Cinco Vidas

We posted an earlier article on the potential dangers of aluminum in deodorant, but today, we wanted to expand on that a bit. We’ve been talking a lot about materials that can act like estrogen in the body, which may encourage cancer cells to form. Did you know that aluminum is one of them?

Like parabens, phthalates, and pesticides, aluminum can act like estrogen in the body, affecting estrogen receptors and increasing breast cancer risk. Laboratory research shows that aluminum salts, common in most deodorants, can directly bind to estrogen receptors, and can affect estrogen-regulated gene expression in breast cancer cells. (more…)

Science still isn’t sure what causes breast cancer. Most likely, it’s a myriad of things dependent on a person’s genetic makeup, diet, lifestyle, exposure to dangerous chemicals, and stress levels. However, researchers have long speculated that estrogen—a hormone necessary for normal development and growth of the breasts and organs important for childbearing—may have something to do with it. According to researchers from Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) in New York, estrogen may be implicated in breast-cancer risk because of 1) its role in stimulating breast cell division; 2) its work during the critical periods of breast growth and development; 3) its effect on other hormones that stimulate breast-cell division; and 4) its support of the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors. Women with high lifetime exposures to estrogen may be at higher risk, BCERF concludes. (more…)