The surprising connection between blood sugar and hot flashes

The Surprising Connection Between Blood Sugar and Menopause Symptoms

Ever wondered why your hot flashes are worse? Could it be blood sugar?

Delve into this episode where your host, Lynda Enright tells you about the connection between blood sugar regulation and menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes. 

Learn how diet and lifestyle choices impact blood sugar levels and discover practical strategies to manage and potentially reduce hot flashes. 

Key topics include the importance of protein, fiber, low glycemic carbohydrates, hydration, stress management, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine. 

Lynda discusses blood sugar fluctuations as triggers for hot flashes and highlights the benefits of monitoring hemoglobin A1c levels and using continuous glucose monitors. 

Additionally, she introduces a free guide, 'Five Natural Ways to Reduce Menopause Symptoms,' offering actionable advice to help women feel their best every day.

00:00 Introduction to Hot Flashes

01:33 Understanding Hot Flashes

02:51 The Role of Blood Sugar

05:23 Practical Solutions for Managing Blood Sugar

05:53 Protein and Fiber: The Dynamic Duo

06:21 Balanced Meals: The Key to Steady Blood Sugar

06:44 Low Glycemic Carbs: What and Why

07:06 Hydration: The Unsung Hero

07:41 Stress Management: A Crucial Component

08:03 Avoiding Alcohol and Caffeine

08:20 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

09:34 Question of the Week: Is My Diet Working?

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

1. Want more science-backed health tips? Click here to sign up for my free weekly newsletter for practical advice on navigating menopause with confidence:

