For many years, environmental doctors including myself have been asking our government and the women of the world, to pay attention to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC’s),and the role they are playing in the current epidemic of breast cancer.
In my own practice, my to help efforts have been to help my patients to understand that even the cosmetics and personal care products that they are using on their skin every day can disrupt their hormonal system,and thereby contribute to their development of breast cancer.
In addition, chemicals in the air we breathe similarly can disrupt our endocrine system. Specifically these chemicals are known as xeno-estrogens. This means “foreign” estrogens.
I’m delighted to see that organizations as prominent as breastcancer.org, are mounting campaigns to teach women how to avoid these kinds of chemicals.
Many new cosmetic and personal care products companies are opening and leaving these harmful chemicals out of their new products.
My colleagues at the Environmental Working Group have led the way with their Safe Cosmetics Database. This database has been on their site for many years and they have evaluated over 79,000 personal care products and rank them according to their safety.
This even counts men’s personal care products such as shaving cream, which can disrupt their endocrine system, contributing to prostate cancer.
Many industries as well as high-ranking officials in our national government, have been in denial about these effects for a very long time.
Now with the publication of a new article showing a direct link between breast cancer in certain occupations, I am delighted to see the United Steel Workers step out of the shadows and call for action to be taken to protect their female workers.
That is because of this recently [published article in Environmental Health. You might say that they have been forced to bring this to light because this study has shown that young women in the automotive plastics industry are up to five times more likely to have breast cancer than their peers working in other industries.
I am delighted to see that the United Steel Workers in their announcement are calling for their “Collective voice to win health and safety improvements in our workplaces, such as substituting less hazardous chemicals… to prevent worker exposures to harmful chemicals.”.
In addition, more and more organizations are forming to refocus our approach to breast cancer on prevention rather than only treatment. the Alliance for Cancer Prevention is leading the way in Europe..
Physicians, including myself, are now able to measure at least some of the endocrine disrupting chemicals in our patients. I do this routinely on patients who come to me after a diagnosis of breast cancer, in an effort to help them prevent a recurrence. However this can be done in interested women in an effort to help prevent a primary breast cancer.
Please help spread the word to your girlfriends and your children to avoid Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, of which phthalates are the most common type, as much as you possibly can.
Insist on buying phthalate free personal care products and make up. If we all talk loud enough the big-name cosmetics companies will be forced to get these chemicals out of their products.
For more information on phthalates click here.
Click Here to see a fact sheet showing which factors increase and decrease breast cancer risk
For more information on EDC’s click here.
Here is a another article on chemicals in the workplace and women’s health
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About Dr. Soram Khalsa
As an MD, Dr Soram specializes in Integrative Medicine combining diet, nutrition, acupuncture, herbs and nutrition. Visit Dr Soram’s Healthy Living Store where you’ll find high-quality nutritional supplements:
