,which is hot flashes Hot
flashes, or hot flashes as wecall them in Australia and these
are pesky, annoying and canactually be really, really
distressing in perimenopause andmenopause, so I wanted to talk
about it.
This is something that I havepersonally experienced and, man,
(01:10):
they can be, as I said,distressing sometimes.
I definitely had over the timethat I've had them.
Occasionally I've even justwanted to cry.
I think I have even cried withthem, which is, you know, I
laugh, but it's not nice at all,and it really kind of irks me
(01:32):
that hot flashes can be just solightly dismissed by other
people, whether they're apartner, whether they're a
healthcare practitioner and Isee this a lot that women get
told oh, they're just normal,they're just a part of
perimenopause, you'll be fine,and I think, a lot of the time,
(01:55):
people that are saying this arepeople that have not actually
experienced them.
Because if you experience them,particularly if you're getting
a lot, like some women areliterally getting them every
waking hour at least once ortwice, and that's really hard to
maintain concentration.
It's hard to feel comfortableif you're in a pool of sweat,
(02:19):
and I've definitely had thathappen and so I wanted to talk
about that today, about why weget them, when will they stop
and what can you do about itfrom a natural medicine
perspective.
So let's get into it.
So, as you are probably aware,the hot flashes actually are
(02:40):
because of the hormonalfluctuations that happen in
perimenopause, so you willdefinitely get.
If you're someone that is proneto them, you will definitely
get them in perimenopause.
Now, again, as I say, somewomen don't get them.
I think the stats are about 80%of women will get them, but
then there's also degrees ofwhich that you have them, in
(03:02):
terms of the duration, thefrequency, the intensity and
whether they stop aftermenopause, which I'll get into
in a second, but essentiallyit's the surging, or actually
the drop from the surge, ofestrogen that's probably the
main cause of hot flashes duringmenopause, because estrogen
(03:26):
plays a pretty crucial role inregulating body temperature
Obviously many, many otherfunctions that it has, but who
knew that it also helps regulateyour body temperature.
So when we get that decline inestrogen, we get that tendency
to have hot flashes because ofthis lack of estrogen can
(03:48):
disrupt our internal thermostat.
Because we do have thisinternal thermostat so that when
you go out, say on a cold day,your body will regulate your
temperature.
We know this.
We know that if we walk out ona hot day we will start to sweat
.
We know that if we are in acold situation, our hands and
feet and your ears, maybe thetip of your nose, will be the
(04:10):
first kind of places to get coldbecause your body starts
shunting all of your blood intoyour internal organs.
Because they're a priorityright.
We want to keep the blood warm.
We want to keep the body warmbecause we only have a fairly
narrow temperature range atwhich the body functions really
well.
So having our thermostatinternally is really important,
(04:34):
but with this disruption inhormones and progesterone also
has a role, but estrogen isconsidered to have the the more
major role.
Yeah, this.
You get this inability of thebody to really adjust
temperature properly, and sowhen we get any sort of trigger,
now sometimes you can get a hotflush and there's no particular
(04:56):
trigger, which is kind ofannoying.
It just happens.
If you've had hot flushes for alittle while, you may have
started to notice patterns.
You may notice that they'rehappening during the night, for
example, or you might noticeyou'll wake up in the morning
and there's a hot flush, oryou'll get out of the shower and
(05:18):
there's a hot flush.
You have a cup of coffee,there's a hot flush.
So you know, you start tonotice patterns and that's
helpful.
Actually, that would probablybe my first hot tip is start to
really note down how many hotflushes are you having in a day
and if you've known them over afew days, you might start to
(05:41):
notice these patterns and thatmaybe patterns related to
certain foods that you're eatingor activities that you're doing
or when your stress levels geta little higher.
So many things can trigger itand that, if you kind of can get
a sense of that or patterns,and that can really help with
managing it.
You don't feel so out of control, because I know, for me
(06:02):
personally, one of the thingsthat really annoyed me about hot
flushes was that feeling ofjust being completely out of
control with your body andfeeling and I think that's
probably why I cried a few timesis you just get this sense of
oh, you know, it's just this.
I'm trying not to swear,obviously, but you know it's
(06:25):
just this sense of oh, forgoodness sake, what, what now?
You know what is happening nowthat I just have no control over
.
It's just very frustratingsometimes and actually quite
distressing.
So some of the things that cantrigger them, as I mentioned
stress.
I think that's probably one ofthe most common things that that
(06:47):
does trigger hot flushes.
Caffeine is pretty well known,unfortunately.
Alcohol definitely.
The thing is with alcohol, evenwithout the context of
perimenopause or menopause.
You know, in your teens, 20s,30s, when you're not really
(07:08):
impacted by this, alcohol willactually cause hot flushes
anyway to anyone.
So but when you're particularlysusceptible, that's why alcohol
can be even worse.
And the same with things withalcohol, with sleep, for example
.
Alcohol, we know, prevents deepsleep and REM sleep.
