Chemical Preservatives-Parabens

Parabens are a class of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These compounds, and their salts, are used primarily for their bactericidal and fungicidal properties. They are to be found in shampoos most skincare products, men’s cosmetics and toiletries, baby care personal lubricants, topical pharmaceuticals, tanning solutions, and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives. Unfortunately Parabens can cause skin irritations and contact dermatitis, Rosacea , paraben allergies and premature skin aging.
Scientific studies - Report that parabens were found in samples of breast tumors, these studies have resulted in a call for further research. This same study has fueled the belief that parabens in underarm deodorants and other cosmetics can migrate into breast tissue and contribute to the development of tumors. Some scientists believe that it may be correlated with breast cancer, based on a study by UK scientists in which preservative chemicals were found in samples of breast tumors. Their analysis of 20 breast tumors found high concentrations of parabens in 18 samples. What supports this argument is based on the ability of parabens to mimic the hormone estrogen, which is known to play a role in the development of breast cancers. Some estrogens are known to drive the growth of tumors.   Given that breast cancer is a large killer of women and a very high percentage of young women use underarm deodorants, I think we should be carrying out properly funded, further investigations into parabens and where they are found in the body," says Dr.Philip Harvey, an editor of the Journal of Applied Toxicology, which published the research Molecular biologist Philippa Darbre at the University of Reading says that the ester-bearing form of parabens found in the tumors indicates it came from something applied to the skin, such as an underarm deodorant, cream, general skincare or body sprays.
This study has elicited concerns about the use of butylparaben, methylparaben and other parabens used in most cosmetics and antiperspirants.

Body Burden When the Body burden is too high we become ill and our immune system is compromised. Allergies are formed when irritants get into the cells. The toxins weaken the cell membrane and trigger allergic reactions. A further result of body burden can also be cancer.
Toxic chemicals, both naturally occurring and man-made, often get into the human body. We may inhale them, swallow them in contaminated food or water, or in some cases, absorb them through skin. Many are found in a wide variety of Cosmetic products. A woman who is pregnant may pass them to her developing foetus through the placenta. The term "body burden“refers to the total amount of these chemicals that are present in the human body at a given point in time.  Sometimes it is also useful to consider the body burden of a specific, single chemical, like, for example, lead, mercury, or dioxin.

Some chemicals or their breakdown products (metabolites) lodge in our bodies for only a short while before being excreted, but continuous exposure to such chemicals can create a "persistent" body burden. Arsenic, for example, is mostly excreted within 72 hours of exposure. Other chemicals, however, are not readily excreted and can remain for years in our blood, adipose (fat) tissue, semen, muscle, bone, brain tissue, or other organs.   Chlorinated pesticides, such as DDT, can remain in the body for 50 years.  Whether chemicals are quickly passing through or are stored in our bodies, body burden testing can reveal to us an individual's unique chemical load and can highlight the kinds of chemicals we are exposed to as we live out each day of our lives. Of the approximately 80,000 chemicals that are used in the United States, we do not know how many can become a part of our chemical body burden, but we do know that several hundred of these chemicals have been measured in people's bodies around the world. Parabens are chemicals that are stored for longer periods in the body and are therefore damaging.
Scientists estimate that everyone alive today carries within her or his body at least 700 contaminants. Because many chemicals have the ability to attach to dust particles and/or catch air and water currents and travel far from where they are produced or used, the globe is bathed in a chemical soup. Our bodies have no alternative but to absorb these chemicals and sometimes store them for long periods of time.

Chemicals in Mothers Milk
Another source of exposure is the chemical body burden of our mothers. During pregnancy, the chemicals stored in a woman's body have the ability to cross the placenta where they may cause harm. Some chemicals from a mother's body are also mobilized and transferred to the breasts as she produces breast milk.  These chemicals are then transferred to the baby during breastfeeding.  Breast milk remains the best food for babies, as recent studies show, because of its immunological, nutritional and psychological benefits. The fact that industrial chemicals have contaminated breast milk is tragic. Ironically, breastfeeding appears to offset some of the damage created by contaminants during foetal development. Some of the chemicals we receive from our mothers in utero and through breastfeeding remain with us for years, an unintended legacy that our mothers pass on as their body burdens become our own.

Genetic Defects                                                                                       
Sometimes a chemical attacks and damages or kills cells or tissues in the body. Some chemicals attack the genetic material in the nucleus of a cell, causing damage directly to the DNA, which may create an inheritable defect that is passed on to the next generation. This can lead to gene mutations, which can set in motion a sequence of events leading to cancer, birth defects, developmental or reproductive disorders. Chemicals that cause cancer are called carcinogens. Chemicals that cause birth defects are called teratogens (Teratogenesis). Chemicals that damage the normal development of the foetus, infant, or child, or damage our reproductive tissues are called developmental/reproductive toxicants.   Some chemicals can cause damage through their ability to interfere with normal hormone function. These chemicals are called endocrine disrupters. Endocrine disruptors are a chemicals cause serious health problems. Through these various mechanisms, toxic chemicals can cause a long list of health problems. They include, for example, direct damage to the lungs, liver, kidney, bones, blood, brain and other nerves, and the reproductive systems. There are hundreds of adverse health effects that can arise from exposures to chemicals or metals. These potential effects include cancer; high blood pressure; asthma; deficits in attention, memory, learning, and IQ; Parkinson's-like diseases; infertility; shortened lactation; endometriosis; genital malformation; peripheral nerve damage; and dysfunctional immune systems.

Hormones                                                                                                                                 
Hormones play extremely important roles as they help to direct the development of the foetus, infant, and child. Of course, hormones are also important in adults, as they are crucial for normal functioning of many bodily systems. What is amazing about hormones is that they are present and active in only tiny amounts, yet these tiny amounts produce major, major effects.  Most importantly, exposure to an endocrine disrupter at a low level during a critical time in development can have lifelong impacts. For example, the developing foetus may mistake a foreign chemical for a hormone, and this may, in turn, cause an incorrect "signal" to be sent to developing tissues. These early mistakes can permanently damage the baby's developing immune, reproductive or nervous systems.
There is a direct link between skincare parabens and endocrinal disturbances that can result in cancer.
Who is looking out for our health and safety? Of the more than 80,000 chemicals in commerce, only a small percentage of them have ever been screened for even one potential health effect, such as cancer, reproductive toxicity, developmental toxicity, or impacts on the immune system.  Among the approximately 15,000 tested, few have been studied enough to correctly estimate potential risks from exposure. Even when testing is done, each chemical is tested individually rather than in the combinations that one is exposed to in the real world. In reality, no one is ever exposed to a single chemical, but to a chemical soup, the ingredients of which may interact to cause unpredictable health effects.

The amount of data on body burdens available in the U.S. and the world is extremely limited, particularly compared to the voluminous data we have for chemical levels in air, water, soil, food, and wildlife. Most population-wide body burden data we do have covers only a limited number of chemicals.