Sore Boobs could mean a lack of nutrition

Breast soreness before the period should be addressed and not ignored! There are 4 easy nutrition tips to help you reduce sore boobs before your period.

My name is Omega Zumpano, I am an exercise scientist and menstrual cycle educator and the last PMS that I resolved and probably the hardest for me to resolve was breast tenderness before my period. 

Nutrition Tip #1: Potassium

Breast tenderness can be related to a lack of the nutrient potassium along with potentially high estrogen and overall inflammation. First, potassium. Sodium is potassium’s counterpart, and with this type of pre-menstrual symptom, if we’re not getting rid of sodium, we can have sodium build up resulting in swollen tender breasts or overall swelling of our body.

I would be remiss, if I didn’t mention that all of this is governed by the hormone aldosterone. The good part is, that for me and many clients that I’ve worked with, getting more potassium (sodium’s counterpart), actually helps reduce breast tenderness by balancing out the sodium:potassium ratio. High potassium foods that have helped me decrease my breast tenderness just before my period include:

Asparagus

Cantaloupe

Citrus

Dates

Prunes

Cooked broccoli and spinach

Avocado

Nutrition Tip #2: High Estrogen

High Estrogen can also be related to inflamed breast tissue. I’m going to give you some basic ways to reduce high estrogen, but if you want to know more details make sure to check out this high estrogen video.

Getting enough fiber actually works to help excrete excess estrogen by binding to it in the liver. If we’re not getting enough fiber, we’re not getting enough estrogen out of the body. Another way to reduce overall estrogen exposure, is to look at the environment. You can reduce environmental estrogens like, 

>Phthalates found commonly in toys and perscriptions
>Bisphenols found in hard plastics,toys and non-organic food

>Parabens found in cosmetics and skin care 

>Benzophenone also found in cosmetics and skincare
>Ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate found in sunscreens

Another source of environmental estrogens that are found in our food supply is pesticides found on non-organic food. 

Nutrition Tip #3: Caffeine
Excess estrogen has also been linked to caffeine from coffee. This 2015 study by Sisti et. al showed that there is a correlation between caffeine from coffee and estrogen metabolites in urine, showing us that when we consume caffeine from coffee we have more estrogens in our body.

Nutrition Tip #4: Reducing Inflammation
And finally, with breast tenderness we can often have overall inflammation. One way to help reduce that inflammation with nutrition is increasing our intake of omega 3s: 

Obviously fish oil supplements have a lot of omega 3’s, which have been shown to decrease pre-menstrual pain. But you can also get Omega 3s from flax and chia seeds.

If you are a health and fitness coach who wants to become confident in helping your clients assess and address hormonal imbalance like breast tenderness, apply for Confident Menstrual Cycle Coaching Academy. To apply, click this link and set a time to get on the phone with me.

Learn about my courses for clients right here.