(07:30):
So if you have alcohol on topof the sleep disruption which
can happen in perimenopause andmenopause.
Sorry everybody, but alcoholcan be a real problem.
In perimenopause you may needto think about what can I do to
reduce my alcohol but still feellike I can't.
I can participate fully insocial kind of events, so it's
(07:55):
something to think about.
But anyway, I digress.
Other things which we know cantrigger hot flushes are spicy
foods, hot environments eventhough I have seen some work
that being saunas can actuallyhelp with hot flushes, that's
relatively new research, butthat might be something to
(08:18):
consider.
Smoking, unfortunately can.
There are certain medicationsthat can exacerbate those hot
flushes.
So if you are on medicationsand experiencing hot flushes of
perimenopause or menopause, itmight be worth having a
discussion with your healthcarepractitioner about are there
(08:38):
alternatives that may not be aslikely to trigger it.
Also, just tight clothing,clothing that traps heat close
to the body, can exacerbate hotflashes and make them feel more
uncomfortable, and it can alsojust add, I think, to that
distress if you're wearingclothing that you can't easily
(09:00):
de-layer.
I know I've had that experiencein the past where I have been
wearing like jeans and a jumperand nothing underneath the
jumper.
Because I live in Queensland,when it's winter Often you don't
need anything else in cold days.
But yeah, if you get a hotflash on a cold day, you need to
(09:23):
be able to de-layer, andwearing tight or heavier
clothing can add to that feelingof distress if you're in a
position where you literallyjust can't de-lay and you just
have to sit there in this saunaof clothing because of that hot
flash on a cold day.
So yeah, in terms of when dohot flashes stop?
(09:46):
For the majority of women, oncethey hit menopause, so that 12
months after the last menstrualperiod, often the hot flashes
because it essentially meanswhen you get to that point is
that your estrogen is no longersurging so it's low, but it's
not having that dramatic falland that can mean that hot
(10:06):
flashes can actually eitherdisappear or become much less
intense or less frequent.
Small percentage of women,unfortunately, will continue to
experience hot flashes, and soknowing and having a good
management plan for them canreally help for you to feel like
(10:28):
you're taking back control ofyour body, for you to feel less
uncomfortable and feel likethey're not actually just taking
over your life.
So what can you do to help?
I've already mentioned a coupleof things, but let's talk about
diet specifically.
As you know, I am anutritionist as well as a
(10:48):
naturopath and I am reallyreally big on food as medicine
is pretty much the majority ofthe work that I do these days.
I still do work with some herbs, but I really love food as
medicine and I am consistentlykind of blown away by how
(11:08):
powerful it is, and some of thespecific foods that can really
help with hot flashes are thingslike flaxseeds.
So some of these foods I'mgoing to mention are
phytoestrogens, so plant-basedestrogens.
These phytoestrogens can mimicthe effects of estrogen in the
body.
(11:28):
Now, they're not going toreplace the estrogen in your
body, but they can support.
So foods like flaxseeds arefabulous, so I have ground
flaxseed every morning in mybreakfast and I really think
that makes a difference to me.
(11:51):
Soy products are also a littlecontroversial.
If you're going for soyproducts, I really highly
recommend you go for organic,non-gmo soy.
So things like tofu, soy, milk,edamame, tempeh they're all
great sources of soy, and thegreat thing about soy is it is a
(12:11):
complete protein.
So it is.
But many plant-based proteinsare not what we call complete
protein, so they don't containall nine essential amino acids,
whereas soy does.
So that's a really good,particularly if you're
plant-based or wanting to eatmore.
Plant-based soy is a greatprotein source for you, as well
as helping to support thereduction or less intensity of
(12:35):
hot flashes.
Whole grains like brown rice,quinoa, oats barley contain
complex carbohydrates and thathelps to stabilize your blood
sugar levels.
And I've spoken I think itmight have even been last week
or the week before I spoke aboutinsulin resistance and blood
sugar levels, and again, that'sa lot of the work that I do with
(12:56):
food is managing that, becausewhen we get into that
perimenopausal time, we, throughsome of the metabolic changes
that go on in the body.
We tend to be more towards aninsulin resistant type of
metabolism and when you havesome insulin resistance, that
makes it more likely that you'regoing to store fat around the
(13:18):
midsection.
We know if your blood sorry, ifyour waist measurement is above
100 centimetres, if you're aman or a woman, your likelihood
of having a degree of insulinresistance is pretty much 100%.
So getting the waistmeasurement down is a priority
in the work that I do with myclients.
(13:39):
And so, yeah, these kind ofcomplex carbs can help stabilize
your blood sugar levels andthat helps to stabilize hot
flashes, because sometimes thatfluctuation in blood sugar can
actually trigger a hot flush.
Fruits and veggies I'm alwaysgoing to say fruits and veggies
and eating the rainbow eating avariety of fruits and veggies
(14:02):
ensures you're getting a reallygood variety of vitamins,
minerals, antioxidants, all ofthose beautiful beneficial plant
chemicals and plant nutrientsthat we all need, and this
supports overall health.
