#36 Hot Flashes and Phytoestrogens
Hot flashes, while often tied to menopause, are also a regrettable aftermath of certain cancer treatments.
In this episode, we demystify what truly constitutes a hot flash and delve into some intriguing research on its implications for breast cancer patients and survivors.
Join us as we discuss strategies to alleviate these sudden surges of warmth and examine the potential benefits of phytoestrogens, botanical compounds, and Ayurvedic herbs. Let's find a way to temper your personal heatwave, offering a respite from these unexpected summery spells.
Resources for Episode 36:
Studies:
Relationship between menopausal symptoms and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.
Phytoestrogens and breast cancer
Supplements:
Read the full transcript:
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This is Laura Lummer, the breast cancer recovery coach. I'm a healthy lifestyle coach, a clinical Ayurveda specialist, a personal trainer, and I'm also a breast cancer survivor. In this podcast, we talk about healthy thinking and mindfulness practices, eating well, moving your body for health and longevity. And we'll also hear from other breast cancer survivors who have reengaged with life, and have incredible stories to share. This podcast is your go to resource for getting back to life after breast cancer.
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Welcome to Episode 36 of the breast cancer recovery coach. I am Laura Lummer. And today we're going to be talking about hot flashes, which pretty much everyone hates and phytoestrogens, which most survivors are actually pretty leery of, we're going to take a look into some recent studies that might make it easier for you to tolerate the annoyance and the discomfort of hot flashes. And I'm also going to share some tips on managing hot flashes, including two very widely used Ayurvedic herbs that support and rejuvenate the female body, and what the science tells us about the impact of these vital estrogens on our bodies. So first, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to each of you for listening and subscribing to the breast cancer recovery coach. I love hearing from you and knowing that you enjoy listening to the show, and that you feel supported or empowered by the information you get here. Thanks to those of you who continue to reach out and email and message me about the show. And if you are someone who enjoys listening to the breast cancer recovery coach, please take the time to subscribe by clicking on any of the Subscribe buttons you'll find on my website at the top of the podcast page in the iTunes store. Or if you're using an Apple device that has Siri, you can use this super cool new feature of just saying hey Siri, subscribe to the show. I just want you to know that I really appreciate the support, and that the more subscribers and the more positive reviews the show receives, the easier it becomes for other survivors to find the show and to get informed and to get inspired. All right, let's talk about hot flashes. First of all, let's talk about what a hot flash really is. So it's actually a really cool kind of reaction. Oh, no pun intended. It's a reaction that involves your whole body as you very well know if you have had one. Most people are aware that we have a drop in estrogen as we move into menopause or if we're thrown into menopause by the surgical removal of ovaries or chemically induced shutdown of the ovaries through chemotherapy. But what happens once those estrogen levels plummet is at this very influential part of our brain the hypothalamus, which is responsible for regulating body temperature, blood pressure, emotions, and secretion of hormones along with controlling behaviors like hunger and thirst and sleep sexual responses. It kind of freaks out a little bit at this drop in estrogen. And of course, we don't know the reason exactly why it freaks out but we know that it tops and then suddenly our body's thermostat reads that it's way too hot. And our hypothalamus goes into this DEFCON three, alerting all of the body systems to release heat and cool off fast like get this heat out of there, which is how you feel if you're having a hot flash, right? You just like take off the sweater take off this wig take off anything just cool down. So our blood vessels in their skin are dilating, we start to sweat. And that's our body's cooling mechanism. Your heart rate speeds up and you feel like you're going to spontaneously combust. And then two minutes later, you're freezing from the DEFCON three system going back to normal and leaving you wet skinned and shivering, right? Like anything else that varies from woman to woman, we can all experience hot flashes differently. Sometimes you get a little bit of an aura before the onset of one. And sometimes they can be accompanied with nausea, weakness, headaches, dizziness and anxiety. And I'll tell you, there was a time where my hot flashes were so frequent and so intense that I felt like I was about to panic. I think it was really the first time that I had this glimpse into what a panic attack might feel like. So if you have intense frightening hot flash experiences, and you feel like you're kind of on the edge of freaking out. Don't think you're crazy. You're not alone this experience happens to people. So for some time now, I've been planning on doing a show on hot flashes and natural remedies that can offer support because hot flashes are awful. So imagine my surprise as I started to do a little bit of research and I came across several articles and some studies that claim that hot flashes are a good sign when it comes to breast cancer and breast cancer treatment. I was not expecting to find that seriously. At first. I thought it was a joke and when
5:00
It was definitely not written by a woman who has having hot flashes. But it actually isn't a joke. In December of 2012, the annals of oncology published a study of 14 185 women who are being treated with the aromatase inhibitor XMS stain or the brand name is a chromosome. And now aromatase inhibitors are used in postmenopausal women to help prevent the body from aromatizing are changing other hormones into estrogen. For pre menopausal women, tamoxifen and VISTA are comparable to these medications. The function of these medications is different, but the end result is to try to keep estrogen from getting to hormone positive cancer cells, right. So this study looked at two adverse reactions women can have when they're on these drugs, one was hot flashes, and the other is musculoskeletal issues. And what they found was that women who experienced more hot flashes had higher rates of relapse free survival, as well as overall survival. And also in 2013, the Journal of Clinical Oncology published a study of over 9000 Women who either being treated with tamoxifen or Aromasin, and found that those who had a higher incidence of hot flashes had up to a 45% higher overall survival rates and 19% lower chance of metastasis.
