Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors (7 page)

Although Rachel Carson lit the spark, it wasn’t until 2010 that a firestorm was finally ignited with the publication of the President’s Cancer Panel report (Leffall and Kripke),
Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now
. The 200-plus-page report was the first of its kind to concentrate on environmental connections to cancer and, for that reason, was widely praised by environmental organizations and health professionals alike.

The report asserts that “the true burden of environmentally induced cancers has been grossly underestimated” (ibid., iii), which would seem to advocate for precise steps to reduce the public’s pervasive exposure to cancer-causing agents, or
carcinogens
. Particularly prominent in the report was a critique of bisphenol A (BPA), used in plastic bottles and can linings, as well as the toxic elements radon, formaldehyde, and benzene. “A precautionary, prevention-oriented approach should replace current reactionary approaches to environmental contaminants in which human harm must be proven before action is taken to reduce or eliminate exposure,” the report warns. “This approach should be the cornerstone of a new national cancer prevention strategy that emphasizes primary prevention” (ibid., xi).

As advocates of proactive risk reduction, we concur. With that in mind, this chapter will examine some of those chemicals with demonstrated ties to breast cancer, and what you can do to minimize your exposure to them.

Personal Care Products

Although women put all sorts of lotions, creams, conditioners, antiperspirants, and makeup on their faces and bodies daily, these products are not necessarily safe. The cosmetics industry remains one of the most unregulated in the United States, with its products falling outside the jurisdication of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
and
the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This means scarce oversight, burdening the consumer with the job of evaluating the safety of each product purchased.

Among the more common chemicals we find in these mysterious mixtures known as “personal care products” are lead, mercury, and phthalates, the latter of which is a plastic additive used in not just cosmetics but also in children’s toys, plastic bottles, and many other household items.

Dr. Samuel Epstein (2009), author of
Toxic Beauty: How Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Endanger Your Health…and What You Can Do about It
and chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition (preventcancer.com), has done an extraordinary job of categorizing and documenting the hazardous ingredients in unregulated personal care products, referred to often as “cosmeceuticals.” Many of these products contain what Epstein calls “hidden carcinogens,” ingredients that activate or discharge powerful toxins, such as formaldehyde and nitrosamines, and go by names like methenamine, polyoxymethylene, DEA, TEA, and PEG. Other products are tainted with carcinogens like ethylene oxide, dioxane, and acrylamide (www.ewg.org/skindeep/).

More Than Skin Deep

Even more disturbing is the recent popularization of products that use
nanoparticles
, microscopic bits of the previously mentioned ingredients, which penetrate the skin effortlessly and, due to their microscopic size, can also invade blood vessels, traveling throughout the bloodstream to other organs. In May 2006, Friends of the Earth, a global network of grassroots groups, published the report (Miller) “Nanoparticles, Sunscreens, and Cosmetics: Small Ingredients, Big Risks,” which advocates that these suspect personal-care products should be taken off the market to protect public health.

The Cost of Teenage Beauty

We are particularly concerned about the widespread use of multiple personal care products by teenaged girls and young women. When the Environmental Working Group (EWG) conducted a study of teenaged girls (ages fourteen to nineteen) in 2008 (Sutton), an astonishing 100 percent of them showed evidence of both methyl paraben and propylparaben in their blood and urine. It is especially disconcerting that such a chemical onslaught can happen during the critical developmental window of the teen years; therefore we urge all women, especially mothers of teenaged girls, to consult the EWG website (ewg.org) for suggestions and more information on personal care products. A few of these suggestions follow:

• Use fewer commercial products and simpler, more natural ones.
  
• Don’t rely on claims like “dermatologist tested” or “natural.” Become an avid label reader.
  
• Avoid “antiaging” creams, many of which use potentially dangerous nanoparticles.
  
• In particular, steer clear of products and ingredients that have been linked to cancer and hormone disruption, such as:
  
•    
  
  • Antiperspirants containing mineral oil, aluminum compounds, fragrances, and silica (we suggest avoiding all antiperspirants)
    
  • Dark, permanent hair dyes
    
  • Fragrances and dyes
    
  • Nail polish and removers
    
  • Parabens
    
  • Triclosan and triclocarban
    
• Opt for lemon, avocado, tea tree oil, aloe gel, or some combination of them as beneficial ingredients.
  
• Buy products from trusted vendors that use only nonhazardous ingredients. Check out the website of The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (safecosmetics.org) for suggestions.
  
• As a good starting place for your research, use EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database (www.ewg.org/skindeep).
  

From Helayne’s experience, we can also recommend the following:

• Essential oils make wonderful perfume, without the risk. Experiment with lavender, patchouli, and other scents that appeal to you.
  
• Coconut oil is a luxurious skin moisturizer and makeup remover.
  
• Baking soda is an effective facial scrub and underarm deodorant. It also makes a good toothpaste!
  
• Pure glycerin soap works as well as any, especially for sensitive skin.
  
• Xylitol (a natural sweetener) and water make an effective antibacterial mouthwash.
  
• Mashed avocado makes a delicious facial treatment that nourishes the skin.
  
• Applying pulped red hibiscus flowers to your hair is great for softness and shine (rinse out after thirty minutes). If you are using dried flowers instead of fresh, add water to make a paste.
  
• Jojoba oil is an easily absorbed, soothing oil from the seed of the jojoba plant, known for its affordability and low incidence of allergic reactions. Reported to be rich in skin-nourishing micronutrients, such as vitamin E, zinc, and silicon, this oil is easily absorbed into the skin and leaves no messy residue.
  

