Happy Thursday Nurturers!
I just got back from a lovely and relaxing vacation in New Hampshire and have been digging myself out of a big pile of to-dos. I finally got a little bit of free time so I decided to write a post :) Today I want to talk to you about parabens. What are parabens? Parabens are chemical preservatives found in many commercial brands of cosmetics and body care products. They are used to inhibit the growth of bacteria (mostly in products that contain a lot of water, such as shampoo) and increase shelf life.
Why are parabens bad? According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, parabens have been found in biopsies from breast tumors at concentrations similar to those found in consumer products. Parabens are found in nearly all urine samples from U.S. adults of a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds. So... EWG's Skin Deep database indicates that parabens are linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity and skin irritation. The greatest concern is the link between breast cancer and parabens.
Parabens are known to disrupt hormone function, an effect that is linked to increased risk of breast cancer and reproductive toxicity. Parabens mimic estrogen by binding to estrogen receptors on cells. They also increase the expression of genes usually regulated by estradiol (a form of estrogen); these genes cause human breast tumor cells to grow and multiply in cellular studies. Nurture My Body products are always paraben-free. Be sure to check your beauty and household products to see if they contain parabens. If they do, do yourself and your family a favor and make the switch to a paraben-free alternative. :) Until next time, Sally, Summer Intern