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For women who did not have breast cancer. A study published in cancer epidemiology, biomarkers and prevention in 2011 found that women who had ever experienced this menopausal symptom not only had lower risks of three types of breast cancer, but that the lower risk was not related to their BMI to the body mass index, or to the age of menopause onset, and that the more intense and frequent the hot flashes were, the greater their risk of getting breast cancer was reduced. That's pretty amazing. These studies did not discover why women with hot flashes had better survival rates, or lower overall risk. And it certainly does not make hot flashes any more comfortable. However, knowing this information might make them a little more psychologically easier for you to bear. At least I hope so. Now, granted, these are just a couple of studies, and certainly more research needs to be done in this area. So in the meantime, what can you do for some relief when you want to be all cute and carefree and not all sweaty and lobster read? Well, here's a couple of tips for you. First of all, really practice mindfulness. Meaning pay attention to what happens in your body and what triggers your hot flashes. Some of the top triggers and I know this one definitely for me, sugar, alcohol, spicy food, caffeine, wearing tight clothing, having exposure to chemicals, and this is whether they're cleaning agents or perfumes or cigarette smoke. Hashtag endocrine disruptors, ladies. So go back and listen to episode 27. For more information on that
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another trigger can be hot or poorly ventilated rooms. I mean, who needs to have a fan going all the time, I'm raising my hand. And also a trigger is emotionally upsetting situation. So whether it's anger or nervousness, or worry, finding ways to keep your emotions in balance can be very helpful. Yoga, daily meditation and mindfulness practices are all really great choices for this. And now some of your triggers may be things that you don't really want to give up. So you have to make sure that you prepare yourself for them. So if you know you're going to be having dessert or a cocktail when you go out to dinner tonight, then dress in layers so you can stay comfortable when that chain reaction sets off. Or bring a lovely decorative fan. I bought sequined hand vans by the dozens when my lunches were the worst, and the guy had one to go with every outfit. But just make sure that you're prepared so you can stay comfortable and cool. And then that keeps you from getting into that panic moto escalating emotions which makes the hot flashes even worse. Another way to reduce the intensity and the frequency of hot flashes and also to lower your risk of cancer recurrence is exercise. Now I know it seems counterintuitive. How can getting your heart rate up and getting all hot and sweaty make you have pure hot flashes. Well, in 2017, the journal menopause published a study that found women who went through a 16 week exercise program did have a reduction in hot flashes because of getting all hot and sweaty when they exercise. They not only had better cardio respiratory fitness, of course, exercising consistently for 16 weeks, right? But because they were essentially training their bodies to cool down more effectively even more
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And they weren't exercising their bodies got better at thermo regulatory control. So you get out there in the gym and you're hot and you're sweaty, and your body learns to regulate temperature because your body is always trying to stay. Same, right, nice and even homeostasis, we want to bring everything back to normal. So exercise trained the body to better control the temperature, and that carryover was outside of the gym in relation to hot flashes as well. Now, in my own experience, I can tell you, I never get a hot flash when I'm in a hot yoga class. And that has always fascinated me. It's interesting, but your body's cooling system really kicks in when you're moving in an exercise environment. So don't let I don't want to go exercise because of hot flashes being an excuse for you because it's actually a great benefit.
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Now, one of the most common questions that I get is what can I take to get rid of hot flashes? Right? And as cancer survivors hormone treatments are out, but what about herbal medicines and plant foods? In Episode 32, I went into some depth about the information on soy which is a popular and very controversial phyto estrogen. So check that out if you're on the fence about eating soy. But here I'd like to talk a little more about what a phyto estrogen is, how you can get them from foods and herbs and whether or not they're viewed as safe for breast cancer survivors. So phyto estrogens are substances that are produced by plants. They're found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and even in some grains, the substances bind to the same receptor sites as estrogen in her body. So technically, they're closest actually to estrogen dial.
