BPA, Methylparabens and Tamoxifen...oh my!

We're not in Kansas anymore.

A very troubling study was released last week. San Francisco researchers found that bisphenol A (BPA) and methylparaben, two chemicals found commonly in many consumer goods, are dangerous little buggers for breast cancer survivors. Not only are they believed to trigger some of these cancers, a new study shows that they also help cancer cells withstand the effects of Tamoxifen. In the study, the researchers took noncancerous breast cells from patients at a high risk for developing breast cancer, grew them in a lab and then exposed them to BPA and methylparaben.The formally normal breast cells began acting like cancer cells. Then, the researchers added Tamoxifen to the mix. What happened? One would hope that Tamoxifen would do what it is designed to do and slow down or stop the growth of these cells. Nope. Instead, these cells just kept growing.

The concern for estrogen-positive breast cancer patients like me? According to Dr. William Goodson, lead author of the study, "Since most breast cancers are driven by the hormone estrogen, the bulk of the drugs used to treat breast cancer are designed to knock down estrogen. BPA and methylparaben not only mimic estrogen's ability to drive cancer, but appear to be even better than the natural hormone in bypassing the ability of drugs to treat it."

Scary stuff. If this finding is true, many of us are in big trouble if we don't start eliminating these chemicals from our environment. And it would be naive to expect manufacturers to lead the way. Instead, consumers have to start taking a look at the potential dangers of products they use and finding safer alternatives.

There are a few basic steps you can take right now.

1. Cut down on your use of canned goods that are not labelled BPA-free. Eden packages all of their beans in BPA-free cans but there are other manufacturers doing this as well. Look at the label. If you can't find BPA-free cans, switch to dry beans. Once you have mastered the technique of cooking them (long soak followed by a long-slow cook) you will be amazed you were ever intimidated by it. And, you'll save a lot of money! Seek out tomato sauces that are sold in glass jars. Look for frozen artichoke hearts or buy the marinated ones in glass. Buy fresh mushrooms...you get the idea.
2. Research the BPA content of plastic containers you use to store foods and beverages. I was happy to discover that Zip-Loc bags are BPA free! Excellent news since I use them almost exclusively to freeze whole and stewed fruits and vegetables, pesto, salmon and meat. Stop buying bottled water and invest in aluminum water bottles - the marketplace is full of them. My new rule of thumb - when in doubt about how to store something, use glass. I know of people who now take mason jars of soup coddled in knitted cozies or socks to work. Sweet.
3. Look at the labels of all the creams, lotions and potions you lather and slather on you and your family and eliminate those that contain parabens. Environmental Working Group's site Skin Deep is a great database for researching the ingredient lists of many of the products found in our medicine cabinets, shower stalls, and cosmetic bags. Then seek out products that are paraben-free. This group of products has grown in leaps and bounds, and it is much easier to find simply formulated products today than even two years ago when I first started making the shift.
4. Keep reading studies. We don't want to follow junk science, so learn to read with a critical eye. But when in doubt, practice caution. Until I read solid research that finds BPA and parabens don't interfere with Tamoxifen, I'll be treating them like something to be feared.

Be well.

Cutting down on your chemical exposure

In an effort to decrease my exposure to potential carcinogens and estrogen-mimicking chemicals,  I have completely overhauled my cosmetic and skincare routine. That means chucking out and passing along tried and true creams and cleansers, and searching out unknown, but potentially less hazardous, simpler products.

With the help of the Environmental Working Group's database, Skin Deep, and reviews on Amazon and Canadian online health and beauty store well.ca, I have sourced new products for both myself and my family.

Here's what I have started with:

