Doctor Oz spoke about the merits of Black Cohosh for hot flashes when he did a very special Ask Dr Oz segment with Dorothy Hamill (who looks absolutely wonderful!). Dorothy Hamill was an Olympic ice skater and she recently found out she had breast cancer. Hamill told Dr Oz that she went off of her hormone replacement to treat her menopause when she found out she had breast cancer. What can you do, other than hormone replacement, if you have breast cancer and hot flashes from menopause? 
Dr Oz said that hormone receptors when you have breast cancer are turned on by certain types of estrogen. Soy seems to block the ability of regular estrogen to turn on though, so it could be a good option. If you are overweight, you may be producing too much estrogen which can lead to breast cancer and / or ovarian cancer. Dr Oz said that Black Cohosh is a great herb to treat hot flashes. Please comment below if you have tried Black Cohash and share your tips for eliminating hot flashes!
Anita says
Black Cohash and wicking pajamas are two things that Dr. Oz has mentioned for help with night sweats and hot flashes. These two key rememdies have helped many of my clients.
Kathrine says
I’m trying to figure out why Dr. Oz is recommending Black Cohosh for hot flashes despite the repeated evidence (including that assertion by Dr. Rozien) that it is no more effective than placebo. He might as well recommend the sugar pills. They taste better and cost less.
Kathrine says
(Sorry about the misspelling of Dr. Roizen’s name.)
Remedies for hot flashes? Wicking pj’s are simply a way to cope with an ongoing problem, in the same way that running a ceiling fan, keeping your room cool at night, sticking your leg out of the covers, etc. Semantics…
I don’t seem to experience hot flashes while I’m actively exercising, i.e. walking, biking, lifting, etc. Exercising does not seem to reduce hot flashes when I’m at rest. I’m already healthy, fit, and relatively young. Hot flashes don’t wake me up at night but rather seem to come a few moments after waking, as I regain consciousness. They don’t seem to bother me when I’m concentrating on a task, as long as focused.
Which gets to what seems to cause a hot flash (in me, personally)…they are often triggered by emotional thoughts or distracting thoughts, somewhat like blushing gone out of control. Not so much by sustained stress, but by isolated thoughts of a forgotten bill or a passing thought of a conflict with a loved one. Waking thoughts seem to be filled with those kinds of worries.
Maybe that’s why some health care providers prescribe anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs. Personally, the hot flashes are not as bad as the side effects and emotional flattening that comes from these meds.
Lately I’ve tried drinking soy milk (which I’ve read may or may not help) since I already enjoy the taste. It seems that if I drink about a quart, over the course of a day, I have fewer hot flashes. That’s a lot of calories. The lower calorie kind is an option, but that means I’ll still have to cut back eating and drinking other foods that I enjoy. The pill form of soy may be an option but there seem to be hormonal drawbacks.
I’m pretty sure, there isn’t a real remedy without taking hormone replacements. If there was, wouldn’t Dr. Oz just come out and say “do this” already?