Does broccoli help with night sweats during perimenopause?

Broccoli is not a direct remedy for night sweats, and no clinical trials have specifically tested it for this symptom. But it contains compounds that work on some of the underlying mechanisms involved, and understanding those connections helps you make sense of where broccoli fits in your overall approach.

Night sweats are essentially hot flashes that occur during sleep. The same mechanism is at work: declining and fluctuating estrogen destabilizes the thermoregulatory center in your hypothalamus, making it hypersensitive to minor temperature changes and triggering the body's heat-dissipation response, including blood vessel dilation, sweating, and flushing, in the middle of the night. Because night sweats disrupt sleep, they compound the effects of fatigue, mood instability, and cognitive fog during perimenopause.

Broccoli's most relevant contribution is through indole-3-carbinol (I3C), which converts in the stomach to diindolylmethane (DIM). These compounds support the liver's estrogen metabolism by favoring the 2-hydroxylation pathway, which produces milder estrogen metabolites rather than more potent ones. Supporting a favorable estrogen metabolite ratio may help reduce the sharpness of estrogen fluctuations that trigger the hypothalamic response. The evidence for this mechanism is based on supplement studies using concentrated I3C or DIM, not dietary broccoli specifically. Whether the I3C in a serving of broccoli meaningfully affects this ratio has not been directly tested in humans.

Sulforaphane, another key compound in broccoli, activates the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway and has documented anti-inflammatory effects. Elevated inflammation and oxidative stress can lower the threshold at which the hypothalamus triggers a thermoregulatory response. By reducing systemic inflammation, sulforaphane may in theory raise that threshold slightly. A 2020 randomized trial in menopausal women given sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extract reported a modest reduction in hot flash frequency, which suggests a plausible extension to night sweats, though this was not measured separately. The evidence is preliminary.

Broccoli also provides fiber that nourishes the estrobolome, the gut bacteria responsible for processing and clearing estrogen. A well-functioning estrobolome supports more efficient hormonal clearance and may reduce the degree of estrogen imbalance that worsens thermoregulatory instability. This is an emerging area of research and not yet proven to reduce night sweat frequency specifically.

From a practical standpoint, including broccoli two to four times per week as part of a broader anti-inflammatory diet is sensible. Lightly steaming preserves more sulforaphane than boiling. Avoiding alcohol, caffeine, and spicy food in the evening has more direct evidence for reducing night sweat severity. Keeping the bedroom cool, using moisture-wicking bedding, and maintaining stable blood sugar with a balanced dinner also matter more acutely than any specific food.

Because broccoli contains I3C, which modulates estrogen metabolism pathways, women with hormone-sensitive conditions including estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids should speak with their healthcare provider before significantly increasing cruciferous vegetable intake or using concentrated I3C or DIM supplements. Very high raw broccoli intake over time may have a mild goitrogenic effect on thyroid function. Normal dietary portions are not a concern for most people. If you take anticoagulants like warfarin, broccoli's high vitamin K content is worth discussing with your prescribing provider.

Realistic expectations matter. Even if broccoli's anti-inflammatory and estrogen-metabolism effects are working, shifts in symptom frequency from dietary changes tend to take eight to twelve weeks. Night sweats that are mild to moderate may improve as part of a comprehensive dietary and lifestyle approach. Severe night sweats that wake you repeatedly most nights and impair your daytime functioning have a much wider range of effective options, and dietary changes alone are unlikely to be sufficient.

See your healthcare provider if night sweats are occurring most nights, are soaking your sheets and clothing, are significantly disrupting your sleep, or are accompanied by unexpected weight loss, fever, or swollen lymph nodes. These patterns can occasionally indicate conditions unrelated to perimenopause that need medical evaluation.

The PeriPlan app (https://apps.apple.com/app/periplan/id6740066498) lets you log night sweat episodes daily so you can spot whether patterns shift over time as you make dietary and lifestyle adjustments.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about your specific situation.