Drinking alcohol in moderation is key to good health, especially for women trying to minimize symptoms of menopause, according to a Mayo Clinic women’s health expert. Alcohol use during menopause can worsen symptoms and raise a woman’s risk for serious health conditions, such as heart disease and osteoporosis, says Juliana Kling, M.D., assistant director of the Mayo Clinic Women’s Health Center in Arizona.
One of the biggest complaints by women during menopause are vasomotor symptoms, more commonly known as hot flashes and night sweats. About 80% of women have hot flashes and night sweats, and 30% will have those symptoms severely. Hot flashes are due to a disruption of the body’s thermoregulatory zone. Dr. Kling says alcohol can exacerbate symptoms.
“A lot of women will describe it as kind of a flushing throughout their body maybe generated through their chest,” Dr. Kling says. “It is associated with sweating and can be extremely disruptive during the day, but also at night when you’re sleeping.”
Sleep problems are commonly associated with menopause. Alcohol can make it harder for some people to get a good night’s sleep, Dr. Kling says.
“While many people think a glass of wine might be nice to make them sleepy, it just disrupts your quality of sleep,” Dr. Kling says. “This is something to be mindful of and perhaps cut back on or eliminate your alcohol use before bedtime.”
During menopausal years, the risk of certain health conditions increases. This includes heart disease, stroke and osteoporosis. Alcohol can make it more challenging to maintain a healthy weight, which can increase the risk of certain health conditions.
“A lot of us don’t recognize the associations of alcohol and poor health outcomes like breast cancer risk, and alcohol is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer,” Dr. Kling says. “Also, conditions like colorectal cancer increase, so you may want to consider minimizing or avoiding alcohol.”
Alcohol consumption rates among women vary around the globe, World Health Organization data shows.
Dr. Kling recommends menopausal women limit their alcohol intake to one drink per day. Be mindful that different types of beer, wine or liquor can have significantly different alcohol content. Dr. Kling advises measuring it out to make sure it is the appropriate portion.
Besides limiting or eliminating alcohol, Dr. Kling also recommends getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and not smoking.
“Those healthy lifestyle habits are going to provide you the most success at helping during the menopause transition,” Dr. Kling says.
