Fish Oil Fights Hot Flashes

You know I love omega-3s for all their health benefits but I came across a really interesting article yesterday regarding some omega-3 research that I had not seen before. Fish oil may help control menopausal driven hot flashes.

There has been one study published that looked at the effect of fish oil supplementation and hot flashes. Check out the summary below (courtesy of PUFA Newsletter)

It reported a progressive and significant reduction in the frequency of hot flashes over a 12-week period.

Of the original 120 participants, 29 did not have any hot flashes and were excluded from this analysis. Of the 91 remaining women, 82 completed the 8-week study. Participants recorded the number and intensity of hot flashes for 7 days preceding baseline and weeks 4 and 8. Responses to the Menopause Specific Quality of Life questionnaire administered at baseline and after 8 weeks were compared in the EPA-treated and placebo groups. This questionnaire assessed to what extent participants were bothered by vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual aspects of their lives in the past month.

At baseline, the average number of hot flashes was 2.8/day. After 8 weeks, the mean decrease in hot flashes between the EPA-treated women and the placebo group was -1.1, with a significantly greater decrease occurring in the EPA group (Figure 2). When the analysis was adjusted for the difference in baseline frequency of hot flashes between the two groups, the difference in hot flash frequency after 8 weeks fell short of statistical significance. In percentage terms, hot flash frequency decreased significantly by 55% with EPA consumption compared with a nonsignificant 25% decrease in the placebo group. The drop in hot flashes was significant after 4 weeks. The intensity of hot flashes did not differ between the groups. Scores for the menopause quality of life questionnaire fell significantly in both groups over the 8-week study, but the differences between groups were not significant.

While when adjustments were made the reduction in hot flashes between groups was not statistically significant, these findings are very intreging and I’m sure more research will come in the near future.