In this re-released episode from 2020, Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni are talking about a hot topic: hot flashes! Whether you call it a hot flash or hot flush, they can be an annoying and uncomfortable symptom that you may start to experience in perimenopause. We discuss: what hot flashes are and why they happen; the potential causes and triggers for your hot flashes and night sweats; and what you can do about them so you don’t have to suffer.
According to research, anywhere from 35%–50% of perimenopausal women suffer sudden waves of body heat with sweating and flushing that last 5–10 minutes.
What is a hot flash?
A hot flash or vasomotor flush can vary from feeling slightly warm to more like a fire from the inside out. They can come on rapidly and last anywhere from 1-10 minutes.
You may get them anywhere from a few times per week to more than 10 times during the day and night. They can be combined with visible flushing with your chest, neck and face turning red, with a little bit or a lot of sweat.
Hot flashes often continue for a year or two after menopause, but in up to 10% of women, they persist for years beyond that. They can disrupt your sleep, which can worsen: fatigue, irritability, anxiety, metabolism, weight control and immune system function.
Why do you get hot flashes?
Although hot flashes have been studied for more than 30 years, no one is absolutely certain why or how they occur. The Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR) at UBC attributes hot flashes to “estrogen withdrawal”, as their research has found that hot flashes closely resemble an addict’s drug withdrawal due to the hormonal associations and brain effects seen.
Your level of estrogen while in perimenopause is fluctuating and can be unpredictable. When your estrogen level drops from normal to low or high to normal, it can trigger a hot flash in your body.
Estrogen drops can trigger the release of your stress hormone norepinephrine, as well as other stress hormones and brain neurotransmitters. Norepinephrine narrows the range of body temperature where you feel comfortable (also called your thermoneutral zone) so you’re more sensitive to both heat and cold.
A hot flash is a vasomotor symptom where your blood vessels dilate to release more heat because of the narrowing of your thermoneutral zone.
Causes of hot flashes can include:
Blood sugar imbalances that can trigger your stress hormones, resulting in you feeling hot and wired
High stress and cortisol levels that can worsen night sweats
Inadequate detoxification through your organs of elimination or emunctories. Things that can make your hot flashes worse by negatively affecting your body’s ability to detox include:
smoking, constipation, being overweight, not exercising and not sweating (via exercise and sauan usage)
Triggers are different for each women. It is useful to keep a hot flash journal, tracking your potential triggers such as:
Hot drinks, caffeine, alcohol
Sugar, spicy foods, garlic
Nightshades like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers
Perceived stress or stressful situations
What can you do about your hot flashes?
Avoid your known triggers
Manage your temperature
Turn your thermostat down, put on a fan or A/C
Sleep naked or in loose-fitting breathable cotton
Under-dress during the day and wear layers
Use a breathable weighted blanket like ZonLi, Chilipad or gel pillow
Drink cool or ice water
Use an essential oil spray with peppermint, clary sage, geranium
Manage your stress
Have stress-releasing time EVERY DAY! Be proactive to improve your response to stress
Meditation, yoga, deep breathing, singing, humming
Get a sweat going during the day with exercise, sauna or a hot bath
Include liver-detoxifyng and phyto-estrogenic foods
Ground flaxseeds (can add to chia pudding, smoothies, cereal, yogurt)
Organic fermented soy like miso soup or tempeh
Brassica vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts
See a Naturopathic Doctor for hormone testing and individualized treatment including:
Herbs like maca, vitex, black cohosh, sage, red clover, pueraria (Thai kudzu), hops, milk thistle, dandelion, artichoke
Nutrients like berberine, plant sterols, N-acetyl cysteine, magnesium, vitamin E, L-glycine
Acupuncture
Homeopathy
Bio-identical hormone creams
Natural progesterone has been shown in recent research to be safe and effective for hot flashes and night sweats, avoiding some of the adverse effects of classic estrogen therapy or synthetic estrogen with synthetic progesterone (progestin)
Today’s Mama Must Have:
Dr. Toni has a favourite oat and fruit bar recipe for a quick and easy breakfast or snack that Frankie loves:
Dr. Toni’s Banana and Fruit Breakfast Bars
3 ripe bananas
1 cup chopped apricots, cranberries, dates and/or prunes
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds
1 cup milled flax seed
⅓ cup olive oil
1 tsp vanilla
Mash bananas and combine with fruit and oil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spread onto a pan or cookie sheet and flattened with a fork. Bake at 375oF for 10-15 minutes until slightly browned.
