Say Goodbye to Hormonal Breast Pain: Discover the Natural Food Remedies That Really Work

Let's talk about mastalgia

We understand that dealing with hormonal breast pain can be challenging. It's something our founder at OV, Claire, struggled with in the past too. Not wanting to lie on them at night, to be touched, and wondering how even such small breasts can cause so much pain.

This hormonal related breast pain is also known as mastalgia and is a common issue for many women. We understand that these pains leave women feeling uncomfortable and frustrated.

What does it feel like and why do we get breast pain during our cycle?

The fluctuation of oestrogen and progesterone levels can lead to breast discomfort, tenderness, and swelling (Kataria et al., 2024). To put it simply, it’s a classic case of hormone imbalance.

Women dealing with hormonal breast pain often experience symptoms such as tenderness, soreness, and a feeling of heaviness in the breasts (Fu et al., 2022)

These symptoms can vary in intensity and may impact daily activities, exercise, and overall well-being.

It's also important to acknowledge the emotional aspect of this experience as well. Many women feel frustrated, anxious, or even fearful about the implications of ongoing breast pain (Yilmaz et al., 2015).

What can you do to alleviate mastalgia?

Making certain dietary changes can have a positive impact on managing the symptoms.

Incorporating foods rich in vitamin E, such as almonds and sunflower seeds, can help reduce breast tenderness (Parsay et al., 2009). Additionally, foods high in fibre, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, can assist in balancing hormone levels (Saxton, 2006). Flax seeds are also known to decrease mastalgia too (Mirghafourvand, M et al.,2015).

Adding these into your everyday life doesn't have to be daunting. We recommend starting with small changes, such as adding a handful of nuts or seeds to your daily breakfast or lunch, or including an extra serving of leafy greens in your meals. If you haven’t already read about seed cycling on our site then we recommend signing up to our emails where you will receive our step by step guide on how to start. Sunflower and flax seeds are both included in the seed cycling method so it could be great for someone suffering with mastalgia.

If you love your science then we think you will love this study on flax seeds and mastalgia

In summary

Hormonal breast pain is a common experience for many women. By making simple dietary adjustments and being mindful of hormonal changes, it's possible to alleviate some of the discomfort.

Remember, you're not alone in this journey. Hormonal breast pain, also known as mastalgia, is a common issue for many women.

OV is committed to helping women understand their menstrual cycle and take action with easy to incorporate, natural solutions.

Check out our recipe for Banana and Flax Seed Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 banana

1 tablespoon flour or ground oats

1 egg

Recipe:

1. Put everything in a blender to blend. This is your pancake mix

2. Get a pan hot with some butter or oil of your choice

3. Once hot, add a scoop of the pancake mix

4. Fry until you see it looking a little less wet and air pockets are forming

5. Flip

6. Once cooked, stack and top with your favourite toppings

We love these with coconut yogurt and walnuts

At OV we want to make sure you have all the facts.

If you want to know where we got ours from you can review here

References

Fu, M.R., Axelrod, D., Guth, A.A., Scagliola, J., Rampertaap, K., El-Shammaa, N., Qiu, J.M., McTernan, M.L., Frye, L., Park, C.S., Yu, G., Tilley, C. and Wang, Y. 2022. A Web- and Mobile-Based Intervention for Women Treated for Breast Cancer to Manage Chronic Pain and Symptoms Related to Lymphedema: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JMIR Cancer, 8(1), article no: 29485 [no pagination].

Kataria, K., Ahmad, A., Nelson, T., Ranjan, P., Rathore, Y., Dhar, A., Srivastava, A. and Hari, S. 2024. Outcome of Medical Therapy in Patients Suffering from Cyclical Mastalgia—An Ambispective Cohort Study. Indian journal of surgery [no pagination].

Parsay, S., Olfati, F. and Nahidi, S. 2009. Therapeutic Effects of Vitamin E on Cyclic Mastalgia. The Breast Journal, 15(5), pp.510–514.

Saxton, J.M. 2006. Diet, physical activity and energy balance and their impact on breast and prostate cancers. Nutrition Research Reviews, 19(2), pp.197–215.

Mirghafourvand, M, Mohammad-Alizadeh-Charandabi, S, Ahmadpour, P, Javadzadeh, Y, 2015. Effects of Vitex agnus and Flaxseed on cyclic mastalgia: A randomized controlled trial.Complementary Therapies in Medicine Volume 24, February 2016, Pages 90-95

Yilmaz, E.M., Celik, S., Arslan, H. and Deger, D. 2015. Relation between Mastalgia and Anxiety in a Region with High Frequency of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Breast Health, 11(2), pp.72–75.