In 2004 a UK study sampled tumors from 20 breast cancer victims and found parabens in all of them.The study was the first to show the effects of accumulation of parabens in human tissue and as expected caused a bit of a stir with the cosmetics industry. Paraben build up occurred after prolonged use of cosmetics and deodorants.
The study found that parabens also had the ability to mimic the action of oestrogen a female hormone that is also known to drive the growth of breast tumors (more info here)
Parabens are a chemical that is used as a preservative in cosmetics, it's extremely popular because it is the most inexpensive preservative on the market, and can prolong the life of some products by up to 20 years. A quick look through your bathroom will find parabens in most products, probably listed as one of the following: Methylparaben, proplyparaben, isopropylparaben, isobutylparaben, butylparaben, sodium butylparaben.
The industry response to the findings was as predicted, the European Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery
Association COLIPA stated that the findings were 'irrelevant' as
'Parabens are hydrolysed in the skin and we have data to show that none
are entering the blood stream', which makes you wonder how the scientists found them in the 20 samples. They also mentioned that the industry had no plans to
follow up the work. Four years later we still no update from anyone.
The above study was too small to be conclusive from
a scientific point of view and there still needs to much more research
done. It doesn't show that parabens cause breast cancer, as there are
many other factors that also play a part. However it does make you
wonder about all the crap we put into our bodies.
The accumulation of chemical build up that most of us have in our bodies from years of toxins MUST play SOME role in the large increase in cancer and heart disease that we see in the western world. In fact I'd go so far as to say that it is impossible for you to make me think otherwise. We live in a polluted world, our minds get bomabarded with fear and negativity eg. terrorism, global warming, and then we go and put more chemicals, preservatives and artificial flavours and colourings into our system. And don't think that just because you can't feel the effects or taste and smell the chemicals, that they don't have an impact on you. It can often take years for you to start noticing changes and illness, just like it takes years for a smoker to develop lung cancer.
Another reason we eat organic is to decrease the chance of chemical build up in our systems, if you haven't tried it I would highly recommend it, it's just another small part in the bigger picture of a healthy life.