Aubrey Organics - Are Cosmetic and Personal Care Products A Cause of Reproductive Cancers and Reproductive Abnormalities?

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Are Cosmetic and Personal Care Products A Cause of Reproductive Cancers and Reproductive Abnormalities?

By David Steinman, from Healthy Living

One disturbing trend in women's health is premature sexual development in young girls. Pediatricians are increasingly reporting appearance of secondary sexual characteristics in young female babies as young as two years of age including growth of pubic hair and development of ovarian cysts; as well as onset of menarche (menstruation) at younger and younger ages; and breast development (thelarche) in girls younger than eight years of age without other signs of puberty. In fact, average age of menarche has declined from about 17 in the 18th century to about 13 today. We now have evidence that leads us to question whether cosmetic and personal care products may be a partial contributor to these increasingly disturbing reproductive abnormalities.

These findings have significant implications for women's health. Estrogen levels are at their highest and most stimulating to the tissues of the body during the years your ovaries produce estrogen—the 40 years or so between menarche and menopause. Because breast cancer is both largely a disease of estrogen dominance and a consequence of the body's production of the most toxic forms of estrogen, the longer you are fertile and exposed to toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals, the higher your risk for developing breast besides other reproductive cancers.

According to a study performed by cancer epidemiologist Walter Willett and published in 1989 in Nature, the risk associated with having an early menarche‹one that takes place at about age ten, for instance—is approximately twice that of a menarche that occurs much later, say at age sixteen or so. Scientists estimate that every year extra a woman menstruates—that is, for every year earlier that menarche begins—adds from four to twelve percent to her risk. Now we know that pollutants and contaminants in our food, water, air and consumer products also influence these incredibly important cancer risk factors.

Environment & Secondary Sex Characteristics

Researchers writing in Environmental Health Perspectives note that in the last decade, there has been a growing interest and concern for the study of the impact of man-made chemicals on wildlife and humans. These studies have suggested that synthetic and naturally occurring substances in the environment may affect the normal function of the endocrine system. These substances are also referred to as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In wildlife, alterations in sexual reproductive behavior have been observed in areas of contamination with EDCs.

But, most disturbing, is direct evidence that several widely used ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products have endocrine disrupting effects. Thus, use of suchproducts could influence reproductive cancer risks in women, as well as the reproductive health of their male or female offspring.

The Puerto Rican Experience

Puerto Rico has the highest known incidence of premature thelarche ever reported. In the last two decades since this serious public health anomaly has been observed, no explanation for this phenomenon has been found. In 1987, the Puerto Rico Department of Health created by law the Premature Thelarche and Early Sexual Development (PTESD) Registry in response to the observed increase in cases. This is the only world registry created for the study of premature sexual development in a human population. Based on the data accumulated by the registry, the estimated annual average incidence rate of premature thelarche in Puerto Rican girls six to twenty-four months of age is eight cases per one-thousand live female births from 1984 to 1993. This incidence is perhaps the highest ever reported. Compared to a study conducted in Minnesota, the incidence of premature thelarche in the Puerto Rican female population is 18.5 times higher.

Thus, an investigation was designed by researchers at the University of Puerto Rico and San Juan City Hospital to identify pollutants in the serum of Puerto Rican girls with premature thelarche. Forty-one serum samples from thelarche patients and 35 control samples were analyzed. No pesticides or their metabolite residues were detected in the serum of the study or control subjects. However, significantly high levels of phthalates were identified in 28 (68 percent) samples from thelarche patients. Of the control samples analyzed, only one showed significant levels of phthalates. The researchers conclude, "This study suggests a possible association between plasticizers with known estrogenic and antiandrogenic activity and the cause of premature breast development in a human female population."

Cosmetic & Personal Care Product Link

The particular phthalates found at significantly elevated levels in the blood serum of young Puerto Rican girls with premature secondary sexual characteristics were dimethyl, diethyl, and dibutyl phthalates‹all identified as endocrine disruptors and all widely used in cosmetic products as plasticizers, solvents and perfume fixatives. Interestingly, topical exposures, wherein such chemicals proceed directly into the bloodstream at high concentrations of absorption, may be more dangerous than oral ingestion. What's more, because they are lipophilic, all phthalates have a tendency to accumulate in fatty tissues and can be absorbed through human skin very efficiently. The oral toxicities of phthalate compounds in humans are generally low, although at high concentrations, they are testicular toxicants. It has been suggested that the concentration of these compounds in sperm from adult men is negatively correlated with either sperm density or the total numbers of sperm.

