Gwyneth Paltrow blames alcohol for her ‘out of control’ menopause; how drinking can worsen symptoms?

Talking about her menopause struggles on a recent podcast, Gwyneth Paltrow said that drinking every night made her symptoms 'out of control'.

Paltrow, 52, was in conversation with Dr. Mary Clare Haver, a board-certified OB-GYN and author of the New York Times bestseller, on the March 4 episode of the Goop podcast.

The Avengers: Endgame star said the daily drinking habit was formed during the outbreak of wildfires in Los Angeles.

“My symptoms were completely out of control. It was the first time I really noticed, like, causation in that way,” she said of the times when she used to drink almost daily when fires were happening in LA.

“Normally, now at this point, I don't drink a lot at all. Maybe I'll have one drink a week,” she said.

Haver seconded that and said her patients experience sleep issues when they drink, and “their hot flashes are horrible.”

Paltrow also shared about her struggles with insomnia and said that while she had always been a real sleeper, after menopause she went through a particularly bad time with it.

“I would just wake up [and] I would get crushed with anxiety, which I've never had in my life. And I would lie in bed thinking about every mistake I've ever made, every person's feelings I ever hurt, like, every bad, you know, And I would be up, like, for six hours. It was crazy," she shared.

“In perimenopause, we call it the zone of hormonal chaos. It's all over the place. It is completely unpredictable, and our brains hate chaos," explains Haver.

Why drinking makes menopause worseHot flashes intensify

A woman's body undergoes massive transformation during menopause. According to National Institute on Aging, ovaries become less efficient and the production of estrogen and progesterone goes down, triggering hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. About 80% of women have hot flashes, night sweats and 30% will have those symptoms severely.

"A lot of women have different triggers and for some alcohol may trigger their symptoms. They may naturally avoid alcohol, because they noticed that their hot flashes and night sweats get worse," says Dr. Juliana Kling with Mayo Clinic's Women's Health Center in Arizona. Hormone therapy can help balance the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body, providing relief.

Sleep disruptions

While women may think alcohol can help them relax and aid in sleep, it does the opposite during menopause. "While many people think a glass of wine might be nice to make them sleepy, it just disrupts your quality of sleep," says Dr. Kling. "This is something to be mindful of and perhaps cut back on or eliminate your alcohol use before bedtime."

Heart attack and stroke

Alcohol is associated with weight gain which can further trigger a range of health issues for women from heart disease, stroke to osteoporosis.

"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." says Dr. Kling. "Also conditions like colorectal cancer increase, so you may want to consider minimizing or avoiding alcohol."

Healthy habits during perimenopause like eating a balanced diet, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking can support women during this crucial transition.