Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center

Bras and Breast Cancer

by Ralph L. Reed, Ph.D.
Although I am an environmental chemist (Ph.D in biochemistry), I have been doing a lot of literature research on breast cancer since I saw an article on the ational !ibrary of "edicine database over a year ago. #hat article documented an increase in breast cancer rates between women who do wear bras versus those that do not. #hat $arvard study fascinated me and I searched the medical literature for %ossible e&%lanations. In 'anuary ())*, I discovered the boo+ by ,inger and -rismai.er and their e&%lanation of im%aired lym%hatic flow intrigued me. I have since read everything that I can find on lym%hatic flow. /hat I have found has ama0ed me, but that is another story. I can su%%ly you with lots of info if you li+e. In essence, what ,inger and -rismai.er found was that the odds of getting breast cancer dramatically increased with bra1wearing over (2 hours %er day.

/omen who wore their bras 23 hours %er day had a 4 out of 3 chance of develo%ing breast cancer (in their study, n5267* for the cancer grou% and n52*83 for the standard grou%). /omen who wore bras more than (2 hour %er day but not to bed had a ( out of 8 ris+. /omen who wore their bras less than (2 hours %er day had a ( out of (72 ris+. /omen who wore bras rarely or never had a ( out of (*9 chance of getting breast cancer. #he overall difference between 23 hour wearing and not at all was a (271fold difference.

#he results of this study are com%elling, even considering that it was not a :controlled study: for other ris+ factors. Bear in mind that +nown (%ublished in medical .ournals) ris+ factors for breast cancer are mostly in the range of less than three1fold differences. It should also be noted that ,inger and -rismai.er surveyed bra1wearing behavior of the %ast, which is e&cellent for a disease with such a long develo%ment %eriod. In their boo+, the authors show how most of the +nown ris+ factors can be related to bra1wearing behavior and;or the lym%hatic system. <or e&am%le, breast feeding and %regnancy cause full develo%ment of the mammary lym%hatics. Also, women of higher economic status have higher breast cancer rates, and one would e&%ect that they would wear their bras more hours %er day. /omen who e&cercise have lower ris+, which could relate to better lym%hatic circulation (and I would add, more breast movement). #o this discussion, I would li+e to add that lym%hatic circulation in many tissues (es%ecially the %rimary lym%hatics) are highly de%endent on "=>?"? #. /hen you sit for a long time on an air%lane flight, your feet and an+les can swell, because lym%hatic circulation goes to near 0ero. /earing a bra, es%ecially a constricting one

with underwires, and es%ecially to bed, %revents normal lym%hatic flow and would li+ely lead to ano&ia (lower than normal o&ygen content), which has been related to fibrosis, which has been lin+ed to increased cancer ris+. /omen evolved under conditions where there was B@?A,# "=>?"? # with every ste% that they too+ when they wal+ed or ran. "y reading of the scientific literature about lym%hatic flow shows me that this may be as im%ortant as the constriction factor. ?very subtle bounce of the breast while moving, wal+ing, running, etc. gently massages the breast and increases lym%hatic flow and thus cleans the breast of to&ins and wastes that arise from cellular metabolism. =f course, there may be other mechanisms for the damage that bras a%%arently cause. =ne such mechanism could be tem%erature. Breasts are e&ternal organs and have a naturally lower tem%erature. Cancers can be tem%erature1de%endent. Breast cancer is hormone1de%endent. #em%erature can alter hormone function. Breast tem%erature changes throughout the monthly cycle. All these facts are from the medical literature. By whatever mechanism, someone will eventually e&%lain why ,inger and -rismai.er found a (271fold difference in cancer rates between bra1free breasts and those constricted by 231hour1%er1day bra1 wearing. If you havenAt already done so, I suggest that you read the boo+ by ,inger and -rismai.er ( Dressed to Kill,Avery Press, ())7). (By the way, I have no connection to the authorsB I thin+ that they live in Canada.) Also, .ust for an interesting e&%eriment, the ne&t time you wal+ down the street, notice visually how constricting bras are. =n many women you can actually see :dents: around the sides of their chests where there bras are, even in something as o%aCue as a blac+ t1shirt. A %hysical thera%ist friend of mine, after reading Dressed to Kill, said that she was ama0ed at what she saw in her %ractice at a local medical clinic. ,he noticed how many women have red creases and grooves on the their bodies caused by their bras. ,inger and -risma.er also suggest that you sim%ly sto% wearing one for two wee+s and see how you feel. By the way, I have heard that they are currently wor+ing on a new study. #he research is to study whether benign fibrocystic breast disease can be treated by sto%%ing bra1wearing for eight wee+s. #hat should be very interestingB this time they are involving medical doctors, from what IAve heard. Dears ago, many %eo%le thought that the idea of cigarettes causing lung cancer was funny. ?ven if further research with highly controlled studies only shows a difference of 71fold, or even 21fold, it will be no laughing matter.