2. Click here to get the free guide: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Menopause Symptoms.

2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Transcript

0:00

You feel like a sudden wave of heat hits you out of nowhere, leaving you flushed, sweaty, and desperate for relief. You are having a hot flash. Welcome to Joyful Menopause, the podcast where we explore practical ways for women to navigate perimenopause and menopause. I'm your host, Lynda Enright. Hot flashes during this transition in life are common and can be super frustrating, but what if I told you that your diet could help reduce their frequency and intensity? You might be surprised in today's episode to learn that even if you are not diabetic or have normal lab values, that blood sugar regulation may be impacting your hot flashes. Today we're going to explore the link between blood sugar and hot flashes. Maybe this hasn't happened to you yet, but by the end of the episode, you will know how to prevent it or reduce the intensity when it does. You'll know if the things you're eating are making it worse or not. And stick around and I'll let you know how you can get quick tips to take home and start practicing today. So let's get started. Menopause doesn't have to feel like you are living in someone else's body. Your host, Lynda Enright, has spent the last 25 years helping women to thrive in midlife. Here you'll find science based practical advice that you can start using today to get real results for your health. Welcome to Joyful Menopause. In the 20 plus years of experience working with women, I have gotten lots of questions from my clients about hot flashes. At the end, I'm going to answer the number one question I get about this, and there's a good chance you're wondering the same thing. Let's start by quickly breaking down what hot flashes are. If you've ever experienced that sudden rush of heat, Sweating and sometimes even dizziness, you know how disruptive a hot flash can be. They can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes and can happen during the day or even wake you up at night, and those are called night sweats. If you've felt that intense surge of heat suddenly flood your body, leaving you flushed sweating and even lightheaded, you know, just how overwhelming they can be. These waves of heat can last anywhere from seconds to several minutes, striking at any time. Sometimes they even sneak up at night, jolting you awake with soaked sheets and a racing heart. It's not just an inconvenience. It's a full body experience that can disrupt your day, your sleep and your peace of mind. So what's happening here? Well, during menopause and paramenopause, your estrogen levels start to fluctuate, and this can mess with your body's internal thermostat. So your hypothalamus, the part of your brain that regulates temperature, can become more sensitive to changes which can trigger those sudden bursts of heat. But here's also where it can get interesting. Other factors Like what you eat and how your diet impacts your blood sugar levels can aggravate this process. Blood sugar and hot flashes, it's probably not something you hear about often. And if your doctor says you're not diabetic or pre-diabetic, and your labs continue to look good, it's likely no one is going to even mention that your diet may be impacting your hot flashes. This is something I work with my clients on a regular basis for because they're trying to figure out how their diet can impact their blood sugars so they can improve their hot flashes and get rid of these symptoms. First, let me just explain quickly what I mean when I talk about blood sugar. I'm talking about the amount of glucose or sugar in your blood. Your body needs glucose for energy, but it's important to keep those levels steady and not have big ups and downs throughout your day. There are a number of reasons that sugar may be playing a role in making your hot flashes worse. First of all, after you eat a sugary meal or a meal with lots of carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels may rise quickly. Then your body releases insulin so you can use up that sugar for energy, but what can happen then is your blood sugar can drop fast and leading to hypoglycemia, or it now being too low. So one explanation for the hot flash is that these ups and downs may be affecting your body's temperature control system, and then you get a hot flash triggered. Second, because of the decline in estrogen, it is more likely for a woman to be more prone to insulin resistance where your body's cells don't respond as well to insulin. And then the resulting higher blood sugar levels may be another trigger for a hot flash. So we're talking today about blood sugar regulation and hot flashes. And another possibility is that increased inflammation may impact estrogen production and temperature regulation. leading again to increased hot flashes. Inflammation is something I work on every day with the women I see in my practice because it has an impact on menopause symptoms as well as preventing disease in the future. And research shows that women with diets higher in sugar, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods may have more hot flashes than women with good metabolic health and stable blood sugar levels who don't tend to experience as many hot flashes. So, what's the takeaway here? More research is of course needed to fully understand the connection and the physiology behind this. There's a lot of different possibilities, but stabilizing blood sugar is a strategy that is used to manage menopausal symptoms like hot flashes. And in addition, it will also protect you from chronic disease like diabetes and heart disease in the future. So now what can you do about it? How can you create the best balance? Let's talk about solutions. Here I have some practical steps you can take with your diet and lifestyle to help balance your blood sugar and in turn potentially reduce the frequency and intensity of hot flashes. So these are some things that you can start doing right away today. Number one, prioritize protein and fiber. One great way to prevent blood sugar spikes is to make sure you're eating enough protein and fiber with each meal. Protein and fiber slows down the digestion of carbohydrates, which helps keep your blood sugar levels steady. Foods like eggs, lean meats, legumes, and leafy greens should be staples in your diet. Adding nuts or seeds to snacks can also give you a great source of healthy fats and fiber. I really recommend taking the number of pounds you weigh and eat about half of that in grams of protein each day and aim for at least 20 grams of fiber. Number two. Eating regular balanced meals. Skipping meals can cause your blood sugar to drop, which could lead to a hot flash. So try to eat regularly aiming for three balanced meals a day with possibly a couple healthy of snacks in between if needed. Every person's different. So be sure to include again, a good source of protein, healthy fat and fiber rich carbohydrates in each of your meals. Number three, choose low glycemic carbohydrate foods. Not all carbs are created equal. So focus on low glycemic carbs. What does that mean? That's foods like green vegetables, quinoa, legumes, lentils, and berries. These type of carbs digest more slowly, providing a steady source of energy without causing blood sugar spikes. Number four, stay hydrated. Drinking water helps your body in so many different ways and it may also help to maintain blood sugar balance and reduce hot flashes. A general rule of thumb is again about half, drink about half of your body weight in pounds in ounces of water each day. and it's really best to choose drinks that don't have sugar, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, or caffeine. You might need more or less depending on your exercise or your diet, and if you eat lots of fruits and vegetables, you're also getting some water from those foods too. Number five, manage stress. Chronic stress can also impact your blood sugar levels by causing them to rise or fall unpredictably. Finding ways to manage stress, whether through mindfulness, yoga, deep breathing, or even just taking some time for yourself, is important for hot flash and preventing illness today and in the future. Number six, last one, avoid excessive alcohol and caffeine. Both alcohol and caffeine can cause fluctuations in blood sugar and worsen hot flashes. If you're sensitive to them, try to cut back and see if it makes a difference. Opt for water, herbal teas, or maybe mocktails instead. These simple strategies can make a big difference in your blood sugar balance and hopefully help ease the number and intensity of hot flashes you're experiencing. And remember, every woman's body is different, so it might take some time to fight the, find the right combination of lifestyle changes that work for you. But the more you understand your body and its signals, the better equipped you'll be to manage your symptoms and feel really empowered during this phase of life. In just a moment I want to answer the question of the week that you might be wondering about too, but today we've been talking about specific steps you can start taking right away to balance blood sugars and improve hot flashes. I recommend you start with choosing one strategy that you can work on. I find the best way to make changes towards better health is just one small step at a time. And also to help you do just that, you can grab my free guide, Five Natural Ways to Reduce Menopause Symptoms. In it, you'll find lots of specific things you can start with to create your best health during perimenopause and for many decades to come. One of my clients took just one tip on page three and she started sleeping better than she had in months. So to get that guide, go to the comments below and click on the link. And as promised, here's the question of the week. My doctor says my lab values are all normal. I'm not diabetic. So how do I know if my diet is working to keep blood sugar in check? There's a couple of things that can be helpful for you. First, when you see your doctor, have them measure your hemoglobin A1c. This is a marker of how well your blood sugar has been regulated over time. It's possible your doctor might just do a fasting glucose level, but that's just a snapshot of what's going on right now. And we want to see what's going on over time. So a hemoglobin A1c gives you an idea of how well your blood sugar is managed over about the last three months. Ideally, we'd like to see it below 5. 7 percent for someone who is not diabetic. And then another option is using a continuous glucose monitor. It's a great tool that can help you really see how food is impacting your blood sugar throughout the day. When you eat and in between meals, I use it with my clients sometimes to help them take the information they learn from their monitor and implement changes in their diet. It's a really cool tool that is available today. And when you know how to use the information, it can be really helpful. So thank you so much for joining me today for taking the time out of your day. If you found this episode helpful, click to subscribe and until next time, take care of yourself. And here's to feeling your best every day.