Indeed, when administered to rats in high doses phthalates are embryofetal toxicants as well as testicular toxicants. In fact, a cosmetic industry-funded review states that dibutyl phthalate causes testicular injury in experimental studies. However, the same review concludes that topical uses of phthalates are safe. In the female rat, the primary effect on reproduction is spontaneous abortion and decreased litter size. Recent studies on the embryolethality of one such phthalate have shown that this effect is correlated with a lowering of plasma progesterone levels, and it is possible that this is a consequence of an estrogenic effect.

More Cosmetic Estrogen Problems

The problem goes beyond the phthalates. Of concern is the presence of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which is widely used as an antioxidant preservative in foundations and other types of cosmetics. Studies indicate that BHA is six or more orders of magnitude less potent than 17ß-estradiol, but that even at fairly low doses causes breast cancer cells to multiply. Although it is impossible to make predictions on its activity in vivo because no such studies have been carried out, BHA may bioconcentrate to a low degree in humans. A closely related antioxidant preservative, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), is less estrogenic than BHA but far more widely used in a wide range of cosmetics and personal care products.

For many years, parabens were considered among those preservatives with low systemic toxicity, primarily causing allergic reactions.

Now, researchers from the Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, have found that alkyl hydroxy benzoate preservatives (namely methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butylparaben) are weakly estrogenic. In an estrogen receptor-binding assay, butylparaben was able to compete with the female hormone estradiol for binding to the rat estrogen receptor with an affinity approximately five orders of magnitude lower than that of diethylstilbestrol (a highly carcinogenic synthetic estrogen). The researchers conclude that, "Given their use in a wide range of commercially available topical preparations, it is suggested that the safety in use of these chemicals should be reassessed..."

Another source of exposure to an estrogenic chemical are cosmetics containing the plasticizer methylmethacrylate. Examples are eyeshadows (Maybelline Blooming Colors Eye Shadow and Revlon Overtime Shadow) and blushes (Revlon Springwater Blush Oil Free for Sensitive Skin).

REFERENCES

Colón, I., et al. "Identification of phthalate esters in the serum of young Puerto Rican girls with premature breast development." Environmental Health Perspectives, 2000; 108(9):895-900.

Cosmetic Ingredient Review. 1996 CIR Compendium. Washington, D.C.: Cosmetic Ingredient Review, 1996, p.42.

Jobling, S., et al. "A variety of environmentally persistent chemicals, including some phthalate plasticizers, are weakly estrogenic." Environmental Health Perspectives, 1995;103:582-587.

Olea, N., et al. "Eestrogenicity of resin-based composites and sealants used in dentistry." Environmental Health Perspectives, 1996; 104(3): 298-305. Routledge, E.J., et al "Some alkyl hydroxy benzoate preservatives (parabens) are estrogenic." Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 1998; 153(1):12-9.

Steinman, D. & Epstein, S.S. The Safe Shopper's Bible, New York, NY: Macmillan, 1995.

Willett, W. "The search for the causes of breast and colon cancer." Nature, 1989: 338: 389-394.

The Doctors' Prescription

This is serious business. We are talking about real public health problems with long-term consequences. Use of safe cosmetics by consumers is justifiably smart‹especially by women of childbearing age or who are pregnant.

Of major concern are leave-on products such as skin lotion and foundation, as well as products with synthetic fragrances. These products are likely to contain endocrine disrupting ingredients detailed in this report. We recommend that health-conscious consumers seek cosmetic lines from companies that understand the consequences of pervasive exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. Our first recommendation is Aubrey Organics. Their product formulations contain none of the suspect chemicals detailed in this report. Their philosophy and commitment would prohibit use of such chemicals. Their foundations and skin lotions would be particularly important to use. Their products are available at health food stores and natural product supermarkets.

Other companies that we also know to provide safe brands include Dr. Hauschka, Ecco Bella, Logona, and Weleda.

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