Dr. Lisa found a tasty gluten-free beer called Glutenberg to enjoy in moderation on hot summer days.
Thank you for joining us today!
Email us or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.
Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!
You can also support us by visiting our Patreon page.
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this presentation is not meant to replace treatment with a licensed health care practitioner. It is for informational purposes only. Consult with a Naturopathic Doctor or other licensed health care professional to determine which treatments are safe for you.
In this episode, Dr. Lisa talks with Certified Holistic Nutritionist (and best-selling author!) Joy McCarthy about: which foods to eat to support detox; how to “green” your body care products; ways to amp up your salads with powerhouse foods; and how to sneak more vegetables into your child’s diet.
Joy McCarthy is the bestselling author of: Joyous Health, The Joyous Cookbook and Joyous Detox, which was a World Gourmand Cookbook Award recipient. She is also the co-host of the Joyous Health Podcast.
In this episode, we cover:
How a food-based 10-day detox can be the easiest way to get started
The benefits of focusing on what you can eat instead of what you can’t eat
Sources of different chemicals that you may be exposed to throughout the day (and it may shock you!)
The benefits of doing a beauty detox, starting with the products that spend a lot of time on your skin, like your moisturizer and foundation
Eat more: vegetables and other plants, especially cruciferous vegetables, citrus, herbs and spices like fennel, cilantro, parsley, mint, turmeric, ginger, garlic
Some delicious Joyous Health Detox Supporting Recipes you can try:
You can find Joy @joyoushealth on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and on Facebook. Shop for her detox tea, detox program, and the Joyous Detox Cookbook on her online store.
Today’s Mama Must Have:
Dr. Lisa takes a teaspoon of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar in water before eating to support her digestion.
Joy includes meditation in her daily routine to stay sane and manage anxiety, including the Calm app and Deepak Chopra’s Daily Breath app.
Thank you for joining us today!
Email us or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.
Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!
In this re-released episode from 2021, Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni discuss the atopic triad of allergy, asthma and eczema that both perimenopausal moms and their kids can experience. Find out what you can do to prevent and treat these inflammatory issues today.
What is an allergy?
Hypersensitivity disorder of your immune system, where you react to normally harmless substances in the environment that most people won’t react to.
Allergic symptoms include:
Itchy, watery, red eyes
Runny nose
Sneezing
Headache or pressure in sinuses
Itchy throat
Postnasal drip
Constant clearing of throat
More serious symptoms include:
Eczema – inflammatory skin condition
Asthma – immune reactivity and inflammation in airways causing wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath
Hives and anaphylaxis
The prevalence of allergic symptoms is increasing!
Allergic rhinitis, including runny nose, dark circles under eyes and throat clearing, affects as many as 40% of kids in US
CDC reported food allergies increased by 18% in US since 1990s
Eczema affects about 1 in 5 kids in US, with rates tripled in past 3 decades
Asthma affects at least 1 in 8 kids in US, with rates tripled between 1980 and 2008
Increased immune system reactivity causes may include:
Hygiene Hypothesis or Microbiome Disruption
Your immune system needs to learn to respond to components in dirt and soil
Babies born by C section are 5x more likely to develop allergies than vaginal birth, since they are not exposed to mom’s vaginal microbiome
Also influenced with breastfeeding
Good bacteria are needed for “oral tolerance” and immune tolerance, so you are less reactive to foods and environmental allergens
Reduced gut flora diversity linked with increased risk of eczema, damage to gut lining allows foreign particles to trigger more immune reactions since more than half of your immune system is found along your gut – see Episode 8
Germ phobia can make kids more allergic
Insufficient micronutrient and antioxidant intake
Environmental pollution and compromised liver detoxification pathways
Liver filters all the blood in the body from the digestive system and removes toxins, allergens, hormones, chemicals, drugs, etc.
