Q: Every month about six or so days before my period, my breasts get really swollen and feel tender and I am in constant pain because of it. The pain eases before my period starts but I’d like to know if there are any natural therapies that I could use to stop it happening in the first place?

A: Breast swelling and pain in the week or so before your period is a normal reaction to fluctuating hormone levels. You may find it hard to hug or sleep because you can’t find a comfortable position. Try the recommendations below:

 

Studies have shown that women who live in Asian countries don’t have the same degree of breast discomfort, and diet is the crucial factor here. The diet of most Asian women tends to rely less on processed and saturated fatty food. So the first step is to eat healthily and especially make sure you get your phytoestrogens, found in foods such as soya, chickpeas and lentils. The diet of Asian women is high in phytoestrogens which help keep hormones in balance.

 

Cut down on foods and drinks containing caffeine. They have been shown to increase problems with tender breasts. The active ingredients in caffeine are called ‘methylxanthines’ and they have been proved to increase problems with painful, lumpy and tender breasts. These methylxanthines are found in coffee, black tea, green tea, chocolate, cola and even decaffeinated coffee, as well as in medications that contain caffeine, such as headache remedies.

  

You should also increase your fibre intake. Research has shown that there may be a link between constipation and a painful breast conditions called fibrocystic breast disease. So make sure you drink enough water and have a good intake of fibre to ensure regularity. You may also like to sprinkle some flaxseed on your cereal in the morning. Don’t, however, include bran in your diet. Bran can make things worse because it contains substances called phylates which can interfere with the absorption of important PMS beating nutrients, like magnesium and calcium.

 

Vitamin E has been shown to reduce breast pain and tenderness in many studies. Eat foods rich in vitamin E, such as oats, sunflower oil, whole grains, soya oil and leafy green vegetables. You may also like to take a supplement for a couple of months to give you a kick start. (See the Resources Page for a good vitamin E supplement).

 

Eat some live yogurt every day. Breast tenderness may be related to an excess of oestrogen and the beneficial bacteria in live yogurt can help to reabsorb old hormones and also to increase the efficiency of your bowel movements (or you can take a probiotic supplement like BioKult see the Resources Page).  I would suggest you avoid many of the probiotic drinks as they can be loaded with sugar.

 

Increase your intake of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids, found in fish oil, have been found to relieve breast tenderness and fluid retention. Take fish oil capsules or eat more fish or sprinkle linseeds and hemp seeds on to your salads and soups. (see the Resources Page for Omega 3 Plus fish oil supplement.)

 

The B vitamins are of particular value if you suffer from breast tenderness because they help your liver break down excess oestrogen. Improve your intake of B vitamin foods so think about taking a B complex supplement for a couple of months.

 

Older studies showed that supplementing your diet with evening primrose containing GLA (gamma linoleic acid) could reduce breast discomfort, although more recent studies have not backed this up. Do bear in mind though that evening primrose oil needs to be taken for about three months to be effective so you need to be patient.

 

Taking linseeds has also been shown to be effective according to a study by Dr Tong Li of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto Canada. Patients reported a significant reduction in symptoms after supplementing 25g of ground linseed daily during a three month study, with benefits being seen after two months. Researchers suggested the reason for this is the ability of linseeds to act as an antioestrogen on breast tissue. You can buy linseeds (flaxseeds) at your local health food store – grind them in a coffee grinder and sprinkle on food or you can buy them already to eat as crushed, organic cold milled flaxseeds, the one I use in the clinic is clled Fortiflax – see the Resources Page).

 

A number of essential aromatherapy oils, such as lavender, fennel and juniper can encourage lymphatic drainage and help relieve breast pain by helping to regulate hormones. Massage them on your breasts putting one drop of your chosen oil on a teaspoon of carrier oil such as sweet almond or sunflower or use a few drops in your bath.

 

Finally, the herb Ginkgo Biloba has proved to be effective according to a French study where women with PMS breast tenderness taking Ginkgo Biloba reported less pain that those taking a placebo. Other helpful herbs include Agnus Castus to balance hormones and milk thistle to help your liver process oestrogen efficiently, allowing excess to be excreted.  (The organic herbal combination I use in the clinic is called Agnus Castus Plus see the Resources Page which contains agnus castus, milk thistle and other herbs).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 1:30 am and is filed under Ask Marilyn, Periods and PMS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.