Breast Enlargement
Breast Enlargement
A few years ago, I wrote an article for HerbalGram, the excellent publication of the American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas, of which my friend Mark Blumenthal is executive director. I summarized the research showing that fenugreek, a tasty, vaguely maple-flavored herb, helps control blood sugar in people who have diabetes and that its sprouts just might enlarge women's breasts.
Some time later, I was invited to a meeting of herbalists in Arkansas. When I was picked up at the airport in Little Rock, the woman who drove me to the conference told me this story: A few months earlier, she and some friends had sprouted a lot of seeds for a taste test of sprouts at an herbal food fest. One of the seeds they sprouted was fenugreek.
After eating several fair-size portions of fenugreek sprouts over the course of several days, one of the women noticed that her breasts seemed somewhat larger. This is called a mastogenic effect. She did not understand what was going on until another woman in the group handed her a copy of my article.
Green Pharmacy for Breast Enlargement
I'm not going to take sides on the issue of breast enlargement. All I know is that quite a few women dream of larger breasts, and many opt for silicone implants. If you read the papers, you know that these implants are very controversial, with many women and some scientists calling them dangerous, while other women and other scientists say that they cause no real problems.
While I can't judge whether silicone breast implants are harmful, I know that if my daughter wanted her breasts enlarged, I'd certainly encourage her to try natural approaches first. Here are several herbs that might prove helpful in providing a modest boost in size.
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum). The seeds and sprouts have a centuries-old folk reputation as breast enlargers. In fact, 100 years ago the herb was a key ingredient in the original formula for Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, a popular remedy for "female troubles"--everything from menstrual pain to postmenopausal vaginal dryness.
As I learned in Arkansas, there are also modern testimonials for fenugreek's effects on the breasts and good reason to believe this herb really works.
Fenugreek seeds contain a fair amount of diosgenin, a chemical compound that's often used to create semisynthetic forms of the female sex hormone estrogen.
While estrogen has many effects on the body, two relate principally to breast enlargement. The hormone causes growth of breast cells and contributes to water retention. In fact, many women who take the Pill, which contains estrogen, for birth control often experience as a side effect the feeling of breast fullness caused by water retention.
Plant estrogen (phytoestrogen) from sources like fenugreek does not lead to uncomfortable breast fullness. If my daughter wanted to try fenugreek, I might suggest that she drink a formula that I developed for exactly this purpose. I call it Bustea.
Massaging powdered fenugreek into the breasts is also worth a try, since breast tissue can apparently absorb a certain amount of plant chemicals. Not too long ago, two distinguished pharmacognosists (natural product pharmacists) published a paper entitled "Higher Plants as Potential Sources of Galactagogues." (Galactagogues are substances that promote the secretion and flow of breast milk.) These two scientists seemed surprised to find that 68 of the 255 plants used as traditional galactagogues were and are applied topically.
To use powdered fenugreek, grind up seeds or sprouts in a blender, add a dash of vegetable oil and apply the mixture as a paste.
Bustea Want a bustier look? Drink Bustea! Here's a tea recipe that will give you a hearty dose of breast-enhancing herbs. In a saucepan, pour two cups of water over one cup of fenugreek sprouts. Add a dash or two of anise, basil, caraway, dill, fennel, licorice, marjoram and lemongrass. Bring to a boil, then let cool. Add lemon juice and honey to taste. Drink one to two cups a day. Fennel contains phytoestrogens, plant chemicals similar to the female hormone estrogen. Folklore maintains that the other herbs in this tea can also help enlarge the breasts. |
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Fennel is another estrogenic herb that has been used for centuries to promote milk production. You could include it in Bustea to complement the fenugreek. Don't use fennel oil, however. In pregnant women, the oil can cause miscarriage. And in doses greater than about a teaspoon, it can be toxic.
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). This plant is best known these days for its ability to shrink an enlarged prostate gland in men. But a century ago, this herb was best known as a folk approach to breast enlargement. Naturopathic physicians continue to recommend it for this purpose. Most people use standardized store-bought capsules (one to two grams) or alcohol extracts. To use this herb, follow the package directions.
Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa). Here's another herb that is reputed to have estrogenic effects. Personally, I've never been that impressed with wild yam because, according to my database, it contains a lot less diosgenin than fenugreek. But I bow to practicing herbalists such as Susun Weed, author of Breast Cancer? Breast Health! who say that they have made salves out of the wild yam. These herbalists maintain that the women who use this salve gain the desired effects. To make a salve, it's best to shave off the outer bark of the root and reduce the inner root bark to paste in a blender.
| Wild Yam Also called colic root or rheumatism root, wild yam is a twining perennial that was once used by American Indians to ease the pain of childbirth.  |
Cumin (Cuminum cyminum). Both common cumin and black cumin (Nigella sativa) have been shown to increase the number of mammary cells in laboratory animals. The herb's effects on the human breast are unknown, but mammals tend to have similar reactions to compounds with mammary effects. You could spice up Bustea with more ground cumin. You could also make liberal use of this spice in cooking.