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Now, don't panic thinking what the hell is everyone telling me to eat more plants for if I'm supposed to be avoiding estrogen, and these things are filled with plant estrogens. So cells are this fascinating world of chemical reaction and microscopic exchanges of materials. And on the surface of each cell, our receptors think of like a lock and key relationship with the receptor being the LOC and the hormone that fits into the receptor being the key. So if a cell has receptors for estrogen, and we're eating a diet rich and plant foods, and phyto estrogens, these substances, which are only a fraction of the strength of actual estrogen fill these locks. And the thought is that prevents the powerful stuff, the real estrogen that might be cancer from fitting into those same receptors, those same locks. So even though bio estrogens may mimic estrogen, they're actually protecting us by lessening the effect that estrogen can have on our bodies. In an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2004, the results of a study of 15,000 Dutch women from the ages of 49 to 70, were followed for an average of five years not only showed no association between isoflavones which is a common phyto, estrogen and breast cancer, but there was a 30% reduction in breast cancer risk for those women who had the highest intake of these isoflavones. In a review of 13 studies published in breast cancer research and treatment in 2003. The author's also concluded there was no evidence of an increase in breast cancer risk with increased consumption of phyto estrogens.
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So with this in mind, let's look at two herbs. And I bring this up because these herbs have phyto estrogen qualities, or one of them specifically does and these have been used in Ayurveda for centuries, and they can be really helpful in reducing hot flashes. Both of these herbs have kind of a different approach. That's why I like them both. And just remember that herbs must be taken over time and with consistency. You don't get a hot flash poppin herbal pill and expect it to work like an aspirin or anything else. They must be part of the healthy lifestyle. And additionally, when you're taking prescription medications, please check with your doctor before you take any kind of herbs, because herbs are really powerful plant medicines and they can have interactions with pharmaceuticals, that can reduce the effectiveness of that pharmaceutical drug or even have some kind of a side effect. So please be smart and be safe. Now in Episode 18, I introduced the RU Vedic concept of doshas, if you heard that show, you know that the elements of heat or part of what we call the Pitta dosha in our VEDA, and a beautiful herb or reducing heat in the body, for cleansing the blood from an Ayurvedic perspective, from promoting circulation and overall liver function is called Minji. Sta. Now the plant name the scientific name is Rubia cordifolia. And in our EU data, the route is turned into this powder and it's used to remove excess heat from the system and helps to clear the skin too.
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reduce inflammation to boost the immune system and even externally it can be used as a paste or a tea to help heal wounds and to heal the skin. And I choose Manchester because it has this really powerful blood cleansing, heat reducing ability. Another herb that's excellent and has a completely different approach when it comes to managing hotflush is a wonderful female adaptogen meaning that it boosts the immune system and it has a natural ability to balance the body. This herb is Shatavari and Shatavari literally means she who possesses 100 Husbands, which I know nobody listening wants, right, but you get the meaning of what Reserve can do.
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The route is also the primary part of the plant that we use in our ubeda in pre menopausal years. Shatavari is used to increase Lactation Support fertility and rejuvenate the reproductive system. In the menopausal years. It's used to support the body to boost the immune system. And it is this demulcent herbs so it has the ability to bring this juiciness back into the body with its demulcent properties. It can help with stiff joints and muscle spasms and even soothing the respiratory system. In the Complete Book of ru Vedic home remedies by the amazing Are you Vedic physician basalt Laude, he recommends taking half a teaspoon of wild yam which is an herb and a half a teaspoon of Shatavari in either warm water, or aloe vera juice twice a day throughout menopause for maximum support. So that's something you can definitely try. So many herbs when they're blended together have this synergy and so they become even more beneficial than just taking them on their own. Now, cleaning up your diet, watching for triggers and exercising regularly should always be your first step. That's your first approach. Remember, it's your lifestyle. That's your medicine. And when you get your lifestyle in check if you choose to use herbal support. My personal recommendation is always Banyan Botanicals and not getting paid to say that they're just what I've used for years. And they have great quality, they have tons of education on their website, and they have an outstanding reputation for just a really good quality product. For a hot flashes. I love the blend of herbs they have that's called Healthy Pitta and they also have another blend called the blood cleanse. And so the effects of these herbs is to just lower that heat in the body kind of cool you off but also support the immune system and to support the whole endocrine system and the balance the female hormones. So as always, I'll put links to the references and resources in the show notes on my website. And I'd love to hear your feedback. So if you have a remedy that has helped you manage hot flashes, please find me on Facebook as Laura Lummer and share it with our community because we really are stronger together ladies go a lot of smart ladies out there doing great stuff. So let's share that information together. I look forward to talking with you again in two weeks until then, let your lifestyle be your medicine versus in your head. You've put your courage to the test laid all your doubts to
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you your mind is clearer than before your heart is full and wanting more your futures
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Give it all you
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know has
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you been waiting
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this is your
