Three Tips for a Meaningful Month–women’s health 2

Kick the habit—caffeine that is. Caffeine lowers levels of progesterone, the pro-gestational hormone. This means that there’s relatively more estrogen floating around, and that’s a recipe for PMS. Women who drink coffee are more prone to fibrocystic breasts, a benign condition characterized by ropy bands of tissue along the underwire line. Often I could tell during a physical exam how much coffee a woman drank. Caffeine also lowers B vitamins, essential for energy (ironically) and mood support. It also has a significant negative impact on fertility. What’s a woman to do? Try switching to decaf, or to alternative roasted beverages like Dandiblend or teechino. Dandiblend’s use of dandelion helps detoxification and caffeine withdraw at the same time.