Your liver contains the Reticuloendothelial System (RES) containing immune cells that remove antigens from the digestive system
If overworked with high levels of chemicals and pollution, your liver will not be able to remove allergens appropriately – see Episode 33
Stress and adrenal function
Adrenal glands produce stress hormone cortisol, which is needed for an appropriate immune response
If overstressed or burnt out, you produce less cortisol resulting in more inflammation – for more info, see Episode 24
Genetics
Can be modified by environmental factors
Just because your parents suffer from allergies doesn’t mean you have to!
Immune system balance is like a teeter-totter or see-saw
Th1 vs.Th2 response
Infants born with an allergic tendency and proper amounts of beneficial bacteria or microbiome supports more balance away from allergy while preventing autoimmunity
For example:
Research has shown that children in Estonia are less allergic than those in Switzerland and Estonian children have higher numbers of good bacteria in their intestines
Components of the Allergic Response include:
Allergens are also called antigens, like food, animal hair, insects, pollen, mold, dust, trees, chemicals, drugs, dyes, detergents, additives, etc.
Antigen binds to IgE antibody receptors on immune cells called mast cells, which triggers the release of inflammatory substances including prostaglandins and histamine
Histamine acts in many areas in the body causing:
Vasodilation – swelling, redness, inflammation
Skin – itching, swelling, redness, hives
Nose – runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion
Eyes –watery
Lungs – congestion, bronchoconstriction of airways, difficult to breathe
Digestive System inflammation
What Else is Happening?
Join Dr. Lisa’s Facebook group Wild Woman Adventures Toronto if you want to get out in nature, connect with other women and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Activities include: sunrise/sunset SUP, tree-top trekking, a new moon workshop and more!
We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.
You can also support us by visiting our Patreon page.
Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Disclaimer:The information provided is not meant to replace treatment with a licensed health care practitioner. It is for informational purposes only. Consult with a Naturopathic Doctor or other licensed health care professional to determine which treatments are safe for you.
In today’s episode (re-released from May 2020), Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni talk about migraines, something that too many women experience.
It’s not in your head! The pain is real!
In this episode, we cover:
Possible causes of your migraines
Stress causing magnesium deficiency and muscle tension
Structural alignment of neck and tailbone
Insomnia
Weather or barometric pressure changes (example: Chinook winds in Calgary)
Dehydration
Blood sugar imbalance
Food sensitivities and histamine intolerance, including alcohol, caffeine, cheese, food additives like nitrites
Brain inflammation and nerve irritation
Hormones: estrogen/progesterone imbalance
Dr. Toni’s personal experience growing up with migraines and they are linked with her diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse, a common heart murmur (hint: magnesium!)
Current and new conventional treatments for migraines offered by family doctors and specialists
The importance of figuring out the factors that are impacting your migraines
Natural ways to address your migraines:
Track your migraines using a migraine diary to help figure out your triggers
In this episode, Dr. Toni reviews her experience going through perimenopause into menopause with Dr. Lisa. This transition can look different for every woman and sometimes happens a little earlier than you expect, like it did for Dr. Toni. The only thing predictable about perimenopause is that it’s unpredictable!
In today’s episode, we cover:
What is menopause, premature menopause and early menopause
Potential reasons why you could experience premature or early menopause
The variety of symptoms that you can experience in perimenopause and menopause
For more info on hot flashes and night sweats, see Episode 133
Dr. Lisa is a big fan of using melatonin with kids before bed for supporting bedtime changes.
Dr. Toni loves the Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee, especially when dealing with daylight savings time.
What’s Else is Happening?
Dr. Toni’s next HypnoBirthing session for expecting parents looking to decrease fear and anxiety to support their natural instincts around labour and birth is next month. Join her at https://www.hypnobirthingcalgary.com/register
Sign up for Dr. Lisa’s free webinar: “How to Thrive in Perimenopause and Beyond” (on Mar 29th or Apr 3rd) here
Join Dr. Lisa’s new Facebook group Wild Woman Adventures Toronto if you want to get out in nature, connect with other women and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Activities include: sunrise/sunset SUP, tree-top trekking, a new moon workshop and more!
We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.
You can also support us by visiting our Patreon page.
Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!
Stay safe and healthy everyone!
Disclaimer:The information provided is not meant to replace treatment with a licensed health care practitioner. It is for informational purposes only. Consult with a Naturopathic Doctor or other licensed health care professional to determine which treatments are safe for you.
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