feel great
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k;^ Media^ BakeryThey’re a sign that your
arteries are strong and are
responding properly to hor-
monal changes. In a surpris-
ing Norwegian study, women
who dealt with night sweats
were 30% less likely to
develop heart disease!When it’s hot out, your blood vessels swell to cool the body. As this happens,
a little fluid can leak out and collect in your extremities (feet, ankles and even
hands). Releasing this fluid is easy: Just try one of these quick fixes...Good news about
night sweats!It can be hard to sleep on sticky nights—especially if
you’re having night sweats. Up to 75% of us are hit with
these pesky temperature surges after age 50, and while
menopause is often blamed, researchers say for one in
three of us, estrogen shortfalls aren’t the problem. To
wake up cool and well-rested, exper ts recommend...Slim swollen ankles fast!
Freedom from night sweats!
A dip in bubbling tonic water is a pam-
pering way to prevent or reduce swelling.
“The bubbles instantly soothe sore feet,”
explains herbalist Mona Dan, founder of
Vie Healing wellness center, “while the
quinine in tonic water has a natural anti-
inf lammator y ef fect to reduce puf f iness.”
Peppermint essential oil helps further cool
down swollen tissues, she adds. To do: Toss
ice cubes into a
basin filled with
tonic water. Add
two drops of pep-
permint essential
oil. Soa k feet and
ankles. Aah!“Our heart does a great job of pumping oxy-
genated blood through our arteries to the
tips of our toes, but prolonged standing or
sitting may make blood pool and cause ankle
swelling,” says Joseph Donohue, founder of
ProSport Physical Therapy with the Hoag
Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, California.
The fix: Working your calf muscles with heel
lifts that flush blood out of the ankles and
back to the heart. Binghamton University
researchers found that stimulating the calf
muscles reversed swelling for the 44% of
study participants with significant edema.
To do: Holding a wall for support, lift your
heels off the floor until you’re on your toes,
then slowly lower. Repeat 20 times.“Parsley has been known for thousands of
years as a natural diuretic, and it can reduce
fluid accumulated in ankles and feet,” says
Divya L. Selvakumar, Ph.D., R.D. Plus, it’s
packed with potassium, a minera l most of us
don’t get enough of, which helps counterbal-
ance excess sodium that leads to fluid reten-
tion. Simply steep^1 ⁄ 2 cup of chopped fresh
parsley in 2 cups of boiled water for 5 min-
utes. Sip a cup per day. —K.E. KluznikSoak feet in tonic water Rise up on your toes
Sip parsley tea
Woma n’s World^ 8/12/19 (^17)
This herb is a study-proven
mood-booster, and research sug-
gests taking 600 mg. to 900 mg.
daily could cut your risk of
night sweats by 54% in eight
weeks! Explains study co-author
Marjan Khajehei, Ph.D., St.
John’s wort prods your brain to
make serotonin—an antidepres-
sant hormone that heightens the
body’s ability to control tem-
perature throughout the night.
Note: Check with your doctor
before supplementing.
After age 50, melatonin pro-
duction drops, and this sleep-
inducing hormone also prevents
night sweats by keeping your
core temperature low. Luckily,
two studies suggest that boost-
ing melatonin levels by taking
a 3-mg. supplement a half hour
before bed will cut night sweats
by 53% in three months.
Sleep apnea, a condition marked
by disrupted breathing, triggers
night sweats by prompting the
release of stress hormones that
cause a body-temperature surge,
explains cardiologist Stephen
Sinatra, M.D. But using pillows
to keep you sleeping on your
side can reduce apnea and cut
night sweats by 65%.
Canadian researchers say when
blood sugar dips too low at
night, it can trigger sweaty
temperature spikes. That’s why
they recommend^1 ⁄ 3 cup of
your favorite nuts before bed
to steady blood sugar for eight
hours straight. —Brenda Kearns
If you often feel
blue: St. John’s wort
If you can’t drift off:
melatonin
If snoring wakes
you: side sleeping
If hunger triggers
headaches: nuts