1. Green Beaver Jr. Boreal Berries Bubble Bath for the boys. Smells great, lots of bubbles and none of the crap found in the bubble bath I used to buy for them. All organic, biodegradable, gluten-free...ok, the last part makes me smile cause I only ever thought gluten was an issue in edible products. Clearly I was wrong! Did I mention Green Beaver is a Canadian company?
2. Also from Green Beaver, Purifying Grapefruit and Soothing Aloe Facial Cleanser. Works a treat, didn't strip my skin and has a light, happy, citrusy scent that comes from the ingredients and not added fragrance.
3. For hand and bath soap, for us and the kids, I went with Rocky Mountain Soap Company soaps. They are great - lots of lather, skin softening and great scents. Plus, all of them are rated zero risk at Skin Deep. I bought ours at their Victoria, BC store but they are also available, along with the rest of their great products, via their website.
4. Jamieson ProVitamina E Moisture-Rich Nourishing Cream for an all-around moisturizer, day or night, that packs a ton of moisture. To make it a day cream, I'm mixing it with my regular sunscreen in my palm. Skin Deep rates this a moderate risk, due mostly to allergy and immunotoxicity concerns, but it is a low-risk for cancer and that's my main concern. I will alternate this cream with straight olive oil for my night-time moisturizing needs.
5. For an all over lotion, I got Ella's Botanicals My Darling Clementine Hand & Body Lotion. Doesn't show up on Skin Deep, but I can see from its ingredient list that this one's a keeper. Just a few ingredients, mostly sunflower oil, and tangerine and sweet orange essential oils to give it a light, appealing scent. Not greasy, rubs in quickly and, 24 hours later, my skin is still soft.
6. For conditioner, I picked Live Clean Argan Oil Restorative Conditioner that goes with the Live Clean Argan Oil Restorative Shampoo I have already been using. No ratings on Skin Deep, but argan oil shows up as zero risk. So far, so good. My hair feels clean and soft (but I'm still growing out this goofy post-chemo hair and I think what I really need now is a haircut!) and the products are not strongly-scented.

As I find new products, I'll let you know. For example, Olivier Soapery makes shampoos and soaps that show up as zero risk on Skin Deep, so I think that will be my next purchase once these ones run out.

If you are starting this process as well, take heart! There are lots of places to look for advice on picking new products. In addition to the sites I used here, I also belong to Crazy, Sexy and Safe Products at the Crazy Sexy Life website and my friends there have lots of great recommendations.

If you have any natural products that you love, let me know and I'll share them here!

New and Improved! EWG's Skin Deep Database

Environmental Working Group has revamped their Skin Deep database and it is now way easier to use. I have already written once about Skin Deep when I researched my daytime moisturizer options. Doing that research was a little slow going. Now searches are faster and the site is easier to navigate. Great job, EWG folks.

I am going to start in on my shampoo and child products research next and I'll post the results. But don't wait for me - I strongly encourage you to check it out yourself!

Decreasing my chemical exposure part 1: daytime skin care

What are the toxins in my environment? When I consume or inhale a toxin, how long does it stay in me? What impact do toxins have on my health? Which ones should I fear the most? Cheery questions, right? But if I want to get serious about disease prevention,  I believe I need to start learning about the connection between my health and toxins in my environment.

First up, learning about the chemicals in my personal care products, specifically, my daytime skin care. In 2004, environmental advocacy organization the Environmental Working Group started the online database Skin Deep.  Skin Deep is a searchable safety guide consumers can use to learn more about what the ingredients in their personal care products may be doing to their health. The Skin Deep database links to more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases to produce current data on what the known health risks are. Think of it as a little new found transparency for an industry that historically hasn't been terribly interested in being transparent.

To help you learn about how the site works, I'm going to share my experience using it. Feel free to use my learning if you want. Better - go there yourself to check out what you have been using and see if you think you need to consider alternative products.

Typically, I use one of three moisturizers and two sunscreens on my face during the day:

1. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream SPF 15. Nuts. This isn't listed but they have tested the lighter Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion SPF 15. It gets a rating of 7 out of 10 which means by their standards it is a hazardous product and is not recommended. Ingredients in it have been linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies and a whole passel of other things. Ugh. (Note: you can click on the product names to see the detailed ingredient breakdown and the related hazards.)
2. Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 45. Crap. This gets a 7 as well. Next.
3. Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Daily Moisturizer Fragrance Free. This is a little better. It gets a 5 making it a moderate hazard and, even though they have been linked to almost everything else, ingredients in it have not been linked to cancer. I am comfortable using up the rest of my current bottle while I try to find a less hazardous product.
4. L'oreal Ombrelle Sunscreen SPF 45. Again, this one isn't listed! So if I want to keep using it I should sit down with the ingredient list and do the research myself on this one.
5. La Roche-Posay Anthelios 40 Sunscreen Cream. Woo hoo, folks, we have a winner. My ridiculously expensive sunscreen (which I buy once a year for the summer months because I had a basal cell carcinoma removed when I was in my early 30s) gets a 2!!! I can continue to use this product for as long as my pocketbook will allow me. Interestingly, I had been recently considering upping my SPF protection by switching to one of their SPF 60 products but those products get ratings of 7. :-( I'll have to remember to plop on my hat and stay in the shade this summer to give me the boosted protection instead.

