Symptoms cut in half with less than an hour a day physical activity

If dressing in light layers doesn't seem to extinguish those aggravating hot flashes, maybe a light snack of soy nuts and a workout at the gym will help keep you cool.

In a study involving 60 menopausal women, those who ate a half-cup of roasted soy nuts each day and exercised more than 4? hours a week experienced a nearly 50 percent reduction in the number of hot flashes they had each day.

Hot flashes dropped by 27 percent in women who consumed the same amount of soy but exercised just 30 to 90 minutes a week, researchers found.

The study was the first to show a combined benefit of soy consumption and exercise, Dr. Francine Welty, study co-author and director of cardiovascular care for women at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, told HealthDay.

The findings were first presented last year at the American Heart Association's annual conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

"Now that we know that estrogen increases the risk of stroke, women are looking for alternatives to treat their hot flashes," Welty said. "This is a potentially good alternative."

Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause, experienced by 40 percent to 70 percent of menopausal and postmenopausal women, said Jodi Anne Flaws, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland.

While they typically contribute to problems such as fatigue and irritability, there are signs that hot flashes may be linked to Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis and depression, Flaws told HealthDay.

Soy contains phytoestrogens, or estrogen-like substances found in plants, which some research indicates may help with mild hot flashes. However, the National Women's Health Information Center says the risks of taking soy, especially in pill or powder form, are not known. What's more, soy may not be safe for women with estrogen-dependent breast cancer, the center cautions.

In Welty's study, participants reported having an average of five hot flashes a day. All participants were placed on a diet low in saturated fat. For eight weeks, half of them ate soy nuts each day, while the other half did not. Then the two groups switched regimens for another eight weeks.

Seventy percent of the women participated in light exercise, such as walking, as opposed to more vigorous activity. Hot flashes dropped by 46 percent in women who exercised four or more days a week, and 25 percent among those who exercised between one and 2? days a week.

The women in the study ate a low-salt, dry-roasted brand of soy nuts, and they consumed nuts four times daily.

The National Women's Health Network, a women's health advocacy group, recommends trying non-hormonal therapies as the first line of treatment for hot flashes. Their suggested strategies that may provide relief include:

• Dietary approaches. Avoid substances that can aggravate hot flashes, including caffeine, chocolate, spicy or hot foods and alcohol. Eating foods containing phytoestrogens may help.
• Staying cool. Wear clothing in layers that can be shed when a hot flash strikes. And, sleep nude to dissipate the heat of night sweats.
• Paced breathing. In two studies, slow, deep breathing reduced the frequency of hot flashes.
• Herbal relief. Some women say taking the herb black cohosh helps hot flashes, but studies have yielded contradictory results about its effectiveness, and there are no published human studies of its long-term effectiveness. If you try it, the network advises not using it for more than six months. Avoid sage, a reputed hot-flash remedy that may cause seizures and other neurological problems.
• Natural hormones. Etriol, a natural human estrogen, can be used in high doses to treat hot flashes. But there's no evidence that it is safer than other forms of estrogen. There's also evidence to suggest that natural or micronized progesterone, often marketed in a cream, may be effective in helping hot flashes.
• Non-hormonal drugs. Venlafaxine, an antidepressant, and clonidine, a high blood pressure treatment, can relieve hot flashes, but neither has been evaluated nor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this use.