Is Flax Seed Really A Remedy For Night Sweats?

Yes! Finally, a clinical study by a major hospital has shown that flax seed does indeed help reduce the effects of night sweats, or hot flashes that occur at night.

Over the years, many herbal remedies have been used to help with this annoying symptom of menopause, with varying degrees of success. A few of the more common non-hormonal remedies are vitamin E, Black Cohosh, and soy. These help, but not to the degree that flax seed has been shown to do.

A study was published in the summer 2007 issue of the Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology that was truly remarkable. A team of researchers, led by Sandhya Pruthi, M.D., Mayo Clinic breast health specialist, showed definitively that flax seed helps with night sweats.

It is also rather uncommon for a major medical institution to investigate a natural remedy as a cure. The researchers were hoping to find a way to relief the symptoms of menopause without the use of HRT, or hormone replacement therapy.

HRT has come under increased scrutiny lately as more and more findings are revealing the very negative side effects. Flax seed had almost no side effects whatsoever.

What about side effects?

Many of the women in the study reported improvements in mood, joint or muscle pain, chills and sweating; which significantly improved their health-related quality of life. Now that is wonderful news! The worst side effects reported were minor bloating and diarhea among a few women. This could likely have been avoided by using flax seed oil instead of the ground seeds.

These “side effects” are much different than those associated with HRT, the worst of which is breast cancer! Powerful pharmaceuticals disrupt the natural balance in the body and therefore almost always have negative side effects. To make matters worse, you must take another strong drug to counter the first one! It is a vicious cycle, especially when there are safe and natural alternatives, such as flax seed.

How do you take flax seed?

It is taken either as a powder or oil. The powder is an easy addition to a healthful diet, no special preparation is needed, just sprinkle on your favorite foods or stir into juice or water. It adds a crunchy nutty flavor to baked goods, cereals and sprinkled on banana slices.

The oil is usually taken in capsule form, though some people prefer the liquid in a tablespoon. It is much better than fish oil!

What is a good source of flax seed?

Flax seed is a simple, inexpensive and effective way to help anyone with night sweats, as well as other symptoms of menopause. There are quite a few sources, but we reommend Herbal Remedies for flax seed. They are a wonderful source of flax seed and just about anything else you might look for in natural remedies. Their prices are low and the quality is high.

You can check out the entire study in the Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology.