What the hell, exactly, is a paraben? And why are they so demonized?
Parabens what are your thoughts?!
- Thread starter i8ntskeered
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It's a preservative. They are naturally occurring in lots of foods like blueberries, but there are lots of unqualified articles floating around the internet claiming that they might be harmful.
Lots of cosmetic companies have taken them out of their products because of consumer perception. TOBS and Proraso are two that come to mind.
Lots of cosmetic companies have taken them out of their products because of consumer perception. TOBS and Proraso are two that come to mind.
I have been in the industrial chemical business since 1974. Don't worry about them, they are plenty of other thing that will do you in before they do. Don't believe everything you read on the net.
I thought it was a small Lituanian soap spirit. 
I thought they were a fruit / vegetable hybrid. You know, a pear and a bean.
Hell, if parabens are in blueberries then they are damn good for you. I am diabetic and blueberries are one of the very few natural things that can actually help lower blood sugar by eating them. Before I moved to San Antonio I was in the habit of eating about a cup and a half of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries or raspberries every morning for breakfast. My wife would make them for me and I would eat them at my desk in the morning. It really helped me control my blood sugar. In fact, 6 months before I left Tulsa I went in and my A1C was 5. My doctor actually said that was too low and he wanted to see me at 6-6.5 He said at 5 I was having too many instances of low blood sugar. He said he could never recall telling a diabetic to raise his A1C.
Since I've been in San Antonio, I have just been too damn busy to eat at my desk in the morning. I'm running from morning til evening. No time to have 15 minutes to eat.
Long story short. If this is what parabens do, we should all buy products with parabens. To your health.
Hell, if parabens are in blueberries then they are damn good for you. I am diabetic and blueberries are one of the very few natural things that can actually help lower blood sugar by eating them. Before I moved to San Antonio I was in the habit of eating about a cup and a half of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries or raspberries every morning for breakfast. My wife would make them for me and I would eat them at my desk in the morning. It really helped me control my blood sugar. In fact, 6 months before I left Tulsa I went in and my A1C was 5. My doctor actually said that was too low and he wanted to see me at 6-6.5 He said at 5 I was having too many instances of low blood sugar. He said he could never recall telling a diabetic to raise his A1C.
Since I've been in San Antonio, I have just been too damn busy to eat at my desk in the morning. I'm running from morning til evening. No time to have 15 minutes to eat.
Long story short. If this is what parabens do, we should all buy products with parabens. To your health.
Paraben#Toxicology (Wikipedia) covered everything I thought of writing, so I'll just link that instead. There's a far fetched suggestion that they can cause breast cancer, and doses 25,000 times higher than what is actually used as preservatives in cosmetics have shown some low increase in estrogenic activity in animal testing (disturbing hormone balance).
and how does that qualify you on the health effects of synthetic paraben's, exactly?
Kill the Parabians, death to them all!!
I think parabens are why Jason's ASB was pulled. Pity--it was a great balm.
I stopped using anything with them
But then again I only use soaps, and they arent in hard soaps
But then again I only use soaps, and they arent in hard soaps
Sounds like one of those shave cream additives that, with regular use, will kill you in 90 years.
Fixed it for you.
I would not trust any of these FDA studies relating to parabens. The majority of FDA senior officials are former lobbyists and used to work for the companies that they now regulate. It has been shown time and time again how corrupt the FDA is. The EU is much more stringent, so if you want to look at a regulatory agency for guidance, look at them, not the joke FDA.
Even if parabens turn out to be 100% harmless or if we continue to lack scientific evidence that they cause any adverse effects in the human body, you as consumers should still demand their removal from products. There are many other inexpensive preservatives that are not even rumored to be toxic. The use of parabens is just a manufacturer's way to cut corners and increase their profit. Are those people you want to trust to manufacture what you put on your skin? I certainly do not.
Even if parabens turn out to be 100% harmless or if we continue to lack scientific evidence that they cause any adverse effects in the human body, you as consumers should still demand their removal from products. There are many other inexpensive preservatives that are not even rumored to be toxic. The use of parabens is just a manufacturer's way to cut corners and increase their profit. Are those people you want to trust to manufacture what you put on your skin? I certainly do not.
I'm inclined to agree with you on the FDA but I have to take issue with demanding parabens be removed from products "even if they turn out to be 100% harmless." That doesn't really make any sense. As far as manufacturers increasing their profits, that's a good thing if they can do it without harming their consumers or degrading their product. That's how they keep manufacturing things, paying workers, paying taxes and giving their investors a return on their investment. We regularly mourn products that vanished because their profitability ended.
Originally Posted by mretzloff
I would not trust any of these FDA studies relating to parabens. The majority of FDA senior officials are former lobbyists and used to work for the companies that they now regulate. It has been shown time and time again how corrupt the FDA is. The EU is much more stringent, so if you want to look at a regulatory agency for guidance, look at them, not the joke FDA.
Even if parabens turn out to be 100% harmless or if we continue to lack scientific evidence that they cause any adverse effects in the human body, you as consumers should still demand their removal from products. There are many other inexpensive preservatives that are not even rumored to be toxic. The use of parabens is just a manufacturer's way to cut corners and increase their profit. Are those people you want to trust to manufacture what you put on your skin? I certainly do not.
Don't mean to cause you any distress Boudin, but did you check the ingredient list on your popcorn and are you watching your salt intake? One other small point; was that corn grown from heirloom seed or was the source a genetically modified hybrid?
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I just had to take my parents from Ventura to LAX airport - I was far more concerned for my safety while on the 101 / 405 interchange inhaling the tailpipe of an RTD bus and battling a few thousand angry Angelenos for lane choice (including a woman who was reading the paper and smoking a cigarette while driving!), not to mention the three cups of coffee & a breakfast burrito it took to wake up at 4am to get Mom & Dad, than any additive that spent 10 minutes on my face - even if it had 25,000X the parabens of regular cosmetics.
While I DO think that such things should be monitored - I also think that common sense should be applied.
While I DO think that such things should be monitored - I also think that common sense should be applied.
Addressing your queries in order: no, no, and I have no idea. The way I see it, I'm gonna die whether or not I eat salty, butter-drenched, genetically modified popcorn, so I'm gonna go out having scarfed down as much decadent yumminess as I possibly can. I don't wanna be on my deathbed thinking of all the things I could've enjoyed but didn't. That would suck.
As they say, YMMV.
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