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he answer to this question is a little complicated. Parabens, which is a general term referring to a group of chemical preservatives, are known to cause allergic reactions in individuals with allergies or sensitive skin but to find the factual answer if parabens cause cancer, most notably breast cancer, really depends on which side you ask.
which requires a product to prove its safety before it can be sold to consumers. Cosmetic products in the US are allowed on the market until proven harmful. With the exception of color additives,cosmetic products are not regulated or preapproved for safety by the FDA.
Formaldehyde and abestos are two great examples of how long it takes and how difficult it is to remove toxic chemicals from the consumer market. Abestos takes approximately 15-20 years (after exposure) for a person to develop cancer directly from this harmful chemical and consequently the studies took even longer to review and be proven of its cacinogic nature. Abestos was once touted the 'miracle material' because of its durability, strength and fire resistant qualities and was used to build almost any structure in New Orleans before the 1970's. Scientists and researchers who conducted experiments on air pollution after the Hurricaine Katrina disaster believe a large amount of abestos was in the air and speculate that those who came in contact with this hazardous material will not exhibit symptoms until later in life.
Formaldehyde is most used in molecular biology to break the covalent bonds (strongest molecular bonds) of a DNA molecule in preparation for DNA processing. In other words, it degrades DNA. It can cause heritable genetic
The cosmetic industry regulates itself and sets its own criteria through a group called the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR). The CIR promotes parabens
as absolutely safe and of no link to breast cancer. They claim that even though parabens can be toxic in amounts that exceed 25% , the amount of parabens used in one cosmetic ingredient is extremely low and of no threat (.01-.03%). Health experts who are against parabens believe parabens are not safe because they increase the amount of potentially harmful chemicals found in cosmetics. (Phthalates, triclosan, and musks being the other harmful chemical groups.) They advocate that it is the repeated daily use of many of these questionable chemicals over a long period of time combined with other pollutants in the air, water, household products, foods, and industrial products that cause harm. The average woman is estimated to come in contact with 250 chemicals daily through skin care, cosmetics and other persoanl hygeine products. The connection
linking parabens to breast cancer specifically revolves around the fact that parabens mimic estrogen. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Do Parabens Cause Cancer?
Formaldehyde and abestos are two great examples of how long it takes and how difficult it is to remove toxic chemicals from the consumer market.
damage. This carcinogenic agent is so reactive that it has been proven that individuals exposed to "normal" levels of it have developed cancer. Formaldehyde is surprisingly found in certain organic cosmetics still today.
Until there are replicated long term factual studies with no room for speculation or hypothesis proving whether or not parabens are linked to cancer, genetic mutations, and reproductive harm the answer you will find to
"Do Parabens Cause Cancer?" will continue to be "yes....and no."
~JBC
states in their report "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: Agents of Subtle Change?" that the parabens methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl (alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates) does display estrogenic activity in several tests with butylparaben being the most estrogenic. In other words the products applied to your skin mimic your own body´s hormones. This can cause a disrupt-
ing action that interferes with your body´s endocrine system. This would be any organ that excretes hormones, such as the hypothalamus, the ovaries, and thyroid.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has also published the first focused study on the hormonal disruption cosmetics have on teenage girls. Because teen girls are going through rapid development there is a concern their reproductive health and longterm health could be at risk. The study found (to
no surprise) that young women are exposed to and use higher doses of cosmetic preservatives than other population groups. Laboratory blood and urine tests found 16 chemicals from the chemical families phthalates, triclosan, parabens,
and musks which are all known endoctrine disruptors. An average of 13 different hormone-altering chemicals were found in the bodies of the 20 teens studied. Methylparaben and propylparaben was detected in every girl who participated in the study.
Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., the executive director of the Breast Cancer Fund states
that "Puberty is a time of rapid cell development. Tissues are more sensitive to external toxicants, including those that can impair fertility and increase the risk
of breast cancer... 'That’s why we’re concerned about hazardous ingredients in cosmetics products.” It is still unknown if chemical exposures during pre- pubertal and adolescent can later contribute to the later development of breast cancer as well as chemical exposure during prenatal stages. Parabens have been shown to increase the expression of genes that are usually regulated by estradiol. This causes human breast tumor cells (MCF-7 cells) to grow and proliferate in
vitro.
One study on women with breast cancer became very controversial. It was published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, 24, 5-13 (2004) and conducted
at the University of Reading in Edinburgh, England.This particular study found
that parabens were found in breast tumors and that 18 of the 20 tumors tested
are thought to originate from deodorants, antiperspirants, creams or body sprays. Although this still has not been confirmed the study did raise the concern of parabens accumulating in the body in its origianl form whereas before it was thought that parabens are excreted in the urine after being metabolized. Studies of this nature are very expensive to conduct and take years before they are reviewed and known. Health and environmental advocates want
the US to change its laws to parallel the European Union (EU)
References and Websites:
www.asbestos.com/automotive
www.safecosmetics.org.
Arditti, Rita. Cosmetics, Parabens, and Breast Cancer. Summer 2004 newsletter of the Women's Community Cancer Project. Organic Consumers Association. http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/breastcancer090604.cfm
Bell, Margaret. The Dangers Of Parabens - Do You Know What They Are? http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/The-Dangers-Of-Parabens---Do-You-Know-What-They-Are-/162205
Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller WR, Coldham NG, Sauer MJ, Pope GS. Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumors. Journal of Applied Toxicology. 2004; 24: 5-13.
Roja, Genevieve or Donegan,Kevin. December 7, 2005. Breast Cancer Fund Cosmetics Popular with Teenagers Linked to Breast Cancer, Other Serious Health Problems
Schuetz, Ingrid MA. Parabens: Dangers and Uses. Townsend Letter The Examiner of Alternative Medicine November 2007
Adolescents are Especially Vulnerable to Toxic Exposures from Chemical Ingredients. http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=1264315 Breast Cancer Fund
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registryhttp://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/NEWS/asbestosexposure2.html
American Cancer Society. Detailed Guide: Malignant Mesotheliomahttp://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_is_malignant_mesothelioma_29.asp?sitearea
US Food and Drug Administration. CFSAN/Office of Cosmetics and Colors. March 3, 2005. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-206.html
Mesothelioma & Abestos Awareness Center. Contamination Caused By Katrina. December 12 2007. http://www.maacenter.org/jobsites/katrina/contamination.php
National Cancer Institute.http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/asbestos
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthhttp://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/asbestos
Shapley, Dan. 16 Hormone Disrupting Chemicals Found in Teen Girls. Are Cosmetics, Lotions and Perfumes Putting Them at Risk?The Daily Green 9.24.2008
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/hormone-disruptors-teens-47092406
Toxic Teens: Common Cosmetics Chemicals Alter Hormones, Disrupt Puberty. Markham, Derek. Beauty & Beauty Products, Health September 25th 2008.
http://ecochildsplay.com/2008/09/25/toxic-teens-common-cosmetics-chemicals-alter-hormones-disrupt-puberty/
US FDA/CFSAN/Office of Cosmetics and Colors. FDA Authority Over Cosmetics. March 3, 2005. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-206.html
