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Walking into a fully air-conditioned room and breaking into a sweat or constantly feeling the need to peel off or put on a blanket at bedtime during the night because your body cannot make up whether to feel hot or cold, are some visual indicators of what hot flushes feel like. Living in a tropical country that is constantly humid only seems to aggravate the situation without offering respite of any kind.
Most times, it is women who are on the brink of menopause or have tided over that condition who find themselves in squeamish conditions, thanks to the constant flow of sweat occurring for no reason, leaving them feel dehydrated and low on energy. As a result of this, it is not uncommon to feel a constant craving for sugar, have pigmented skin or loss of hair. Consuming specific types of foods, which are nutrient rich and can reduce the effects of these hot flushes is an ideal way to treat the condition, without having adverse effects to your health.
Coconut Barfi
Image Credits: Geek Robocook
Don’t deprive yourself of that post-lunch sweet nibble and munch on a piece of homemade coconut barfi or kopra pak instead of reaching for the chocolate or cheesecake. When you experience hot flushes, the chances of losing stamina is higher and enjoying a piece of coconut barfi around midday or after a meal gives your body that extra boost of energy it needs, to get through the day. Coconut is rich in essential fatty acids, while burn slowly, releasing energy in a consistent manner as opposed to seeing a spike and slump almost instantaneously.
Ridge Gourd Chutney
Image Credits: Archana's Kitchen
Combining ridge gourd with a handful of aromatics and sesame seeds to grind into a chutney that accompanies your rotis and bhakri at lunchtime, is one of the most traditional forms of eating in-tune with our ancient cultures. Making chutneys with the peels and seeds of vegetables is not uncommon to our culture as they are both power-packed with nutrition and essential minerals for the body. Since hot flushes directly affect bone mineral density, combining a creeper vegetable like ridge gourd, bitter gourd or pumpkin with sesame seeds, is known to be an excellent source of calcium and vital nutrients needed for repairing and reviving the bodily functions.
Banana Chips
Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons
When you trace back to the type of snacks we grew up binging at tea time, banana chips were one of the most prominent items that come to mind. It is known to curb salty cravings as well as overeating, along with being rich in vitamin B6, which benefits to maintain composure and be calm mentally. Similarly, eating a handful of jackfruit or tapioca chips have similar effects on the body, replenishing the salt levels as well as providing satiety.
Eggs
Eating a breakfast of eggs at least once or twice a week, either in boiled or fried form, is a great way to introduce Omega-3 fatty acids into your body combined with a healthy dose of vitamin E. Unlike simple carbohydrates that spike blood sugar levels, consuming a reliable source of protein helps to keep one feeling full for longer as well as creating energy reserves in the body for any last-minute extensions or if you have a tendency to skip mealtimes. Eating eggs have also been known to reduce menopausal night sweats and develop healthy mechanisms to cope with hot flushes.
Vegetable Greens
Image Credits: Asian Cooking Mom
How often do we enjoy eating the greens peeled off of cauliflower, beets or radishes without discarding them? Along with leafy greens like spinach and amaranth, eating the greens off of vegetables is a fantastic mineral source, replete with various micronutrients that the body might be deprived of. Also known to be a rich source of vitamin E as well as provide an extra dose of nourishment to the blood, these vegetable greens are rich in antioxidants.
