To use or not to use… Deodorant

Is it safe to use deodorant or not? The experts give mixed answers. The most prominent causal connection claims are Alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer. What do you believe with so much conflicting evidence?

I am going to discuss a couple of facts, my honest opinion, and my personal household practices. Here are some scientific facts:

• Studies have been performed that look for a direct causal link between Alzheimers, breast cancer, and deodorant. To date, there is conflicting information and no definitive causal link.
• The suspect ingredients are aluminum and paraben.
• For breast cancer, there are more concerning connections, such as 50% of breast cancer tumors form in the quadrant nearest the armpit, and biopsied tumors contain elevated paraben and aluminum levels.
• If a woman started shaving her armpits and wearing deodorant prior to the age of seventeen, the incidence of breast cancer is definitively higher. Beyond this fact, no definitive scientific fact can be stated.

With all of these facts in front of me, I then wonder why a high percentage of scientists and researchers will publicly state that they opt for alternative deodorant options. Perhaps, the reasoning is the same as mine.

Aluminum is the 3rd most common element on the planet. You may wonder then how could aluminum be unsafe in deodorant. There are lymph nodes under your arms. Think of them resembling a bunch of grapes. They represent the sewer lines for your breast tissue. It is important to keep those lines clear so that waste leaves efficiently. Aluminum and paraben enter the breast via the lymph system and can also clog this system. In addition, aluminum and paraben activate estrogen. When estrogen over activated, it can cause increased rates of breast cancer. The problem is that our everyday lives contain so much aluminum, its tough to clearly determine that deodorant is the only source and cause.

However, there is a common sense thought that we are all missing. Let’s say that a doctor writes a topical cream prescription for muscle pain. Do we apply it only to think that it is not absorbed and will not work? Of course not. So why would we ever believe that the aluminum and paraben are not absorbed locally and increase breast cancer risk? Why would we knowingly apply this to our underarms?

Based on this basic information and rationality, this is what happens in my house. The bottom line is no one is allowed to use antiperspirants. They all contain aluminum and paraben. The men do use standard conventional deodorant by choice because there is no aluminum and it provides better control. The women use natural deodorant and apply more than once a day if necessary. Its common sense and safer. I believe natural deodorant is the single easiest, positive action to decrease breast cancer risk.  And in my opinion, if others expect me to believe that antiperspirants are safe, then they defy any sense of rationality and common sense.