“Nearly all the women tested had it in their breast tissue.”
That caught my eye.
I was looking through my stack of new medical and health journals for the month of March. The journal Applied Toxicology has a study where researchers in England looked at samples from women with breast cancer.
They found that 99% of the women had chemical preservatives – put into many common products you use every day – in their breast tissue.1 A lot of makeup, moisturizers, hair-care products, and creams have them.
In fact, you’ll find them in more than 19,000 cosmetic products, so you’d think they should be safe. But, among other things, these chemicals can disrupt hormone functions2 and interfere with fertility. And now they’re linked to breast cancer.
But if you follow the five steps I’m going to tell you about in a minute, you can help keep them out of your body in the first place, and help get rid of them if they do get in.
And you need help to defend yourself, because many studies have shown that it’s not just cosmetics that have these chemicals. You can even ingest them from pharmaceuticals, and some foods and drinks.
I’m talking about parabens.
Parabens can lead to increased breast cancer in two ways. The first is through raising estrogen levels to super-high levels.
For example, besides being a chemical that your body treats as if it were estrogen, parabens also block the detoxifying effects of a group of enzymes in your skin cells called sulfotransferases.3 This can keep estrogen levels abnormally high, which may be why doctors are seeing an increase in breast cancer near the areas where deodorants are applied.4
Parabens also seem to make MCF-7 human breast cancer cells grow. That means they might even initiate the cancer in the first place, or at least promote it.
Your body can get rid of some parabens naturally. Your liver, the most powerful detoxifying organ in your body, can expel some parabens though your urine. But to make sure it doesn’t build up in your body, here are five easy steps you can take right now to eliminate parabens, and help keep them out:
Take DIM (Diindolylmethane) supplements. It sounds as tongue-twisting as some of those shampoo ingredients, but DIM is a 100-percent-natural nutrient that’s found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale and cauliflower.
Try to eat those vegetables daily, because DIM can cleanse your system of excess estrogen. For supplementing, I usually start patients with a 100 mg DIM capsule. Two capsules can provide the DIM equivalent to a pound of vegetables.
Avoid unnatural ointments, lotions and shampoos. They can have one and usually more of the parabens methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, butylparaben, and benzylparaben. Organic products generally do not have parabens, or other harmful chemicals like BPA or phthalates, but read the label to be sure.
Avoid storing food in plastic. They can also be made with parabens, even if they’re BPA-free. Store food in stainless steel, porcelain and glass dishes, or use paper cups or plates.
Shed excess pounds. Parabens and other chemicals can accumulate in excess fat because they are often lipophilic (can dissolve in fat). The best way to melt fat fast is to do short-duration, progressively challenging workouts, like the ones I show you in my PACE Express program.
They will help you melt more fat than cardio, aerobics or any endurance exercise. It’s the best way to keep melting fat even after you work out. Click here to melt more fat and help keep the parabens out of your body.
Take out the trash. Perspiration not only regulates body temperature but it rejuvenates your largest organ, your skin. Even better, it eliminates waste, pollutants and toxins. Periodic purges through perspiration prevent the accumulation of these toxins. Frequent sauna bathing also reduces stress and improves your circulation.
Repeated use of the sauna slowly restores skin elimination. Removal of toxic chemicals and metals through sauna is faster than with any other natural method of detox. So enjoy a good soak today.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1 Barr L, et. al. “Measurement of paraben concentrations in human breast tissue…” J Appl Toxicol. 2012 Mar;32(3):219-32. doi: 10.1002/jat.1786.
2 Wozniak M and Murias M. “Xenoestrogens: endocrine disrupting compounds.” Ginekol Pol. 2008 Nov;79(11):785-90.
3 Darbre P, Harvey P. “Paraben esters: review of recent studies of endocrine toxicity, absorption, esterase and human exposure…” J Appl Toxicol. 2008 Jul;28(5):561-78.
4 Crinnon W. “Tooxic Effects of the Easily Avoidable Pthalates and Parabens.” Alt Med Rev. 2010;Vol 15, No. 3; pg 190.