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Women who are overweight are more susceptible to hot flashes. Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet, coupled with daily exercise, can help you stay at a healthy weight. Always consult a registered dietician or your doctor before altering your diet.  Consume more vegetables, healthy fats, and lean protein. Shape your meals so they contain one protein source, one low fat source and one low carb vegetable source. A low carb diet can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle and improve the symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes.  Healthy protein sources include egg whites, soy products, and chicken. Fish such as salmon and trout, as well as shellfish like shrimp and lobster are also good sources of protein in a healthy diet. Non-fat greek yogurt is also a good way to get protein and dairy in your diet. Your diet should also focus on food sources of vitamin E, which can lower the severity of hot flashes in women. Leafy greens, tropical fruit, and nuts are all good sources of vitamin E. Low carb vegetables include: broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage, swiss chard, lettuce, cucumber, and celery. Steaming or baking vegetables, rather than frying them, will ensure you receive all the nutrients and antioxidants in low carb veggies for the week. Healthy fat sources include avocados and nuts, as well as olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil. Cooking with these oils will boost your fat levels without causing you to gain weight. Cut out carbs, sugars, and animal fats. Foods high in carbs and sugars cause your body to secrete insulin, which is a main fat storage hormone in your body. When your insulin levels go down, your body can start to burn fat. It also helps your kidneys shed excess sodium and water, which will help you reduce any water weight.  Avoid foods high in starch and carbs like potato chips, french fries, and white breads. You should also avoid consuming foods high in sugar like soft drinks, candy, cakes, and other junk food. Animal fats found in red meat and gamey meat like lamb can be fattening and slow down your metabolism as they are difficult to digest. Caffeine is a common trigger for hot flashes and mood swings among menopausal women. Replace caffeine with water whenever possible. Instead of going for coffee or black tea, choose herbal tea or sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. Cut back on dark chocolate, too, as it contains caffeine. Like caffeine, alcohol can make hot flashes and mood swings worse. Whenever possible, choose a nonalcoholic beverage instead of an alcoholic one. When you do choose alcohol, limit your consumption to no more than one drink per day. Naturally occurring plant estrogens may help reduce the severity of hot flashes. Their effect is not as strong as that of human estrogen, but they may still be helpful. Plant estrogens can be found in the following foods:  Soybeans Chickpeas Lentils Tofu Crushed or ground flaxseed Spicy foods are known to trigger hot flashes in many women. Try seasoning your food with milder seasonings, like basil, chives, and oregano, instead of using blackening spices, peppers, curry, and other hot spices.
Maintain a healthy, balanced diet. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Incorporate plant estrogens into your diet. Stay away from spicy foods.