6 Best Natural Remedies for Hot Flashes: 'Girl, Interrupted' Star Angelina Jolie on Menopause

Menopause hits each woman differently: in age, in scope, in symptoms, in effects. Some more than others are able to easily and comfortably cope with the changes that are part and parcel of menopause.

Actress/director 'Girl, Interrupted' Angelina Jolie, for example, finds menopause a comfortable change in her life. Brad Pitt's wife has in fact been quoted to say that she loves being in this stage of a woman's life. "I actually love being in menopause."

Angelina professes, "I feel older, and I feel settled being older."

"I feel happy that I've grown up. I don't want to be young again."

However, as a general trend, many women find menopause a strange phase fraught with difficulty and takes some getting used to. Experts recommend familiarisation and preparation for an easier transition. They also recommend a switch back to a healthy lifestyle to maintain overall health.

Among the more common side-effects of menopause that have been known to bring women difficulty are the hot flashes. Although this frequent sense of intense heat is fleeting and does not linger too long it can still be very uncomfortable to go through. Fortunately, with a little help from natural food sources, relief may be found from hot flashes. With a little help from natural food sources, however, ordeals with hot flashes may be lessened.

A few of natural food sources that provide relief for hot flashes are:

#1 Soy: A comparison of women in Asian countries versus women in the US suggested that women in Asia experience fewer hot flashes, which may be linked to the presence of soy in regular Asian food. While opinions over the benefit of soy in relieving hot flashes are mixed, the benefit of soy to overall health is still undeniable.

Dr. Mark Messina of Loma Linda University in California says: "I'm a strong proponent of soy, and think that menopausal women should be incorporating soy into their diet."

"But I'm not basing that recommendation solely on its effects on hot flashes."

In 1998, according to Dr Messina, a study in Italy showed 45 percent reduction of occurrence of hot flashes among the women who consumed soy and a 35 percent improvement in the women on placebo.

#2 Flaxseed Oil: Fatty acid food sources are recommended for reducing the discomforts associated with menopause. Flaxseed oil, for example, comes from flax plants that have lignans, which is thought to cause stabilisation of estrogen levels in women.

#3 Ginseng: While ginseng is not specifically targeted to hot flashes, it is said to improve the mood and aid in achieving restful sleep thereby contributing to overall health.

#4 Evening Primrose Oil: Evening primrose oil is a popular choice as it is thought to provide relief to the heat of the skin, aid in getting good quality rest and regulate estrogen production. It should, however, be used with caution as it may interact with medication and may produce problematic blood clotting.

#5 Vitamin C: Consumption of Vitamin C-rich foods is thought to aid in relieving hot flashes due to the bioflavanoid content of Vitamin C.

#6 Vitamin E: Vitamin E-rich food sources are good sources of antioxidants that are believed to aid in relieving, and even reducing, hot flashes.