Explaining the Link Between Parabens and Breast Cancer

In the past few years, much has been discussed about the link between paraben exposure and breast cancer. I have to be honest (as you know that I always am!) and admit that I didn’t pay much attention to this issue until I was diagnosed with the disease. UGH. However, the Silver Lining is that I am now living and learning.

I was fascinated to read this research article written by Amelia K. Charles and Philippa D. Darbre in January reporting that sufficient exposure to parabens causes human breast cancer cells to rapidly multiply. In fact, parabens are frequently found in the breast tissue of people diagnosed with the disease, especially those who are Estrogen Positive (ER+), like I was.

Here’s how they work: parabens disrupt the endocrine system and thereby interfere with hormones. They mimic estrogen in some ways and interfere in others. They also have some properties that androgens have, making them capable of causing problems with the reproductive functions of males.

Parabens absorb easily through the skin. They also are swallowed or eaten and – when originally developed – were thought to be harmlessly excreted. However, they are not actually harmlessly excreted because the parabens found in breast cancer tissues are unchanged from their original state.

Parabens came into use because of their ability to prevent the growth of yeasts, molds, and bacteria and thereby lengthen the shelf life of many products, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, foods, and beverages. Plastics, toys, lip balm, makeup, hair care products, moisturizers, tanning lotions, baby skin care lotions and wipes, sunscreens, deodorants, shaving creams and toothpaste all may contain parabens.

So, probably best to avoid these pesky parabens, right?  Here’s how:

• Read labels & look for the following words:

• benzylparaben
• butylparaben
• ethylparaben
• methylparaben
• propylparaben
• p-hydroxybenzoic acid

• Because there are several variations for each of the above names, the safest way to avoid parabens is to look for labels that state the product is free of parabens or is certified organic. Be careful, though because labels that say “made with organic ingredients” or “all natural” may be misleading.
• When shopping for groceries, pick foods that do not have synthetic preservatives. Fresh or minimally processed foods are best, along with those that are certified organic. Packaged mixes and highly processed foods are likely to contain parabens. A cake mix, for example, is not as safe a choice as a cake made from scratch. Sorry, but true.

Now, there are always people who will argue the issue; however the truth of the matter is that before additives, before all the experimenting to see if people could make better what nature so graciously provided, before convenience overrode common sense, we didn’t have to worry about polluting our bodies with man-made chemicals. In fact, there was no such thing as a paraben.

The Silver Lining for me (& my family) is to go back to the basics and use products that are free from altered substances…and especially ingredients that I couldn’t possibly pronounce!