Health Issue: Paraben

Are we safe with Parabens?

I noticed how some people got conscious about using products with Parabens and wanted to toss out products with paraben in the bin then and there, and there I got curious what are parabens exactly.

Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Parabens are effective preservatives in many types of formulas. It extends the shelf life of the products, without it products such as makeup, lotion, shampoo and the like will likely to expire faster. We'll be needing to buy our daily products more than usual. About 90% of grocery and drugstore products contain parabens. So we might be overloading our bodies with cumulative amounts of paraben from common products that we usually use in our daily lives.

Of greatest concern is that parabens are known to disrupt hormone function, an effect that is linked to increased risk of breast cancer and reproductive toxicity. Parabens mimic estrogen by binding to estrogen receptors on cells. Research has shown that the perceived influx of estrogen beyond normal levels can in some cases trigger reactions such as increasing breast cell division and the growth of tumors.

But should we really be concerned with using parabens? There isn't much products without parabens in the market. Even high-end products has it. Being paraben conscious may be costly as products without parabens are more expensive and has lesser shelf life.

I think that we shouldn't be worried so much with parabens. It prevents bacterial, fungal and other potentially harmful microbes from the products. Just imagine products being infected with bacteria and having to buy more often than not as replacement. Makeup for example has small amount of paraben and is regularly flushed out from the body. Eating foods with high antioxidant content also helps in preventing cancerous effects of preservatives that we intake. Paraben is a preservative, there are also preservatives in the food we eat of god knows what and how much and paraben might be still a minute amount compared to other preservatives.

Still conscious about parabens? Here are products that are paraben-free:

• Aveda 
• Burt’s Bees 
• Korres 
• Origins
• St. Ives