"Your Bra Is Not Killing You"
I wish there were a scientific Snopes site where people could look up BS scares. Dr. Jen Gunter, thankfully, has blogged this particular one -- the myth that wearing a bra causes cancer:
A couple of anthropologists wrote a whole book about their incorrect theory back in 1995, Dressed to kill: The link between breast cancer and bras....[They] opine that bras restrict the flow of lymphatic fluid keeping "toxins" in the breast where they can cause mayhem (*note, the use of toxins in a quasi-medical sense is snake oil alert). They compare this phenomenon to swelling in the feet and ankles on long flights. Huh? The complete medical gibberish of this aside if your breasts are swollen when you remove your bra at the end of the day just like your feet on a transatlantic flight then you are wearing a bra about 4 sizes too small. It might hurt, but it's still not going to give you cancer. This statement also leads me to believe that the woman of this duo must never have actually worn a bra or at least one that fit. I have never, ever heard a woman say, "This bra has made my breasts swell to a disproportionate size." In fact, if there were a bra that could defy the laws of physics and biology and once removed leave the breast tissue larger for a period of time it might be popular.
...Apparently, the authors of the lethal bra book quote a 1991 Harvard study that says bras cause cancer! That sounds legit. The study was published in the European Journal of Cancer in 1991 by Hsieh, Breast size, handedness, and breast cancer risk. The only problem? The study does not say that bras cause cancer, but that larger breasts are a risk factor:
"Premenopausal women who do not wear bras had half the risk of breast cancer compared with bra users (P about 0.09), possibly because they are thinner and likely to have smaller breasts. Among bra users, larger cup size was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (P about 0.026), although the association was found only among postmenopausal women and was accounted for, in part, by obesity. These data suggest that bra cup size (and conceivably mammary gland size) may be a risk factor for breast cancer."
Larger breasts have a higher risk of cancer not because larger breasted women are more likely to wear bras or underwires, but because more breast tissue means more cells to potentially go haywire and because obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer (heavier women tender to have larger breasts).
There are no studies or giving credence to the biological implausible theory that wearing a bra causes breast cancer. If tight clothing were carcinogenic then breast cancer would be decreasing because in days gone by women were trussed up and strapped down to the Dickens in corsets. And why would this phenomenon be linked with bras alone? What about the dangers of shoes and skinny jeans?
via @sciencegoddess
I've been listening to talk radio and they have several ads for different products that "contain FDA approved homeopathic medicines." WTF?
That automatically tells me it is a scam medicine.
Jim P. at April 16, 2014 5:36 AM
I'm more of a history, anthropology and interstellar space nut.
But if I'm reading that right bras supposed increase risk by .026% to .09%?
Isnt the general margin of error for such studies several hundred times larger than the supposed documented risk?
lujlp at April 16, 2014 9:35 AM
"My breasts are too large!" said FEW WOMEN EVER!
mpetrie98 at April 16, 2014 10:49 AM
"My breasts are too large!" said FEW WOMEN EVER!
I don't say it like THAT, but I have expressed that sentiment many times. They shrink pretty fast when you cut carbs, though.
Sosij at April 16, 2014 3:18 PM
"They shrink pretty fast when you cut carbs, though."
Hello, my dear. You look lovely. Here, I brought you a pasta bouquet and a 12-pack. Just because. Does there have to be a reason?
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 16, 2014 5:22 PM
I don't say it like THAT, but I have expressed that sentiment many times. They shrink pretty fast when you cut carbs, though.
From buxom to perky!
("Your breasts are too large!" said FEW MEN EVER!)
mpetrie98 at April 16, 2014 9:46 PM
They shrink pretty fast when you cut carbs, though.
Only if that's where you gain and lose. My cup size didn't shrink, but my band size did. That's not where my weight fluctuates. I went down about four sizes in pants in a couple of months, instead.
Some ladies with large breasts (our lovely hostess being one) are not obese. I'd bet obesity has more to do with the cancer risk than breast size, if the two were separated.
Jazzhands at April 17, 2014 10:01 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/04/16/your_bra_is_not.html#comment-4502912">comment from JazzhandsFor the record, big boobs are annoying. To the wearer, that is. When they're real. The fake variety apparently can be held up with several pieces of thread attached to postage-stamp-like bra cups (versus Golden Gate Bridge-style engineering needed for the realies).
Amy Alkon
at April 17, 2014 10:48 AM
I dont get it... If i am not wearing a bra and my boobs are hanging down to my waist... Wont all the toxins just sink to the bottom and collect around the tip of my boob?
Nicolek at April 18, 2014 6:12 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/04/16/your_bra_is_not.html#comment-4506415">comment from NicolekHah, Nicolek -- great point!
Amy Alkon
at April 18, 2014 7:46 AM
Okay great. But where are the actual STUDIES that disprove the correlation????
There are none. Zero. Because the mighty cancer industry is sickeningly hypocritical. It bashes anecdotal theories and suggested correlations on one hand, then steps back and bashes ACTUAL studies using anecdotal theories. WTF.
At least there is SOMETHING the other way. And what? What's the problem?? Women not wearing bras??? Oh, the horror.
Bodycount from not wearing a bra = A DEFINITE ZERO
Bodycount from wearing one = a suggested terminal cancer link with associated risk numbers that would make headlines worldwide were it a patentable solution
At least investigate it scientifically before issuing public refutes you irresponsible bastards.
Tigress at June 29, 2017 11:26 AM
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