| What are your choices? |
| Plan of Action |
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Introduction
Breasts
Up to 70 percent of women in the West experience breast changes that fluctuate with their menstrual cycles. Their breasts can feel so tender, swollen and/or lumpy that the discomfort is unbearable. Some women complain that they can’t bear to be hugged, and find sleeping very difficult because they can’t get comfortable.
Are there any symptoms?
The symptoms are grouped under a variety of different
umbrella terms, including cyclical breast pain, cyclical
mastalgia (which literally means breast pain), cyclical
mastitis or fibrocystic breast disease. Despite their
severity and the disruption they can cause, most breast
problems are benign, not cancer. However, don’t be
tempted to ignore them. Any unusual changes in your
breasts should be reported to your doctor.
Finding out if there is a reason for your breast
discomfort
If your discomfort definitely varies with your
cycle, improving when your period begins, or fairly
soon afterwards, then there is unlikely to be anything
sinister at the root. However, it always pays to be
vigilant about examining your breasts, so even if
you can dismiss your pain as being cyclical, you should
continue to check your breasts regularly.
If your doctor finds anything suspicious during a physical breast check, then he/she will probably refer you for a mammogram. For more information on whether a mammogram is a good idea, see Breast problems e-book at The Natural Health Practice
What are your choices?
The natural approach is to look at breast discomfort
from a number of ways at the same time. Breast tenderness
is not really a medical illness, so why treat it medically
with strong drugs, given all the risks involved? The
natural approach involves giving your body the tools
it needs to heal itself, using good food, supplements
and herbs to correct any imbalances with female hormones.
What you eat and drink can make an enormous difference
to the breast problems you experience during your
cycle. I have seen some women eliminate all symptoms
in just one cycle by making a few changes.
Multivitamin and Mineral
A good quality multivitamin and mineral would
form the foundation of your supplement programme to
make sure that you are getting a ‘little bit of everything’.
You then add in those nutrients in slightly higher
amounts which are known to be helpful for breast problems.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E has been shown to help reduce breast
pain and tenderness in a number of studies and is
worth supplementing over a couple of months to see
if it helps ease your symptoms. Vitamin E is found
in foods such as almonds, leafy green vegetables,
oats, soya, sunflower seeds and oil, wheatgerm and
whole grains, but you should also take a good supplement.
B Vitamins
If there is a deficiency of the B vitamins in
your body, your liver will be unable to inactivate
'old' oestrogens which can be playing havoc with your
cycle and creating an excess of oestrogen because
'old' hormones are not be eliminating properly. Taking
a B-complex tablet can help to reduce breast symptoms
for this reason.
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Cyclical breast changes may be due to an excess
of oestrogen over progesterone. Lactobacillus acidophilus
helps to increase the levels of enzymes that work
to reabsorb the 'old' oestrogens in your body. These
probiotics (beneficial bacteria) also help to improve
the transit time of a bowel movement. The longer waste
material stays in your system the more 'old' hormones
and toxins can be reabsorbed back into your body.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)
Essential fatty acids are not only an important
part of a healthy diet, but they can make a big difference
to problems associated with hormones. Aim to get plenty
in your daily diet (in the form of nuts, seeds, oily
fish, walnuts and oils such as corn and safflower).
Apart from this, however, it’s a good idea to take
a daily supplement. Research has shown that supplementing
with evening primrose oil which contains GLA (gamma
linolenic acid) can have a significantly positive
effect on breast discomfort. The GLA helps to control
the production of a 'bad' prostaglandin called PGE2,
which can causes heat and inflammation in the breasts
if levels are too high. GLA also increases the level
of another 'good' prostaglandin PGE1, which can help
to balance the effect of prolactin on the breasts.
It is now possible to get evening primrose oil on prescription in the UK. The GLA content is normally 40mg per capsule and you may need to take up to 8 capsules a day to achieve the desired effect (the suggested dosage is between 240 and 320 mg per day). The GLA content in each capsule varies tremendously between supplement producers, so it’s worth scouting around for a brand with higher levels of GLA.
Evening primrose oil is only one of the important oils studied for its effect on breast discomfort. Other oils, such as linseed oil, starflower oil, blackcurrant seed oil and borage oil may be just as effective.
Warning
Check with your doctor before taking any capsules
containing GLA if you have a history of epilepsy.
Will I be more susceptible to breast cancer if
I have breast problems during my cycle?
First and foremost, it’s important to establish
that being prone to breast problems throughout your
cycle does not mean that you are at a higher risk
of developing breast cancer. What breast pain, tenderness
and lumps do tell you, however, is that your hormones
are not functioning correctly. By achieving optimum
health, through diet, and by addressing any vitamin
and mineral deficiencies, your body will be given
the opportunity and the tools it needs to correct
any imbalances you may be suffering. The key word
in natural medicine is ‘prevention’. It’s a great
deal easier to prevent a problem than it is to try
to correct once it has appeared.
