Description of a HOT FLASH

Considered by many to be the hallmark of menopause, hot flashes are the most common menopausal symptom. During menopause the body produces less estrogen and progesterone. As a result, the thermostat in our brain, the hypothalamus, gets mixed signals: is it hot or cold? This oscillation causes our blood vessels to expand and contract on an irregular and unpredictable basis. With an increased blood flow in the body, a feeling of heat and a flush starts on the face, the neck, and continues to the chest. Some women perspire, others really sweat! Sometimes a chill follows a hot flash.

Hot flashes are sudden waves of heat that can start in the waist or chest and work their way to the neck and face and sometimes over the rest of the body. The upper body, from the chest to the scalp may begin to sweat profusely. You may also "flush," that is, become red as you flash.

Heart rate and skin blood flow increase, although internal body temperature may drop by as much as three or four degrees as the body struggles to correct the imbalance. After the flash, the body quickly becomes chilled as it struggles to regain its normal temperature.

There's no real "average" when it comes to duration. Hot flashes are more common in the evening and during hot weather. Hot flashes may last two to three minutes or up to 30 minutes. They may occur several times a day, or feel like they're occurring all day! They can occur once a week, maybe never. Hot flashes may happen once or twice, or continue for up to ten years. Hot flashes can be categorized as mild, moderate or severe. Mild flashes last less than a minute and produce a feeling of warmth with little or no perspiration. Moderate flashes are warmer, produce obvious perspiration, and last 2 to 3 minutes. Severe flashes causes profuse perspiration, generate intense heat, last longer and interfere with ongoing activity.

Hot flashes deplete our bodies of the B vitamins, vitamin C, and magnesium and potassium, so it is helpful to increase our consumption of these nutrients [don't forget Calcium].

Hot Flash Triggers: (Susan Reed)

·        spicy food

·         hot drinks

·        alcoholic drinks

·         white sugar

·        Stress

·        hot weather

·        hot tubs and saunas

·        tobacco and marijuana

·        anger, especially when unexpressed

The most widely accepted theory is that hot flashes are caused by a deficiency in circulating estrogen as a result of declining ovarian function. We know that fluctuating estrogen levels are at least part of the picture, because many women experience relief from hot flashes while taking estrogen.

Another explanation for hot flashes is that they are triggered by a brief but sudden downward adjustment in the body's internal temperature setting. We know that both estrogen and progesterone play a role in temperature regulation, but we do not fully understand specifically how these two hormones, or a multitude of others, may trigger a shift in the body's thermoregulatory center. Some research indicates that hot flashes may be triggered when declining levels of estrogen and progesterone cause a withdrawal of naturally occurring opiates, chemicals in the brain that have a significant impact on mood, pain control, and hormone modulation.

Studies indicate that stabilization of either estrogen or progesterone can minimize hot flashes. Natural progesterone cream has been shown to afford significant relief from hot flashes. A recent double blind, placebo-controlled study conducted at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania found that 83% of women had a decrease in the frequency and/or severity of their hot flashes while using transdermal progesterone. These results are comparable to the effectiveness of prescription estrogens, as several studies showed that prescription estrogens relieved hot flashes in approximately 85% of women. Studies demonstrate that regular exercise for as little as 3.5 hours per week also lowers the frequency and severity of hot flashes. Exercise is clearly a key element of any program to minimize menopausal symptoms, given its additional benefits for bone and cardiovascular health.

Excerpted from Dr. Holly Zapf, Power Surge 

http://www.power-surge.com/educate/whatsinahotflash.htm

WHAT TO EAT  The Secret of Chicken Soup “Grandmother really did know best when she gave you chicken soup to “feed a cold” but did you know it could control hot flashes?

Arginine is an amino acid found in the gelatinous material extracted from bone marrow. It’s what gives chicken soup its medicinal properties. The jelly stuff that congeals on your plate contains a growth factor which can slow down the rate of replication of viruses, but more importantly, arginine and vitamin E can block the atherosclerotic plaques that cause blood vessels to go into spasm and deprive your tissue of oxygen. Arginine, especially L-arginine, restores the protective effects of cholecystokinin on the stomach lining. It can also prevent damage to the kidneys by increasing the excretion of nitric oxide metabolites, which can cause scarring of the filtration units called glomeruli.”

“Arginine helps wounds heal from surgery by stimulating the immune system in surgical patients. But the most exciting thing I discovered was how well it worked to control and prevent hot flashes. The process that occurs in a hot flash results in blood vessels going into spasm due to signals coming from our central nervous system. Viagra works in much the same way. Nitric oxide can make blood vessels relax or dilate. However, we cannot produce nitric oxide in our bodies without arginine supplying the nitrogen.  The discovery of arginine-derived nitric oxide was so important it resulted in the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine.”

“Nitric oxide levels depend upon a complex interaction between L-arginine and small estrogen doses. L-arginine stimulates growth hormone production and inhibits the effect of cortisol on our hormones.  Arginine lowers your blood pressure and can protect your heart by handcuffing cholesterol, that gunky stuff that turns arties into grease laden pipes.  A diet rich in carbohydrates has very little arginine, while a protein rich diet has oodles of this amino acid. Soybeans, turkey and chicken contain large amounts of arginine. In fact, soy is exceptionally rich in arginine compared to animal sources. So try taking 500mg of L-arginine twice a day and forget looking like a furnace.”

Excerpted from Larrian Gillespie, The Menopause Diet, Healthy LIfe Publications 2003

https://menopausediet.planetnet.com/cgi-local/redirect.cgi?goto=/Store/store.htm&code=RuthGantman

If you have had breast cancer, your hot flashes can follow the same pattern as for women in general, or they can be more intense and last longer, particularly if menopause was premature, or if you are taking tamoxifen and your body hasn’t adjusted to it. Sometimes, tamoxifen develops an unusual estrogen like ability to combat hot flashes.

Night Sweats

Night sweats are a continuum with hot flashes. Traditional Chinese medicine tells us that 3 to 4 AM is the most common time for night sweats, which may wake you up drenched with perspiration.

***********************************************************************************************************

Bio-identical products and other helpful

Products are available through:

Search PhysicanFormuals.com