There is great variability in how women experience hot flashes and night sweats. Some women have mild or even unnoticeable symptoms, others experience significant discomfort. Hot-flashes can occur every few minutes, or last for up to an hour. Hot flashes end naturally for most women after one or two years. For some women hot flashes and night sweats can last up to five years or more.

Calcium citrate supplementation taken at 1000-1200 mg. daily decreases menopausal bone loss. Calcium citrate must be taken in conjunction with vitamin D to be more efficacious. Calcium citrate is the only form of calcium the body effectively uptakes. Only proven way to prevent osteoporosis is to increase calcium citrate supplementation.

Smoking interferes with the absorption of calcium and magnesium and increases bone loss. Smoking is also associated with an increaded frequency of hot flashes. To prevent osteoporosis smoking should be completely discontinued as soon as possible.

The importance of vitamin E in reducing hot flashes dates back to studies performed in the 1940s. Vitamin E is a blood thinner. Vitamin E is good at stopping mild hot flashes and is well known to decrease forms of cardiac risk.