Furthermore, by adopting a healthier lifestyle you
will be more likely to prevent breast cancer which
is discussed in detail in the rest of this chapter
which you can read by clicking on Breast problems e-book at The Natural Health Practice.
Herbs (see caution below)
The aim of the herbal remedies is to help balance your hormones and to ensure that your liver processes oestrogen efficiently so that any excess is excreted properly. The herbs also help support the changes you are making with your diet in order to speed up the process.
Agnus Castus
(Vitex/Chastetree berry) This herb can be enormously
useful in the treatment of breast tenderness because
of its ability to balance the female hormones.
Ginkgo Biloba
A trial conducted by a hospital in France has
shown that women who took ginkgo had significantly
less pre-menstrual breast pain than those who took
a placebo. Ginkgo helps to increase circulation and
can also reduce swelling.
Herbs for the liver
The liver, which is the major organ of detoxification,
helps to eliminate accumulated 'old' oestrogen so
it is important that it is functioning efficiently.
Both milk thistle and dandelion are excellent herbs
for optimising liver function. If your body does not
excrete oestrogen then you can end up with an accumulation
which then further upsets the balance of oestrogen
to progesterone.
You should not take any of the above herbs if you are taking, The Pill, Fertillity drugs, HRT or any other hormonal treatment or other medication unless they are recommended by a registered, experienced practitioner.
Tests are extremely useful, in that they can tell you what deficiencies you have at the moment and then for you to know what supplements would be useful to take to correct those deficiencies. You would then be re-tested after three to four months to monitor your progress and to adjust the supplement programme accordingly.
Mineral Analysis Test
with Supplement and Nutritional Assessment Programme
This test measures the deficiency and excess levels
of 7 different minerals and 5 heavy toxic metals that
may be present in your body.
Online Personalised
Supplement Assessment Programme
The analysis of this comprehensive questionnaire will
give you a three monthly supplement programme to help
balance any vitamin and mineral deficiencies you may
have.
After three months you would then have a re-test in order to monitor your progress and adjust your supplement programme according to your new condition.
If you need help in obtaining any of the supplements, herbs or tests mentioned above, click, Breast Problems options at The Natural Health Practice. They can supply all of them for you online or if you prefer to talk to somebody first you can also order by mail order on the telephone. The products supplied by this company are always of the highest quality.
Plan of Action
Nutrition
Ensure you are getting the right nutrition: Follow
dietary recommendations outlined on the Foundation
of Health page. And for more information on the
special dietary recommendations for breast problems,
see the rest of the chapter on Breast problems e-book at The Natural Health Practice
The supplement programme below should be taken for at least three months in order to achieve best results
Your supplement plan
- A good multivitamin and mineral supplement
- Vitamin E (400–800 iu per day as d-alpha tocopherol)
- GLA (150mg per day)
- EPA (300mg per day)
- Vitamin B-complex (50 mg per day)
- Acidophilus (once per day)
- Ginkgo biloba (300 mg per day)
- Agnus Castus
At the end of three months you should reassess your condition and adjust your supplement programme accordingly.
The tests below have been specially selected to be the most helpful if you are concerned about breast problems.
Mineral Analysis Test with Supplement and Nutritional Assessment Programme
Online Personalised Supplement Assessment Programme
After three months you would then have a re-test in order to monitor your progress and adjust your supplement programme according to your new condition.
If you need help in obtaining any of the supplements, herbs or tests mentioned above, click, Breast Problems options at The Natural Health Practice. They can supply all of them for you online or if you prefer to talk to somebody first you can also order by mail order on the telephone. The products supplied by this company are always of the highest quality.
The section above forms part of a larger complet e-book on Breast Problems. In the rest of the e-book you will learn what the medical approaches to breast problems are and how to combine them with the natural approach. This is called Integrated Medicine and is the way that healthier of the future is moving towards. You will also learn what medical tests will give you an accurate diagnosis of your condition and if you really need to have them. The medical treatments for breast problems are then examined which can include looking at either drugs or surgery. Each treatment is then discussed and the pros and cons of the options explained. The Integrated Approach to breast problems is considered in some detail so that if appropriate you can know how to combine the best of both conventional and natural medicine.
At the end of the e-book is a practical step by step summary of what you can do to help yourself.
If you would like to read the rest of this e-book
click, Breast problems e-book at The Natural Health Practice and you will be given details of how you can download
the whole e-book.
| Introduction | What are your choices? | Plan of Action |
The contents of this site are for information only and are intended to assist readers in identifying symptoms and conditions they may be experiencing. This site is not intended to be a substitute for taking proper medical advice and should not be relied upon in this way. Always consult a qualified doctor or health practitioner, especially if you are pregnant, taking the pill or on any medication. Your situation will need to be looked at individually and you should not attempt to self treat. The author and publisher cannot accept responsibility for illness arising out of the failure to seek medical advice from a doctor.
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