Troubled Waters

We have a problem: a drinking problem. Turn on your kitchen water faucet or purchase a leading brand of bottled water and what do you get? It all looks and tastes like clear, clean water, but you might be surprised to learn that what we see is not what we get. In fact, in 2003 the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reported that although a vast number of contaminants affect the country’s water supplies, some occur with far greater frequency than the rest and are directly related to cancer:

• Toxic chemicals include arsenic, radioactive radon, the herbicide atrazine, and perchlorate from rocket fuel, along with other suspected carcinogens, such as the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). PCE transmitted from the plastic linings of asbestos-cement water-distribution pipes slightly to moderately increases breast cancer risk (Aschengrau, Rogers, and Ozonoff 2003).
  
• While disinfection of water supplies has dramatically cut down on waterborne illnesses, decaying organic matter reacts with chlorine to produce a host of other undesirable chemicals, known primarily as trihalomethanes (THMs). Chloroform is one of the better-known THMs, all of which are carcinogenic even in small amounts, as noted two decades ago when the
  American Journal of Public Health
  published a report (Morris et al.) showing a 15 to 35 percent increase in certain types of cancer among people who drink chlorinated water.
  
• Acrylamide, a carcinogenic compound that is formed when carbohydrates are fried at high temperatures (think French fries, doughnuts, potato chips), is also a by-product of the disinfection process, where it plays a part in the removal of solids from source water (EPA 2005).
  

In 2009 the EWG disclosed that more than 260 contaminants had been detected in tap water samples, 53 of which were linked to cancer.

Hitting the Bottle

In response to fears about tap water, we have turned to bottled water as our reprieve for contaminated water and as a convenient alternative to commercial beverage choices when we’re away from home. But, as lax as the EPA has been about tap water, the federal regulations for bottled water are even looser concerning testing for microbial agents and mandated disinfection. What’s more, when plastic water bottles get hot, compounds in the plastic (also known as
phthalates
) can leach into the water, creating a high dose of xenoestrogens (chemical estrogenic compounds).

Tips for Safe Water

Don’t worry; there are ways to make your drinking water safe and healthy. But to make an informed decision about the right water-treatment system for your home, you must know what is in your water.

You can start by calling your water supplier or health department and requesting copies of water quality reports. Find out how often the water is tested, what it is tested for, and whether any violations are on file. You can also find out about any known hazards, such as lead, that might get into the water between the treatment plant and your tap. The best filter is inadequate if it doesn’t filter out the right substances. Filters that have been independently certified to remove particular contaminants are your best bets. NSF International (nsf.org) is probably the best-known organization for setting standards for water filters and certifying them.

Carbon filters, reverse osmosis filters, and water ionizers all have different benefits and disadvantages, and range widely in price. When you are ready to buy, it is best to consult with an independent professional who can help you decide what’s right for you based on an assessment of your tap water, your health concerns, and your budget. You might also consider buying a showerhead filter, because many contaminants can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled in steam.

For a compendium of excellent information on both municipal water and well water, you can also consult the consumer information about water on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website: water.epa .gov/drink/info/.

Pesticides

Pesticides are used to kill crop-destroying insects, while herbicides are used to kill undesirable plants, which means that both are intentionally toxic. Although pesticide use has doubled every ten years since 1945, the pesticides themselves are less successful at eradicating pests today than they were then (Crinnion 2000). Thus, more and more of them are needed to achieve their goal.

Ongoing research continues to detect new hazards in pesticides, often at doses once declared nontoxic by their manufacturers and the government.
DDT
(dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), a useful but hazardous pesticide with far-reaching health effects, was proclaimed to be safe until its use was prohibited in 1972. DDT and other organochlorine pesticides are still so pervasive that they have secured the unglamorous designation
persistent organic pollutants
(POPs), meaning that they persist for decades in soil, air, and water. All animals, including humans, that eat, drink, and breathe these pollutants store them in their fat.

Connections between breast cancer and pesticide exposure have been acknowledged for decades, although in this century the research has dramatically accelerated, in part because the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other organizations have embraced the practice of
biomonitoring
. According to the CDC (2009), this technology allows scientists to test the concentration of contaminants in people’s blood and urine in a more direct way than ever before. More than a decade ago, some pioneering Danish researchers used biomonitoring to verify that the risk of breast cancer was notably higher in women with high levels of the pesticide dieldrin (Høyer et al. 1998). Dozens of other studies have been published with similar findings. In fact, in June 2007, the journal
Cancer
devoted an entire supplemental issue to “Environmental Factors in Breast Cancer,” stating (Brody et al.): “Laboratory research has shown that numerous environmental pollutants cause mammary gland tumors in animals; are hormonally active, specifically mimicking estrogen, which is a breast cancer risk factor; or affect susceptibility of the mammary gland to carcinogenesis.” While some pesticides cause harm by impairing the immune system, others promote higher levels of dangerous estrogens (Muñoz-de-Toro et al. 2006). Still other pesticides may influence the degree of tumor aggressiveness (Demers et al 2000).

How relevant are animal studies to human health? According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2006), “All known human carcinogens that have been studied adequately for carcinogenicity in experimental animals have produced positive results in one or more animal species.” What’s more, approximately 99 percent of mouse genes are identical to those found in humans (Mouse Genome Sequencing Consortium 2002). Accordingly, we pay close attention to animal studies.

Guidelines for Avoiding Pesticide Exposure

The easiest way to avoid pesticides is to avoid pesticide-laden produce. The EWG (www.ewg.org/foodnews/) has identified twelve fruits and vegetables that it dubs “the dirty dozen,” those doused with the highest levels of pesticide (as of 2011): apples, celery, blueberries, collard greens, grapes (imported), kale, nectarines (imported), peaches, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, and sweet bell peppers.

You will find most organic produce labeled as such at the store. If you’re not sure, just look at the sticker on the product; all organic produce is labeled with a number beginning with 9. Wash all fruits and vegetables carefully, even organic ones, to remove dirt and traces of pesticide residue.