So, I will back out of my own searches, and start paging through what I will consider their recommended products, those numbered 0 and 1 on the hazards scale. One thing I notice right off the bat is that while there are a lot of low hazard products listed in the database, I haven't heard of most of them. That's a problem. I want to locate products that are easily purchased in my local stores. I will make a note of some of the more popular low-toxin brands to look for online and in my local health food store and Whole Foods. But my priority today is finding something I can pick up in my neighbourhood. Doing that, this is what I come up with:

1. Daytime moisturizer  - if I want a facial moisturizer with a built in SPF, I can't seem to get much below 4 on the hazard scale. At least not with the moisturizers at my local stores. So, let's say I switch to a sunscreen-free moisturizer used in conjunction with a separate sunscreen. There are a few examples from my expensive  friends at La Roche-Posay (for example, Toleriane Soothing Protective Facial Cream gets a 2) but I will start with Kiss My Face Organics Under Age, Ultra Hydrating Moisturizer (a 1) or, if I can't find that, Burt's Bees Carrot Seed Oil Complexion Mist (also a 1).
2. Sunscreen - if I want a less expensive sunscreen than my La Roche-Posay, and if I want to be able to find it easily at my drugstore, I could opt for Neutrogena's Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 50 with Purescreen. It gets a 4, making it only moderately hazardous. Better, I could go with Jason Natural Cosmetics Sunbrellas: Mineral Natural Sunblock SPF 30 which gets a 2 and is half the price of my La Roche-Posay.

My verdict? The Skin Deep website is an easy to use, comprehensive resource. If the science behind the findings they present has any integrity, than this is an important tool for people looking to lower their exposure to toxins.

Try it out!

Prevention - Kicking Treatment's Butt for a Gazillion Years!

Anyone reading this blog knows that I am a big believer in the need to push prevention if we are going to make any headway in stopping breast cancer. One of the best sources of prevention information I have found is the Breast Cancer Fund. The focus of their work is making connections between breast cancer and exposure to chemicals and radiation in our daily lives. They look at current research and try to increase awareness of it through public education campaigns. And, they provide lots of good information if you are trying to educate yourself on what you can do to prevent cancer.

They offer tips for prevention and information with which to educate friends and family. If you are interested in helping to bring about change, and you should be, they also provide easy ways to lend your name and voice to the cause. For example, if you visit their site today, you have the opportunity to send President Obama a request to prioritize breast cancer prevention by:

1. creating a national cancer prevention plan,
2. issuing a federal mandate to eliminate BPAs from food and beverage containers,
3. expanding the FDA's authority to ensure that cosmetics are safe, and
4. supporting reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act so that it more adequately helps the public, industry and government assess and control chemical hazards.

Take a look at their site. And come back to visit for updates on new research and education campaigns.

Finally, their report The State of the Evidence 2010: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment should be considered required reading. From a press release for the report:

The report’s lead author, Janet Gray, Ph.D., professor at Vassar College, said that widely understood risk factors for breast cancer such as primary genetic mutations, reproductive history and lifestyle factors do not address a considerable portion of the risk for the disease. “A substantial body of scientific evidence indicates that exposures to common chemicals and radiation also contribute to the unacceptably high incidence of breast cancer,” Gray said. “This report focuses on these environmental issues.”
The report states that a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is 1 in 8—representing a dramatic increase since the 1930s, when the first reliable cancer incidence data were established. Between 1973 and 1998 alone, breast cancer incidence rates in the United States increased by more than 40 percent. Strikingly, the increasing incidence of breast cancer since the 1930s parallels the proliferation of synthetic chemicals. Today, approximately 85,000 synthetic chemicals are registered for use in the United States, more than 90 percent of which have never been tested for their effects on human health.

Go on - make a pot of tea and at least give it a scan. Your breasts (or those of someone you love) will thank you. :-)

Natural household cleaning products

Monday, CBC News had an interesting article about how some corporations are changing the way they do things, seeking out more environmentally friendly, sustainable practices before being forced to through legislation or regulation. And these are big, name brand corporations like Clorox and Procter and Gamble.

Good news! But along with these positive changes, there are some changes that do raise concerns for consumers. Among them is the use of the word "natural" in product names and descriptions. What does natural mean to us? What does it mean to them? The Natural Products Association (NPA), a group that has been advocating on behalf of natural products since 1926, is trying to help consumers out. They have established a standard for the use of the word natural in household cleaning products.

Under the NPA's new definition, "a household cleaning product is considered natural if it is made from 95 per cent natural ingredients, which are defined as those that come or are made from a renewable resource found in nature with absolutely no petroleum compounds." The full breakdown of their standard is available here.

NPA spokesperson, Dr. Daniel Fabricant, has advice for consumers who want to buy natural but don't know which products to choose, "If you don't see [a list of] ingredients on the product, don't buy the product."