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parabens. Group of preservatives, including butylparaben, propylparaben, methylparaben, and ethylparaben, that are the most widely used group of preservatives in cosmetics. It is estimated that more than 90% of all cosmetic products contain some form of paraben. Parabens are believed to cause less irritation than some preservatives. There is research showing that in animal models (and in vitro) parabens can have weak estrogenic activity. Whether that poses any health risk for humans who are using cosmetics is unknown. The technical findings of the study, which involved both oral administration and injection into rat skin, did show evidence of a weak estrogen effect on cells in a way that could be problematic for binding to receptor sites that may cause proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The study concluded that “future work will need to address the extent to which parabens can accumulate in hormonally sensitive tissues and also the extent to which their weak oestrogenic activity can add to the more general environmental oestrogen problem” (Source: Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, January 2002, pages 49–60).

Does this mean you should stop buying products that contain parabens? That’s a good question, but the answer is neither simple nor conclusive, even by the standards of the study itself. This is a potentially serious issue and the FDA is conducting its own research to determine what this means for human health (Source: The Endocrine Disruptor Knowledge Base (EDKB), http://edkb.fda.gov/index.html). To keep the concern in perspective, it is important to realize that parabens are hardly the only substances that may have estrogenic effects on the body.

Any estrogen, including the estrogen our bodies produce, may bind to receptor sites on cells either strongly or weakly. So, parabens can either stimulate the receptor to imitate the effect of our own estrogen in a positive way, or they can generate an abnormal estrogen response. Ironically, plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens (such as those found in soy), also produce chemicals that mimic estrogen. It is possible that a weak plant estrogen can help the body, but it can also be possible that a strong plant estrogen can make matters worse. For example, there is research that shows coffee to be a problem for fibrocystic breast disease. The reason for this is thought to be because coffee exerts estrogenic effects on breast cells (Sources: American Journal of Epidemiology, October 1996, pages 642–644; Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association, spring 2002, pages 85–90; and www.som.tulane.edu/ecme/eehome/newsviews/whatsnew/archive/jan_dec2002.html).

A study in the Journal of Applied Toxicology (volume 24, issue 1, January-February 2004, pages 5–13) mentioned that “although recent reports of the oestrogenic properties of parabens have challenged current concepts of their toxicity in these consumer products, the question remains as to whether any of the parabens can accumulate intact in the body from the long-term, low-dose levels to which humans are exposed.” The study discussed the fact that traces of parabens have indeed been found in human breast tumors, but was quick to point out that it is unknown if this would be the same in healthy breast tissue. Parabens present in tumors may not be the causative factor, but rather a result, of finding parabens when cancer cells are examined. It is also important to realize that parabens are used in food products as well (Source: Food Chemistry and Toxicology, October 2002, pages 1335–1373), which could very well be the source. As yet, no one has any idea (or has evaluated) whether it is the consumption of parabens or their application to the skin that is responsible for their presence in human tissue. And no one knows what the presence of parabens in human tissue means. See preservatives.