Women’s Health: The Cost of Shaving,
Deodorant, and BrasMost American women shave their armpits, use deodorant, and wear bras on a daily basis. It’s become part of our cultural routine to curb or smooth over our natural femininity. It’s such a long established pattern, that we do these things automatically each day as we get dressed for the outside world, and, perhaps, ourselves. We do these things automatically; that is, until we have a reason to question our habits.
Today we are questioning our patterns, particularly after having read information and research that causes us to think more critically about our behavior. The investigative work of Dr. Kris McGrath, associate professor of Clinical Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School and head of the Allergy-Immunology Department of a Chicago hospital, is worthy of review. It, along with other compelling studies, give me reason to make more informed choices in regards to my daily practices of underarm shaving, the use of deodorant, and the wearing of bras. We feel that we would be remiss in not passing this information along to you.
After losing his thirty-five year old wife to breast cancer, Dr. McGrath began his study. The death of his wife, Elaine, propelled him to design, fund, and launch a fifteen-year study on the potential relationship between habitual deodorant use and breast cancer. He found that breast cancer rates were highest among women who not only applied deodorants, but frequently shaved their armpits as well. His findings were published last December in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention.
Dr. McGraths’s study is one of only five that have been conducted in the past several years on this subject. There is very little support or interest in this area, despite the fact that there’s emerging proof that deodorant use is hazardous to women’s health. (Think of the potential capital losses if everyone knew about this.)
Dr. McGrath’s rationale for including underarm shaving in his research is because shaving causes tiny nicks and cuts in the tender skin, which can then expedite the absorption of toxic ingredients from deodorants. With the exception of one of the other studies done, the rest have concurred with this potentially harmful link between deodorant and breast cancer. These studies can be found in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, October, 2002.
Last June the European editor of the Journal of Applied Toxicology co-authored a comprehensive "Review of Evidence and Call for Further Research" asserting that "exposure issues are clear and the exposed population is large". Britain has conducted the majority of studies on this issue over deodorant and its link to breast cancer. North America is, unfortunately, far behind in acknowledging the hazards of toxic chemicals used in conventional, commercial cosmetics. In September of this year, the European Union began requiring North American companies operating in the E.U. to reformulate their cosmetics and body care products (e.g. deodorant) to eliminate all chemicals known or suspected of causing cancers.
Chemistry and cosmetics are big business. Incredibly, in spite of the E.U. ban on most of the chemicals used in American made cosmetics and body care products, the U.S. upholds the use of chemicals and refuses to impose such demands in this country. If there were more public outcry and demand, then maybe….. However, there is little demand because the general public is unaware of the harmful side effects of their chemicalized beauty and body care products.
Still, there is something we can do. We can educate ourselves and make informed decisions regarding the care of ourselves. Frighteningly, there are thousands upon thousands of chemical ingredients that are known as probable human carcinogens and are regularly used in our products. There are very little governmental regulations in place around the formulating of commercial, conventional cosmetics and body care products. All is not lost though. There is a non-profit organization called "The Environmental Working Group" in Washington, D.C. that is fantastic! If you visit their website, you can input the names of your cosmetics and body care products, as well as their ingredients, and learn the truth about its safety or toxicity. www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep
Reflect upon these facts:1. Females born in the U.S. today have a one in seven chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer at some stage in her life;
2. Ninety percent of the U.S. population regularly uses deodorants and/or antiperspirants;
3. Taking into account all known risk factors (family history, smoking, obesity), more than fifty percent of breast cancer cases are unexplained;
4. Excessively high numbers of breast cancer occur at the site where deodorants are applied (the upper outer quadrant of breast tissue);
5. Conventional and even some "natural" deodorants and antiperspirants contain chemicals well known to produce toxic consequences, such as: aluminum salts, parabens, phthalates, butylated hyroxytoluene, titanium dioxide, just to name a few.
With regards to wearing bras, Hungarian lymphologist, Marika Von Viczay, N.C., Ph.D. first hypothesized the connection between the wearing of bras and the development of breast cancer in the 1970s. More recently, medical anthropologist, Sydney Singer, and his assistant, Soma Grismaijer, maintain that women who habitually wear bras are more inclined to develop breast cancer.
They conducted a three-year study on 4,700 women from cities throughout the U.S. Women who wore bras more than twelve hours – but not to bed – were twenty-one times more likely to get breast cancer than women who wore their bras less than twelve hours a day. An extreme comparison cites that women who wore bras to bed were one hundred twenty-five times more at risk than women who never wore bras.
Singer and Grismaijer have authored a book, Dressed to Kill, based upon their findings. Regardless of some design flaws in their study (diet, stress, and other risk factors were not taken into account), the outcome at least implies a negative relationship between long hours of bra wearing and the development of breast cancer. Singer and Grismaijer write, "When we change our physical features with clothing, we change more than our appearance. We change the way our bodies work, resulting in many health problems."
In the book the authors explain the physiological processes of the lymphatic system, which is a major part of the immune system, responsible for filtering toxins out of the blood supply. Anything that hinders the flow of lymph fluid (e.g. restrictive clothing) can cause accumulations of toxins in that area. When the lymph fluid is unable to properly filter and drain, over time, this can cause problems. Chronic constriction of breast tissue overly taxes the immune system. When the immune system is overworked and unable to function at its highest potential, we are much more susceptible to deviant cell production or malignancies.
The authors of this book advise minimizing or reducing exposure to harmful chemicals in cosmetics and body care products (commercial deodorants!), in the environment, and in the diet. While it’s nearly impossible to avoid all toxins, we can take measures to bolster our body’s immune system and allow it every opportunity to cleanse itself as effectively as possible. Thusly, it is recommended to limit or altogether stop wearing bras.
Obviously, there are many sides to the story and I have presented only one. This article is hardly the last word on the subject. Nevertheless, the more informed we are, the better and healthier decisions we can make. A very superficial, but notable observation, shows that Mediterranean women rarely get breast cancer. The whole idea of not shaving and not wearing deodorant might not be such a bad idea!
If you find this information useful, please pass it along. Thanks for your time and interest! Also, please scroll down to find a recipe for homemade, natural deodorant.Resources
Breast Cancer Fund; www,breastcancerfund.org
Ephraim, Rebecca. The Nagging Connection Between Breast Cancer & Deodorant Use. Whole Times, Sep., 2004.
McGrath, K. G. An earlier age of breast cancer diagnosis related to more frequent use of antipersperants/deodorants and underarm shaving. European Journal of Cancer Prevention, vol. 12, (2004).
Singer, Sydney Ross and Grismaijer, Soma. Dressed to Kill, 1995.
Recipe for Natural Deodorant
6 teaspoons Witch Hazel
2 teaspoons Glycerin
2 drops Clove Oil
2 drops Coriander Oil
5 drops Grapefruit Oil
2 drops Lavender Oil
10 drops Lemon Oil
5 drops Lime Oil
5 drops Palmarosa Oil
Mix together the witch hazel and vegetable glycerin in a mixing bowl. Add the essential oils to the mixture, stir, and then transfer to a glass spray bottle. Shake well and voila! It's ready to go. Shake well before each use. This mixture has a shelf life for up to six months.
Bryce Edmonds, Delicious Living, Dec., 2004.Article came from the Michele & Dr. Set f newsletter Los Angeles and can be reached at Dr. Set - imdwarrior@hotmail.com; Michele - michelik@adelphia.net
Uploaded 11-11-05