Antiperspirant and Breast Cancer: Is There a Link?
From bottles and microwaves to phones and McNuggets, it seems everything is giving us cancer. While I refuse to run from my car when pumping gas or stop using my cell, there is one allegedly carcinogenic item that I fear: deodorant.
I used to be a fan of the clinical strength stuff; however I started getting a bit wary when I wouldn’t perspire for days on end. It just didn’t seem natural to have such incredibly dry pits. I started questioning if it was harmful that my deodorant was preventing my body from a natural process—sweating.
A popular email that circulated a few years back stated that antiperspirant causes cell-mutations and leads to cancer. The explanation behind the assertion was that because we aren’t perspiring (thanks to our antiperspirant), our body has no way to rid itself of toxins. Since the toxins have no where to go, they deposit themselves in the lymph nodes and build up, causing a higher likelihood for developing breast cancer.
Subsequent research has proved the link between breast cancer occurrences and antiperspirant to be highly debatable and not necessarily true. Still, many consumers have switched from standard brands to the all-natural, aluminum-free stuff (myself included).
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Stick to your instincts. It seems interesting that antiperspirants have warnings not to use this product if you have kidney problems. My anatomy may be somewhat flawed but the last I heard, the kidneys weren't in the armpits. Our skin is more of an absorber than a barrier. Aluminum is not good for you inside or out. Xeno estrogens make it even worse. And you are right on about sweating. There is a reason we do it and we pay a dear price for shutting it off. Remember, women don't sweat, they glow.
Just like most women in America, I shaved my underarms every day but that ended the moment I realized that deodorant was lodged in the hair follicles under my arms. I could actually squeeze them--like a pimple--and deodorant would come out! I was using a name-brand stick anti-persirant deodorant. If this was happening to me, I'm sure this is happening to many, many other women who shave their underarms. These days, I'll shave whenever I wear a bathing suit, but I won't wear deodorant for a day or two afterward. I don't wear sleeveless shirts anymore but I figure that's a small price to pay for peace of mind.
This is absolute garbage.
I invite anyone reading this trash to visit their store shelves and look at ingredient labels. They'll not find a single deodorant or antiperspirant that includes parabens. This error speaks volumes about credibility of this article - as in there is NO credibility. In fact the FDA and the American Cancer Society have confirmed that the scientic data have FAILED to showm a link between aluminum and parabens and breast cancer.
Jorge, I think you are a little too quick on the trigger. The association between aluminum in antiperspirants (they all have lots of it) and breast cancer is still controversial. Parabens are more commonly found in other skin care products but are found in some deodorants. I think a more important point is that aluminum is toxic to your internal organs. It can be a cause of kidney damage, may have a link to Alzheimer’s Disease and the link to breast cancer has been refuted by lack of proof but has not been totally disproven. Our skin is very absorbent. Ingredients that we put on it have an excellent chance of finding their way into our blood. After shaving your underarms, access to the blood stream is even easier. If you doubt this, look at the warning on your antiperspirant about using the product with known kidney problems. Our question for you is, why put something on your body that is full of ingredients that have huge potential for harm? If women are pregnant, there is also the question of an innocent fetus whose exposure to harmful ingredients is many times more dangerous. I personally don’t want to wait for science to decide which disease is really going to be the result when I don’t need the product anyway.
Great article! I feel it's safer to go with an aluminum and parabin free deodorant. There are lots out there. Many cosmetics are listed on this site ...this group has tested the toxicity level of so many products and you can find out how toxic it is. http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/splash.php?URI=%2Fsearch.php
Even some of the deodorants with out aluminum have toxins or carcinogens in them.
Why take the chance? Our bodies are supposed to sweat, that's how they are designed.