Parabens and your health

You may not even know what a paraben is, but you are going to start to here more about them in the coming months. Parabens are a preservative mostly used in the cosmetics industry. This type of preservative is used to prevent mold and fungus from growing in cream based products. Parabens are also used in most deodorants as a way of making the active ingredients in commercial deodorant last longer.

Parabens are a class of chemicals regulated by the FDA but have never been fully tested for safety. The FDA regulates about 90,000 different chemicals, however they do not know how many of these chemicals interact with the environment or in humans. Beginning early last year I began reading small articles that appeared in my trade magazines about parabens. The most disturbing article I read at that time was that parabens were being found in the breast tissue of women. Where these parabens came from and how did they entered into the breast tissue is unknown. More than one theory supposed that parabens found in shampoos, deodorants and other cosmetics may be the culprit. This is because parabens are a fatty chemical that can be absorbed directly through the skin.

Yesterday, July 31st, I read another article about a preliminary study that found parabens in breast cancer cells. What this means is still open for debate. There is of course going to be another study, but you may not want to wait. If you have a history of breast cancer in your family you may want to eliminate the products that contain parabens until more useful information in available.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James