I don’t know if there is scientific proof that red meat contributes to menopausal hot flashes, but I do know that I gave up red meats a little over a month ago (June 18th) and within a couple of days the flashes began do diminish. After a couple of weeks they only occurred once or twice a night. Now, a month later…no more hot flashes. As a matter of fact, I’m back to the Felicia of old. I can tolerate the heat better than most.
Over a decade and a half ago I first started having hot flashes. Back then I started drinking Green Vibrance and that squashed the flashes. In addition to Green Vibrance I cleaned up my diet. All was going swimmingly for about 8 or 10 years.
The Body Continues to Change
While drinking the Green Vibrance I completely forgot about the hot flashes and allowed myself to slip from my habit of clean eating. Eventually the hot flashes came back again. So, the natural course was to start back with Green Vibrance. The only problem was Green Vibrance didn’t work as it had in the past. This meant I had to up my game to find a solution.
I’ve written various posts about my battle with hot flashes (here, and here and here and here) and the dietary changes I made in order to quell them. Periodically I would win the battle, but ultimately lose the war, as the hot flashes would return.
Why they would return is beyond me. It appears the hormone levels in the body continue to change over the menopausal years and what works in the beginning may not work later on. All I know is there was an immediate and marked decrease in hot flashes once I gave up red meat.
Will I Eat Red Meat Again?
On occasion. During my month of meatless eating I did have salmon, shrimp and a couple of pieces of chicken. I don’t eat fish/chicken daily, just once or twice a week. I’ve yet to have a hankering for red meat so I’ve left it alone. We still have frozen pieces of grass fed beef in the freezer so when I do have an urge I’ll satisfy it.
I do, however, continue to have bone broth. The broth is made from bones from grass fed beef. The mineral-rich broth doesn’t seem to cause hot flashes so I continue to drink it daily.
Is giving up meat the cure for hot flashes? I’m not sure, but I’m sure enjoying the reprieve. I’ll try to remember to report back 6 months from now to see if I’m still as cool as a cucumber.
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I also noticed that the hot flashes got worse after eating beef. I found that there are 6 hormones that are approved for use when raising beef. I googled each of them and found that Trenbolone causes hot flashes in men that use this for steroid abuse. Organic beef might be fine.
Hi Elle,
It wasn’t until recently that I became aware of the term “meat sweats.” I think there’s something to it. Maybe it’s the hormones, or maybe it’s the body’s way of digesting meat, I’m not sure. Fortunately, however, I think my body is getting used to eating more meat as the hot flashes that I associated with meat have disappeared. I do get occasional flashes at night, but they’re manageable.
Honestly, I haven’t quite figured this body out yet after all these years! 🙂
Than you for sharing this because I have been thinking that eating meat seems to increase my hot flashes. I thought about going raw vegan to see if that would help because when I make green smoothies and eat more vegetables (no meat to minimal), I seem to have less flashes. Low dose HRT hasn’t stopped them. Clonodine helps minimally with them. I will do anything at this point to stop these embarrassing hot, sweating episodes!
I feel your pain, Katy. Over the years, I’ve experimented with so many things. Sometimes they would disappear for about a month or so, then they would come back. I’ve tried analyzing what it was that caused them to leave and then come back again.
What I’ve found, is the cleaner I ate for an extended period of time, the fewer hot flashes. When I slacked off and let bad foods creep into my diet, the flashes would make a return.
Lately, I’ve been adhering to a ketogenic diet. At first, the flashes intensified, but I stuck with it and eventually, they decreased. I find that I might get a few flashes in the evening as I start getting tired, but other than that, they’ve been pretty good. I’m still experimenting. Hot flashes are not fun and yes, they can be embarrassing. That’s why I spend so much time trying to find natural solutions for getting rid of them.