Fibrocystic Breasts

Too much estrogen is the most common cause of breast cysts, but it is not the only one. One of the functions of estrogen is to control another hormone called prolactin, whose job is to prepare a woman's body, specifically her breasts, for possible pregnancy. When prolactin levels rise too high, problems occur: breast tenderness and cysts, as well as water retention. Prolactin is also stimulated by stress, lots of fat or protein in the diet, alcohol, marijuana and prolonged pain.

Doctors can surgically remove breast cysts or shrink them with a drug that blocks prolactin, but I am sure that you will be relieved to know that herbs offer a much less drastic approach. From reading reports on numerous studies, and from my own observations, I know that evening primrose oil (sold in capsules at natural food stores) almost always reduces breast cysts within three months, often sooner.

If you are one of the few women whose breast lumps don't disappear that easily, try taking 400 International Units of vitamin E along with the evening primrose. We do not know exactly why combining vitamin E with herbs is so effective, but it probably has to do with this vitamin's ability to detoxify and to increase circulation. Vitamin E encourages the cysts to drain and helps the blood and lymph systems to carry excess fluids away from the cysts. Its use to eliminate breast cysts is backed up by numerous clinical studies from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the Boston School of Medicine and various other medical institutes.

For the most stubborn cases of fibrocystic breasts, try using treatments of prickly ash bark, which also increases blood circulation, and burdock, calendula, cleavers, mullein and dandelion, which improve lymph drainage. Each of these herbs can be taken as a tea, as a tincture or in pill form. For more information about these multipurpose herbs, see chapters 21-25 and chapters 40-43. Meanwhile, to ease the inflammation and pain, alternate warm and cold compresses over the area. The warm compress should be made using calendula, chamomile, ginger and lavender; the cold compress should be plain (just water).

Many women have found herbs to be helpful in treating this condition. Sue, for example, complained that her breasts would swell so much each month that she needed a bra that was a whole size larger. She had heard that drinking coffee could be the source of the problem, but even after she swore off caffeine, the swelling did not completely subside. Evening primrose oil helped, but she had to take almost double the recommended dose of six pills a day, so she started looking for a less expensive alternative.

Sue found that taking 800 International Units of vitamin E daily allowed her to drop down to two capsules of evening primrose oil. In addition, she started drinking the herb tea described below. Two years later, Sue no longer drinks her tea, but she still takes one capsule of evening primrose oil and 400 International Units of vitamin E daily. She seldom slacks off her routine because if she does, a slight swelling returns, along with persistent pain.

Medical experts believe that it's important to avoid caffeine and related substances called methylxanthines because they apparently confuse chemical messengers in the body. According to John P. Minton, Ph.D., of Ohio State University, these messengers responsible for making protein, fluid or fiber in the breast do not get shut off. They tell breast cells to keep producing more cells and to retain fluid long after they should have stopped. The result can be fibrous cysts. Methylxanthines are found in coffee, colas, tea, chocolate and the herbs maté and guarana. Also check with your doctor to see if they might also be lurking in any pharmaceutical drugs you take.

No one knows why one woman who drinks coffee develops cysts and another doesn't, but the results of several studies show that almost 75 percent of the women with fibrocystic breasts who eliminate caffeine from their diets are spared biopsies and breast surgery. In one study, Dr. Minton gave a choice to 47 women with fibrocystic breasts who had imbibed the equivalent of four cups of coffee a day for several years: have a biopsy or go off methylxanthines and see what happens. Twenty of the women accepted the challenge by cutting out coffee, and in two to six months, the cysts of two-thirds of them completely disappeared. Of the 27 other women in the study who continued to drink coffee, only one had her cyst recede and the rest had to have surgery.

So if you suffer from breast cysts, try to muster up all the willpower you can to eliminate these substances from your diet, at least for a few months. Dr. Minton has found that the older a woman is, the longer it takes for cysts to recede. Some women in their fifties wait a year after they stop drinking coffee before their cysts completely disappear.

Breast Cyst Tea

1 teaspoon each burdock root, mullein leaves and dandelion root

½ teaspoon each prickly ash bark and cleavers leaves

1 quart water

Combine ingredients. As soon as your breasts begin to feel uncomfortable, try to drink at least 2 cups daily. This formula can also be taken as a tincture or in pill form.

Breast Compress

½ teaspoon tincture of calendula flower

10 drops . essential oil

3 drops each ginger and chamomile essential oils

1 cup warm water

2 cloths

Combine ingredients in a shallow bowl. Swish a small, soft cloth in the solution. Wring cloth out over the bowl and fold it into several layers. Place over swollen breast while the cloth is still warm and leave it on for 5 to 10 minutes. Run another cloth under cold water and wring it out. Exchange the warm compress for the cold one, and leave on about 2 minutes. If you have the time, alternate the cloths a few times.