But and it will also help withreducing the frequency of hot
flashes.
Cold water fish so fatty fishlike salmon, mackerel, sardines
(14:28):
these are all really rich inomega three fatty acids, as is
flaxseed or you could addflaxseed oil into that hemp seed
oil.
If you're looking for moreplant based options, these are
anti-inflammatory andincorporating these sort of fish
or these those are theplant-based omega threes into
your diet can help reduceinflammation in the body and
(14:51):
that potentially will decreasethe severity of hot flashes.
And also nuts and seeds, likeparticularly almonds, walnuts,
sunflower seeds and pumpkinseeds, are excellent sources of
healthy fats, fiber andnutrition generally.
Lots of nice little minerals inthere.
And we're talking raw, but youcan roast them or toast them
(15:16):
yourself.
You are beautiful, just dry.
Frying up some almonds withsome balsamic vinegar is
delicious and you can snack onthat.
You can chop them up, make itinto a granola and that can
really help stabilize your bloodsugar as well and that can help
with your hot flashes.
(15:40):
Of course, there are going to bethings that you just need to
work for yourself.
Some things that I've mentionedyou might find are not helpful
to you specifically.
So that's why I love workingwith personalized nutrition,
because I'm getting the exactfoods for the individual that
has been scientificallyevaluated for the individual
based on blood biochemistry.
(16:00):
So whenever I'm giving thesesort of suggestions, they are
very much general suggestionsand not medical advice, not
health advice and not takinginto account your specific
circumstances.
So always just keep that inmind If you try some of this ago
.
Well, it's not working for me,yeah, it's.
These are not for youspecifically, they're just
generally.
We know these things will help.
(16:20):
Also, avoiding spicy foods.
Now, I love chilli, I lovespicy foods.
I haven't found a need to givethem up and you know, again,
some people will find thatthat's always gonna trigger them
off into a hot flush.
Caffeine oh my gosh Caffeine.
(16:41):
You know, often even justgetting rid of caffeine or
drastically reducing to half toone shot a day can be quite
helpful when it comes toreducing hot flashes.
There are some herbal medicinesthat can help, like black
co-hosh is one.
(17:02):
Evening primrose oil can alsobe quite helpful.
Those sorts of herbs andevening primrose oil is an
omega-6 oil.
You can get them pretty easily.
Just a little bit of cautionwith the black co-hosh.
If you're taking othermedications, you do need to talk
to your pharmacist about that,whether that's appropriate, so
(17:23):
that there are some interactionsthere with that particular one.
Also, magnesium magnesium's gotsome pretty good data actually
to support a reduction in hotflashes.
In fact some of the researchshows it can be more than 50% of
women will see a reduction intheir symptoms of hot flushing.
So and I mean gosh, I mean I'vespoken, I think, a lot about
(17:45):
magnesium, but I put almost allof my clients on a magnesium of
some form.
Now it does need to be theright form.
For my peri-ladies, I lovemagnesium glycinate.
That is very helpful to take atnight because you're not only
getting the benefit of themagnesium, but when that
magnesium is broken down in thebody biochemically, you're
getting magnesium and you'realso getting glycine, and
(18:07):
glycine is really calming to thenervous system and helps with
sleep.
So magnesium glycinate is theone that I really recommend for
my peri-ladies.
And also stress management.
I mentioned before that stresscan really trigger off your
perimenopause symptoms and hotflashes, and so having a good
(18:28):
stress management strategy inplace already, so you're not
just putting it in place whenyou have the stressful event,
but if you're training yournervous system to be
self-regulated, that will helpyou a lot.
And finally, exercise I meangetting into your body is so
grounding.
So many of my clients loveexercise for mental health and I
(18:52):
love it myself for mentalhealth.
I've had an injury this pastweek and I haven't been able to
go to a reformer and oh man, Imiss it so much.
So I'm gonna try and go todayand hopefully I've got a bit of
a pelvis injury and hopefullythat will be okay.
It's just from a long-termdoing yoga in the 90s, where
(19:13):
they didn't have a goodknowledge of the body then like
they do now, and so any who longstory.
So I hope this has been helpful.
I would love to know yourexperiences.
Please feel free to message meat Susie Garden Wellness on
Instagram or directly throughthe podcast, if you're on
Spotify.
I hope you have a lovely restof the week.
(19:33):
I'll be back on Thursday withQ&A.
Thanks so much for joining metoday on the Ageless and Awesome
podcast.
If you liked today's episode,please make sure you click the
little plus button if you're onApple podcasts, or the follow
button if you're on Spotify, sothat you can get each new
episode delivered to you everysingle week.
(19:54):
If you like free stuff and whodoesn't?
Then head over toSusieGardencom and grab my eight
essential age-defying secretsevery woman over 40 should know
right now.
Or if you'd like to continuethe discussion, head over to
Instagram and DM me atSusieGarden Wellness.
I'd love to connect with you.
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