Paraben in personal care products increase risk breast cancer
A new study shows that parabens, a common preservative used in personal care products such as shampoos, body lotions and sunscreens may increase breast cancer risk even at low doses.
Parabens are considered estrogenic because they activate the same estrogen receptor as the natural hormone estradiol.
‘Although parabens are known to mimic the growth effects of estrogens on breast cancer cells, some consider their effect too weak to cause harm,’ said Dale Leitman, lead investigator from the University California, Berkeley . ‘But this might not be true when parabens are combined with other agents that regulate cell growth,’ said Leitman.
The chemical safety tests currently look at parabens in isolation and don’t account that parabens could interact with other types of molecules in the cells to increase breast cancer risk.
More research is required to conclusively know if the effect of parabens is strong enough to cause any harm. If yes, the beauty industry will have to use another chemical. Meanwhile, individuals have a difficult choice to make, and that is, whether to use the commercially prepared personal care products or not.
