{mp3}680news – meddiet and hot flashes – june 10-2013{/mp3}

If you suffer hot flashes and are concerned about hormone therapy and their side effects including increased heart disease and breast cancer, you’ll want to listen in.

Women whose diets are more Mediterranean based consisting of  fruit, vegetables, pasta and red wine were 20 %  less likely to have hot flashes and night sweats during menopause, a new  Australian study suggests.  Meat and dairy had no effect on symptoms.

At the same time menopausal women who ate a high sugar and  high  fat diet were 23% more likely to have these symptoms.

A low fat, high fibre diet which helps to keep your blood sugar levels in the optimum range may stabilize estrogen levels which ease menopause symptoms.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes minimally processed and fresh foods and they suffer less chronic disease than us.