Beat the heat: 10 steps to managing your menopause

MENOPAUSE is a normal, natural process that usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age when a woman’s periods stop and her oestrogen levels fall.While some sail through it almost problem-free, for others it can bring hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, bloating and weight gain.Though you may not be able to banish them completely, with a little know-how it is possible to manage symptoms with simple lifestyle changes. TRACK YOUR TRIGGERS

Anything that raises the body temperature can bring on a hot flush. Common triggers are being in an overly warm room or having a hot meal or drink. Caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods and stress are other common culprits. Keeping track of when and where your hot flushes happen, what you ate or drank and how you felt just before should help you identify your triggers so you can try to avoid or reduce them.

You’ll probably notice a pattern – for example, do your flushes mostly happen in the morning or at night? Do they come on when you’re anxious, upset or over-tired? Do you overheat after a hot drink or a curry? Or do they happen when you’re in a warm room, or during or after exercise? EAT TO BEAT THE HEAT

Women who eat a Mediterranean-style diet rich in fruit, vegetables and wholegrains seem to have fewer hot flushes – possibly because the plant oestrogens it contains has a hormone-balancing effect.

Products like tofu, soya milk and soya-based yogurts, cheeses and desserts are also rich in plant oestrogens so can help keep things in balance as our own levels reduce. Dishes like curry and chilli con carne can worsen hot flushes as natural chemicals in spices such as turmeric and chilli can widen blood vessels and boost blood flow. If you can’t bear to give up heat in your food, choose milder options like korma, passanda or dopiaza, eat them with raita and drink plenty of cold water. TREAT YOURSELF

You might be glad to hear that coffee, tea, dark chocolate (at least 70 per cent cocoa) and red wine in moderation are good for you during menopause because they contain polyphenols – plant chemicals that boost “good” gut bacteria linked with better mental and physical wellbeing and decrease oxidative stress caused by menopause because the hormone oestrogen is also an antioxidant. They also help fight cancer, heart disease and dementia and are anti-ageing.

Avoid eating too much dark chocolate as it

is quite high in fat and sugar. Drinking unsweetened cocoa is the healthy way to get your chocolate fix, as you get the benefits of the polyphenols without added fat and sugar. SEEK HELP FROM HERBS

If you dislike drinking soya milk, or if changing your diet doesn’t improve your flushes, a herbal remedy might help. Soya and red clover supplements provide plant oestrogens that help reduce overheating. Sage is also thought to curb excessive sweating.

Black cohosh could help by balancing your hormones, but avoid it if you have liver problems.The herb agnus castus may stabilise hormones too, easing menopausal mood swings, anxiety and tension. St John’s wort, “nature’s Prozac”, may help with hot flushes, night sweats, depression and insomnia by boosting “feel-good” serotonin.

If you take medication check with your pharmacist before using this herb as it can react with some prescribed drugs. Choose a remedy from a well-known company to make sure it meets quality standards. RELIEF ON TAP

Holding your inner wrists under a running cold water tap for a minute or two will quickly cool you down if you need to combat a hot flush while out and about. SAY NO TO NIGHT SWEATS

If night sweats wake you up, keep your bedroom as cool as possible; in warm weather open the windows to let air flow through. Set up a fan nearby for when you feel too hot. Cotton bedding and nightwear will allow your skin to “breathe”.

In hot weather keep an ice gel pack – the type you chill in the freezer – under your pillow. Whenever you need to turn down the heat, turn your pillow over. In hot weather keep water and ice in a thermos flask by the bed so you can have a sip throughout the night. SLEEP MORE SOUNDLY

If you have trouble sleeping, get outdoors in daylight – the earlier the better – to encourage your body to release melatonin at night. Daily exercise improves sleep quality, so try a morning walk.Avoid exercising later than two hours before bedtime as this can raise your body temperature, making it difficult to drop off.

Caffeine is a stimulant and it suppresses melatonin, so avoid coffee, tea, dark chocolate and certain painkillers after 2pm. Turn off technology at least two hours before bed, as it can overstimulate your brain, leaving you “tired but wired”.The bright light screens emit can also lower melatonin levels.Wind down before bedtime by having a bath or shower, watching TV, or reading a book – whatever helps you switch off. EASE ACHES AND PAINS

Oestrogen reduces inflammation, so joint stiffness and muscular discomfort may come with the menopause. Suffering from constant aches and pains can leave you depressed, less flexible and mobile and disturb sleep. Painkillers are often ineffective in managing pain in the long term, so while popping a pill may be necessary now and then, you should try dealing with ongoing discomfort through diet and exercise.

A Mediterranean diet of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, fish and Greek yogurt may help damp down inflammation. Use garlic, chillies, ginger and turmeric in your cooking. Exercise can also relieve pain by strengthening muscles, easing stiffness and improving mobility. If you have arthritis, your medical practitioner may refer you to a physiotherapist who will devise a suitable exercise programme. WHY WEIGHT?

The drop in oestrogen also causes muscle loss.To help prevent this, try strengthening exercises. Carrying bags of shopping and lifting weights will keep your arm muscles strong. Exercising with weights at home is simple – use a 500g/1lb tin of soup or beans or a 1kg/2lb bag of uncooked rice. Start with a lighter weight and gradually progress to a heavier one if you like.

Here is a simple exercise to get you started. Standing with your feet hip-width apart, hold a weight in each hand.With your elbows at your sides and your palms facing upwards, slowly bend your arms, lifting the weights up to your shoulders, then lower them gently back down. Repeat up to 15 times. BEAT THE BLOAT

Bloating at menopause is linked to hormonal changes but changing your diet should help. Fibre helps digestion, but insoluble fibre in wholegrains can ferment in the gut, causing wind. If you’re affected, choose foods with soluble fibre that are gentler on the stomach, like porridge and oatcakes.Avoid foods like beans, peas, sprouts and onions if they give you excess wind.

Too much salt encourages water retention, so avoid salty snacks and don’t add salt to meals. Fizzy drinks are full of gas, so it may help to ditch them. Relax and enjoy your food – gulping it down means you’re more likely to swallow air and trigger bloating.

If your symptoms negatively impact your quality of life, seek medical advice.

100 Tips to HelpYou Through The Menopause byWendy Green (£7.99; Summersdale) is out now.