The Fat Problem

If you are wondering why are growing obese despite eating right and exercising right, its time to check if the culprit is your shampoo. Yes, you read it right….Shampoos could make you fat, cause breast cancer, and affect your pregnancy…Sounds Scary? Read on….. Check the ingredients on the back of your shampoo bottle that are listed. Most shampoos contain one or more of these ingredients – Butylparaben, ethylparaben, methylparaben and propylparaben. These parabens act as preservatives extending a product’s shelf life by inhibiting bacterial growth and are used in hundreds of products from make-up removers to shaving creams. Why are parabens so harmful? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that the chemical preservatives called parabens-methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl (alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates)-displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. This means that these chemicals mimic your body’s own hormones and can have endocrine-disrupting action when they are rubbed into your body or washed down the drain into your drinking water. These disruptors interfere with your body’s endocrine system: your hypothalamus, your ovaries, your thyroid-virtually every system in your body. Parabens have been linked to several hormone-related diseases, including breast cancer, abnormal fetal development in pregnant women, and abnormal development of male reproductive systems. Estrogen also helps to regulate the activity of fat cells, meaning that yes, it’s possible your shampoo is making you fat Apart from causing health hazards parabens also pose environmental risks. When parabens are washed off, they accumulate in waterways and get absorbed in soil thereby disrupting the harmones in animals and causing genetic defects in them. What can you do? Get rid of all cosmetics, toiletries that contain parabens and also educate others about them. Read the ingredients on any of the cosmetics before you buy them. There are plenty of paraben-free shampoos and cosmetics available in the market. Image Source