Ta-Ta for Now: Why Your Boobs Feel Tender and What to Do About It🍈 🍈

What You Need to Know to Ease Cyclical Breast Tenderness

File this under “things I wish they taught us in school”: how to actually care for your boobs.

Tenderness, pre-period fullness, fibrocystic changes—none of it is uncommon, but it can be confusing.

So let me start by telling you:

• Breast tenderness isn’t just a PMS thing

• Most women have fibrocystic breasts without even knowing it

• Hormone imbalances, iodine levels, and lymph flow can all play a role

• About 70% of women will experience breast pain

And yet… no one really talks about it…..

oh… and guess what makes it worse?

pst: it’s things most of us are doing

☕️ Caffeine (yerp)

🤧 Sitting all day without moving

🧂 Low iodine

🥂Alcohol

...so yeah, cyclical breast tenderness is incredibly common

If you’ve ever experienced:

• Cyclical breast tenderness (especially around ovulation or before your period)

• Swelling or puffiness

• Lumpy or dense-feeling breast tissue

• Tenderness when wearing a bra

• Panic over breast changes that end up being "normal but painful"

Then this one’s for you. Let’s get into it 💛

OKAY SO WHAT’S ACTUALLY GOING ON?

Breasts aren’t just fat and tissue — they’re hormone-sensitive, lymph-dense, and deeply connected to your liver, estrogen levels, and even your stress response.

They go through shifts all cycle long.

Which means that if tenderness is coming up, it isn’t random.

During the luteal phase (aka the week before your period), estrogen can rise too high or hang out too long — especially when the body isn’t clearing it well. This leads to:

• Water retention

• Tissue swelling

• Sensitivity and pain

Think of it like: your breasts are trying to “detox” something your liver couldn’t finish.

And when progesterone is too low compared to estrogen? That amplifies everything — more swelling, more tenderness, more anxiety.

Now, a bit of fullness, water retention etc. is normal during your luteal phase, but if we’re moving into tenderness and discomfort, it’s time to look a little deeper

Boob Disclaimer:

While tender breasts around your period can be totally normal (thank you, hormones), not all breast pain is just part of the cycle.

If you're experiencing any of the following, it's time to check in with your doctor:

• Pain that doesn’t follow a clear cycle

• A new lump or thickening that doesn’t go away after your period

• Skin dimpling, puckering, or changes in nipple appearance

• Nipple discharge (especially if bloody or from one side only)

• Redness, swelling, or warmth that doesn't resolve

Tenderness is common — but your body deserves to be listened to. When in doubt, get it checked out 🩺✨

SO WHAT CAUSES BREAST TENDERNESS?

Breast tenderness isn’t *only* because of hormones. It's also about estrogen, iodine, circulation and lymph drainage, and caffeine. Let’s break it down:

💥 Estrogen Dominance

Too much estrogen, or not enough progesterone to balance it is a major cause of breast tenderness. This leads to swelling, pain, and lumpiness.

So what causes higher estrogen?

• Poor liver detox

• Constipation (estrogen re-circulates)

• Synthetic hormones (like birth control or IVF meds)

• Xenoestrogens (found in plastics, fragrance, pesticides)

• PCOS (testosterone aromatizes into estrogen)

• HRT (common side effect: breast tenderness)

🧂 Low Iodine

Iodine is a mineral that’s key for breast health. How ya ask?

Well, iodine seems to help support the breast’s sensitivity level to estrogen. See the cells in breast tissue have receptors to estrogen, and iodine helps to essentially “turn down” this receptor activity, meaning it helps make the breasts less sensitive to estrogen.

That’s lovely, except that iodine consumption in America has dropped 50% since the 1970s.

And where does that leave us? well, actually with quite a few issues, but in this context: breasts that are more sensitive to estrogen = tender breasts

💧 Lymphatic Congestion

Your breasts are packed with lymph vessels — but unlike blood, lymph has no pump. It needs movement to drain.

If you’re sedentary, wearing tight bras/clothing, or chronically stressed → lymph can get backed up = tenderness, swelling, puffiness.

☕️ Caffeine & Inflammation

Caffeine (especially from coffee and soda) can overstimulate breast tissue and worsen fibrocystic changes.

Now, I’ll be honest - this one is contentious, but if limiting caffeine is what it takes to reduce breast tenderness, why not give it a go. For this reason, some docs recommend it as a first line of defense

Combine that with inflammatory foods (processed oils, sugar, dairy for some) and we see more pain, more sensitivity.

SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT BREAST HEALTH?

Honestly, it’s pretty simple (but effective) stuff my girl