Potential Health Warning: Parabens Cause Cancer? They're in Your Lotions & Shampoos!

What exactly are parabens and do parabens cause cancer? Parabens are a certain type of synthetic preservative that can be found in most widely-manufactured lotions, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, and even some cereals and snacks!

If you go into your medicine cabinet or into your bathroom and pick up your lotion bottles from Bath and Body Works I can guarantee you that you will see any one or all of the following parabens: methylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, and/or ethyparaben. But there are preservatives in everything, you say? Yes, it is sad but unfortunately true, and many of those preservatives are doing more damage to your body and my body that we might even know.

While it's also true that the media and labs are constantly coming out with new "tests" and "studies" that find new causes for cancer, the hundreds of studies on parabens causing cancer in different forms have provided sufficient evidence that parabens do cause cancer, more specifically parabens have been highly linked to breast cancer.

According to livestrong.com, parabens cause cancer as well as a range of other modern side effects such as early puberty and a fall in sperm levels in men. The early puberty is more than evident to parents in 2011 than it ever has been in years passed. When I was in elementary school, in first grade to be exact, one girl had already started growing breasts. In the year of 2011, more than one girl in every elementary school has started very early puberty. Some boys have even been known to show signs of breast growth...can this be attributed to evolution or simply harmful chemicals that we are pumping into our bodies without realization?

How would parabens cause cancer if they do indeed cause cancer, you may ask. Over time, parabens seep into our endocrine systems through the skin and disrupt our healthy endocrine systems by mirroring the effects of estrogen. Too much estrogen can be an attribution to breast cancer, as well as (duh) early puberty and breasts on little boys. Making sense yet?

I am a strong believer that the synthetic preservatives, specifically for this article parabens, are aiding in our society's increasing health problems, specifically cancer. Do parabens cause cancer? I believe they do, but that doesn't mean you have to believe it. Do the research for yourself...take the risk if you want to or do something healthy for yourself and start purchasing beauty and body products that contain no parabens. If parabens cause cancer, you don't want to have them around your house!

Unfortunately it is very difficult to keep parabens that cause cancer out of your daily life, and why? Because nearly 75 to 90% of the body washes, shampoos, lotions, moisturizers, face creams and even make-up contain parabens. Believe it or not. Why would these companies be giving us beauty and body products that contain parabens that could cause cancer? Because parabens are a preservative and keep that romantically pungent, Sweetpea lotion on your shelf to use for years to come. Is it cheaper for these large companies (Suave, Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret, Avon, Clinique) to use parabens that cause cancer? I have no idea, but it would make more sense to me if they left the preservative parabens out of their products...that way we would end up buying more anyways!

Do parabens cause cancer? If they do or they don't, the point is that they are a type of synthetic chemical preservative and science has proven that preservatives are not healthy for the human body in large doses...whether it be rubbed onto our skin for seventy years or consumed by our digestive systems. They say that dead bodies that go into the ground last much much longer than the did fifty years ago because of all of the preservatives that we take into our bodies these days. Scary, huh?

I don't know about you, but I am making an effort to cut out the parabens causing cancer out of my life - out of my beauty products, body products, and any collaborative foods. There are healthy alternatives to parabens on the market today; it just takes some research and patience to find decent products free of parabens.

One particular product that I use, as well as use on my little girl, is Pure & Natural's Body Wash. It's paraben free, 100% biodegradable, and is packaged in a 100% recyclable bottle. Plus, here's the best news, I purchased it at the nearest Publix Grocery Store for the same price as Dove Body Wash or Caress! (I want to say it was about $3.99?)

Amazon has a whole myriad of paraben free beauty and body products that are well worth looking into, including makeup by Vasanti and Kiss My Face Whenever Shampoos and body washes. There are even baby body washes made paraben free.

There are some articles on the internet that claim that the whole "parabens cause cancer" idea has gotten out of hand. But let's be real with ourselves here, could all of these synthetic chemicals be healthy for our bodies? To learn more, pick up a copy of "Not Just a Pretty Face" listed below.

If parabens cause cancer, let's reduce our risk of cancer by taking care of our bodies, inside and out. Cut the parabens out of your life, then work on the rest of the preservatives for a healthier life and body.