Hot Flashes

[themomur]

I have been going through menopause for several years now, but in the last few years the hot flashes have decreased. During my Whole 30 (Day 8 today) the hot flashes have gotten MUCH worse. They are happening many times a day and are very intense. The night sweats are happening several times a night and are so bad I frequently have to change my pjs. I'm not drinking any alcohol and I've cut back on my caffeine. Any ideas as to why this is happening?

[kellyp]

Hang in there. Mine were pretty bad too but then all of a sudden they stopped. I don't know when during the Whole30 but they are gone now.

[Jinjur]

I'd been having hot flashes starting about August of last year. I'm on day 16 of my Whole30 now, and last Thursday (day 11) I suddenly realized they were gone! As kellyp said, hang in there for another week or so - they may vanish like ours did.

[themomur]

Thank you for the encouragement. I'm not giving up! It just seemed weird that the hot flashes would get worse.

[Karen]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not menopausal, but I've read up a lot on hormones. In short, hot flashes are caused by a drop in estrogen. The body recognizes that drop, freaks out, releases norepinephrine, and the lovely menopause symptoms result, including hot flashes.

It's also my understanding that when it comes to hormonal imbalances, a SAD typically promotes higher estrogen levels, which results in an estrogen/progesterone imbalance. One might deduce that as you change your diet, your estrogen levels drop in their effort to get to a level that's more in balance. Your body recognizes the drop and voila - more hot flashes for a bit until things level out. Hormones are all relative - they respond to the peaks and valleys, so once there's no more drop because your hormones have leveled out, hot flashes go away.

I'm making some assumptions here, but hopefully, that helps explain it a bit more! I'm sure there are much better sources out there.

[Jinjur]

I think it may be the detox that is supposed to happen during the first week or so. We're told to expect that things may get worse for awhile as the body heals and purges.