Rachael Ray: Rachael's Daytime Talkshow

"Human Lab: Hot Flashes"

Aired on: February 9, 2010

Millions of women get hot flashes, but is there anything you can do to stop them from happening to you? "Anything you do to improve your diet will help," says The Wisdom of Menopause author Dr. Christiane Northrup. "You have hot flashes during the process of going up to the last menstrual period, usually," she says, noting that while all women go through menopause not all will experience these instant bursts of heat. "It's changes in a hormone level from high to low quickly, and then that causes dilation of the blood vessels under your skin and then the sweats and so on. It's a dis-regulation of your temperature. Men can get them too when they're on some kinds of hormonal treatments."

There are a few things you can do to decrease them, according to Dr. Northrup, and she offers her best tips:

Eat fewer refined foods: "Blood sugar that's high increases stress hormones, those interact with your hormone levels and change them and make more hot flashes," she explains. "Red wine, coffee, sometimes will trigger hot flashes."

Vitamins and supplements: "Forty percent of the time if you take fish oil it will decrease hot flashes or eliminate them. Vitamin D - all women should have optimal levels of Vitamin D - that's 15 anagrams for ML in your blood, and then there's a bunch of herbs that have been used forever for women: Black Cohosh, Dong Quai. Thai Kudzu is relatively new to the United States market, there's one brand that I have used with great success with many women - it's Solgar's PM Phytogen Complex."

Meditate: Dr. Northrup says meditation will help 90 percent of the time.

There are also loads of products out there to help women beat the heat - so we're asking three viewers test some out!

• Pam, 51, tries Flash-EEZ, which claims to relieve hot flashes within seconds after applying finger bands.

• Rosalie, 50, tries Restore: Instant Hot Flash Aid, which claims to stop the heat directly on contact.

• Debbie, 51, tries the Chillow, which is a pillow that claims to cradle your hair and keep you cool without electricity.