BREAST HEALTH RETHINKING
Natural ways to keep breasts smooth, pain-free and firm, while reducing the risk of cancer.
by Lisa Marshall W
e’ve been conditioned to narrowly define breast health in terms of pink ribbon cam-
paigns, cancer awareness marches and cold, steel mammography machines. Nearly 30 years after anticancer drug maker Imperial Chemical Industries (now AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals) estab- lished the first National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 1985, many women have come to equate healthy breasts with cancer-free breasts, and assume the most important thing they can do is undergo regular screening. But amid this chorus, some wom-
en’s health advocates are striving to get a different message across: There are a host of steps women can take to not only fend off disease in the future, but keep their breasts in optimal condition today. “We need to change the conversation about our breasts from how to avoid breast cancer and detect it early to how to have healthy breasts and enjoy them,” says Dr. Christiane Northrup, an obstetrician and gynecologist from Yarmouth, Maine, and author of the new book Goddesses Never Age: The Secret Prescription for Radiance, Vitality, and Well-Being.
Healthy Breasts,
Healthy Body In adolescence, breast changes are the first to signal the arrival of womanhood. When she’s aroused, a woman’s nipples harden and change color. When a woman gives birth, her breasts fill with life-giving milk. “In all these ways, your breasts are deeply connected to your femininity, compassion and sensu- ality,” says Hawaiian Naturopathic Doctor Laurie Steelsmith, co-author
20 Twin Cities Edition
of Natural Choices for Women’s Health. Because breasts are extremely sensitive to hormonal fluctuations throughout the body, they can also serve as a barom- eter of overall health. “If you’re having chronic breast symptoms, it can be your body’s wisdom saying, ‘Help. Some- thing’s wrong.’ Women need to listen.” While some premenstrual swelling and tenderness is normal, exaggerated or persistent pain is often a sign of sys- temic estrogen dominance in relation to progesterone. It’s common in the years leading up to menopause, but can also hint at impaired thyroid function, because low levels of thyroid hormones have been shown to boost estrogen in breast tissue, advises Steelsmith. Large, fluid-filled cysts or fibrous
lumps, while non-cancerous, can also be a reflection of overexposure to harmful chemicals and toxin buildup, combined with poor lymph flow, notes Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan, an integrative physician in Greensboro, North Caro- lina. “If a woman has lumpy, bumpy breasts, they probably contain too many toxins, and those toxins are primar- ily estrogenic.” Addressing such symptoms is important not
only to relieve discomfort, but also because excess estrogen can fuel future cancer risk, says Vaughan. Any new, suspicious lump should
be evaluated by a professional. Also, severe breast tenderness combined with nipple discharge could be a sign of infection or a problem with the pituitary gland, so it should also be checked. But typically, subtle natural healthcare steps can go a long way toward restoring breast wellness. For nipple tenderness, Steelsmith
recommends chaste-tree berry (175 milligrams [mg] of powdered extract or 40 drops daily). The herbal supplement mimics naturally occurring progester- one in the body, helping to counter estrogen dominance. Vitamin E (400 to 800 international units [IU] per day) and evening primrose oil (1,500 mg twice a day) have also been shown to alleviate breast tenderness. For fibrous or cyst-filled breasts,
Vaughan advises supplementing with iodine (up to 12.5 mg per day via kelp, seaweed or oral tablets) or applying an iodine solution to the breasts at night. A key con- stituent of thyroid hormones, iodine helps the liver convert unfriendly forms of
estrogen into friendlier forms and
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