Liz Earle reveals the herb you can add to your cooking AND cocktails to ease menopause symptoms over summer

Hot flushes and hot weather are far from an ideal combination, and with summer well and truly underway many menopausal women will be on the hunt for tips and tricks to ensure they can stay cool, calm and collected, no matter the temperature.

And one person who has offered up a lifeline to this end, is none other than wellbeing guru Liz Earle.

The writer, TV presenter and entrepreneur has been famously candid about her experience of menopause symptoms and has been one of the key figures spearheading a more honest conversation about ‘the change’.

Writing in her new e-guide, The Truth About HRT (£4.99, lizearlewellbeing.com) the 56-year-old offers up a range of suggestions for how to ease menopause symptoms during the hottest season of the year.

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And one involves reaching for a herb you may already have lurking in your store cupboard.

Packed with antioxidants as well as various traces of vitamins and minerals, sage has been cited to have a number of purported health benefits ranging from anti-inflammatory to cognitive boosting properties.

On the herb Liz says, "Some women find that specific herbal supplements, such as sage, can help with hot flushes, and these can be worth considering for those ruling out HRT."

Liz also goes on to outline that sage supplements and sage tea could also prove beneficial for those tackling this common menopause symptom.

She adds, "Small-scale studies suggest sage supplements or sage tea, using just one sage leaf in a mug of hot water, can have an antiperspirant effect, reducing night sweats."

There's science behind the benefits of sage

The link between sage and a reduction in the intensity of menopausal hot flushes has also been outlined by scientific research.

An open, multi-centre clinical trial was conducted in eight practices in Switzerland, featured 71 patients with a mean age of 56 (+4.7 years) who had been menopausal for at least a year and experienced a minimum of 5 flushes a day.

MORE: 10 causes of hot flushes that have nothing to do with the menopause

This group was given a once-daily tablet of fresh sage leaves for 8 weeks after an introductory baseline week.

Both the change in intensity and frequency of hot flushes, and the total score of the mean number of intensity-rated hot flushes (TSIRHF) were then examined.

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It found that there was a 50 per cent decrease in (TSIRHF) after four weeks, climbing to 64 per cent by eight weeks.

The mean total number of hot flushes per day also saw a significant fall each week from week one to eight.

The mean number of mild, moderate, severe, and very severe flushes decreased by 46 per cent, 62 per cent, 79 per cent, and 100 per cent over 8 weeks, respectively.

The ultimate conclusion of the study entitled First time proof of sage’s tolerability and efficacy in menopausal women with hot flushes read, "A fresh sage preparation demonstrated clinical value in the treatment of hot flushes and associated menopausal symptoms."