There have been many inaccurate statements and myths spread by articles online about coffee and breast size. The last thing I want is for females to be scared of drinking coffee in fear their breasts will be affected negatively.
All the information in this article are facts backed by research studies and I have linked the studies when referencing them.
Will coffee or caffeine reduce breast size?
So there have been some misconceptions that drinking coffee will reduce breast size.
This is not the case. It was caused by a study done by the British Journal of Cancer negatively linking coffee and breast size. In the study, they surveyed 269 women and found that those that drank 3 or more cups of coffee a day had smaller breasts than those who drank less than 3 cups of coffee. However, if the woman had the CYP1A2*1F gene, it actually showed that the women had a slightly larger breast size. They had a breast size larger by about 50 mL.
There are a lot of problems with this study so you should not worry too much about coffee making your breasts smaller.
The first thing is this study does not track the size of the breasts over time. You cannot establish whether breast size was affected by the coffee with a cross-sectional study at one point in time.
Secondly, the lifestyles of those women who drank 3+ cups of coffee a day are definitely different than those that did not drink any coffee. There are many factors that will affect the growth of breasts and you cannot determine if coffee had any significant impact on breast size with just 1 piece of information.
The third and last reason you cannot believe this study is the way they measured and calculated breast volume. They used a pyramid formula which is the base area of the breast x the height divided by 3.
So unless your boobs are perfect pyramids you should not be afraid of coffee. Boobs come in many shapes and sizes so by just measuring volume in a pyramid shape will provide inconsistent results.
Does drinking coffee make breasts denser?
If you are wondering or have heard that drinking coffee makes your breasts denser this is not 100% true. There have been studies done that show little to no association with breast density in premenopausal women.
The connection between the dense breast tissue and caffeine or coffee is not yet fully understood. There are many genes in the body that will be involved in the estrogen metabolism and inflammation resulting from caffeine consumption.
According to the American College of Radiology, there are 4 different types of breasts.
- Breasts consisting of almost entirely fatty breast tissue
- Breasts containing scattered amounts of dense breast tissue
- Breasts with varying dense breast tissue
- Breasts with extremely dense breast tissue
What is dense breast tissue?
Dense breasts are more common in younger women with smaller breasts. You cannot feel breast density and you can’t tell just by firmness. You have to go to a doctor and get a mammogram.
It has been established by many studies that people with dense breasts are at a higher risk for breast cancer. However, the research done on caffeine and breast cancer found that drinking coffee does not increase any risk in breast cancer.
Because of these results, women should not be concerned about breast size reduction and breast cancer caused by drinking coffee.
How does coffee affect breast milk when breastfeeding
Coffee is safe to drink while breastfeeding. While the caffeine can travel through your breast milk to the baby it will not harm them in small amounts.
If you notice any strange actions from your baby such as being hyper, fussy, irritable, or sleep problems after breastfeeding you may want to cut back on the coffee. Some babies will be more sensitive to caffeine and if that is the case you may need to cut back.
Up to 2 – 3 cups of coffee a day is safe depending on who you talk to. It is smart to time your cups of coffee so you do not drink them before you breastfeed.
You will need time to get the coffee out of your system. If you are interested in learning how long coffee and caffeine stays in the body you can read our detailed article about that here.
Caffeine can cause breast pain
If your breasts are sore or sensitive after drinking coffee it may be because of the caffeine. There have been conflicting studies done on breast pain and caffeine, but it may affect each person differently.
Our breasts have little ducts, and, on occasion, those ducts can swell up due to stimulants like caffeine and chocolate.
Diane Young, M.D.
You can also have hormonal fluctuations caused by caffeine that can cause your breasts to become sore. This is due to a rise in estrogen and progesterone before your period which can be accentuated by consuming caffeine.
Does coffee cause breast cysts?
Caffeine does not cause breast cysts like you may have heard. There are ongoing studies being done on breast cysts. According to Sandhya Pruthi, M.D. there is no evidence to suggest a link between caffeine and breast cancer or cysts.
Fibrosis happens when there is a large amount of fibrous tissue in an area. Cysts are fluid-filled sacs often found in women’s breasts.
They will be tender to the touch and may even be painful. Hormones can cause cysts to expand and become painful, especially during menstrual cycles. Many breast lumps in women turn out to be fibrosis or cysts.
Hormones differ for each person and caffeine may cause different symptoms. However, there has been no link between coffee and breast cysts or fibrosis.
Wrapping Up
So there are many myths regarding coffee and breast. I hope this article has helped dispel some of the questions you had about coffee and boobs. All the information has been collected from credible sources, and I am not a doctor. Please confirm any information provided in this article.
Here is a short wrap up of everything I covered in this article:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Will coffee reduce breast size? | No, as long as you drink less than 3 cups of coffee a day you are safe. |
| Does drinking coffee make breasts denser? | No, there is little to no association between coffee consumption and breast density. |
| Can coffee cause breast pain? | Yes, the caffeine inside coffee is a stimulant and may cause pain in the breast. |
| Does coffee cause breast cysts? | No, there is no link between coffee consumption and breast cysts. |