Published on
Updated
Reading 2 min.
in collaboration with
Dr Ghada Hatem (Gynecologist)
Medical validation:
October 21, 2023
According to researchers, hot flashes could fade… by consuming certain ingredients. The opinion of Dr Ghada Hatem, obstetrician-gynecologist and member of the Doctissimo expert committee.
Many women complain about the side effects of menopause: weight gain, hot flashes, sleep problems, etc. Good news, however: favoring a certain category of foods could help alleviate these symptoms. Explanations.
Vegetables and plants on the plate
A first study called “Zoe Menopause“had already highlighted the link between a BMI”healthy” and the reduction of symptoms linked to menopause (hot flashes, dry skin, low libido, mood changes, etc.).
But other data showed that diet (and in particular the consumption of plants) had an even greater impact than BMI on these inconveniences.
Leafy vegetables and green vegetables, full of antioxidants, seem particularly recommended.
This is also the case of chasteberry, a Mediterranean plant used for medicinal purposes, which, once ingested, helps maintain the balance between progesterone and estrogen. Result: hot flashes are reduced.
Another investigation, this time relayed by the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Healthhad shown that women who consumed a lot of legumes (such as lentils, chickpeas and kidney beans) delayed their menopause by several years.
These pulses also seemed to reduce hot flashes, keeping blood sugar levels stable.
A link with the microbiota?
These effects could be explained by “good bacteria” present in our microbiota, according to Dr. Megan Rossi, dietician, nutritionist and author specializing in the microbiome.
Maintaining a healthy intestinal microbiota would reduce “Menopausal symptoms and conditions caused by estrogen imbalances”she believes.
In an article from Dailymailshe specifies that the key to this process is “beta-glucuronidase, an enzyme produced by certain intestinal bacteria that “recycles” inactive or used estrogen and puts it back into the circulation”, explains the doctor. “These intestinal bacteria that control estrogen even have their own name, estroboloma..
But for Dr Ghada Hatem interviewed by Doctissimo, the link between the consumption of plants and the reduction of certain symptoms linked to menopause, such as hot flashes, is not (yet) convincing.
“The conclusions seem a little hasty to me. We need to dig deeper into this data and carry out larger-scale surveys, on more candidates, before we can conclude that there is a real effect of diet on the occurrence of menopausal disorders.“, she says.
While waiting to learn more on this subject, adopting a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables and legumes remains a good reflex to adopt for menopausal women but also for everyone!
Slide: 10 natural remedies for hot flashes