TMI?

Below you can see an email I recently sent my daughters and sister. I just thought I'd update you on what I'm doing - nothing. Yup. No deodorant. No antiperspirant. Nothing. It's amazing. Why have I been slathering that stuff under my arms for four decades? I can go all day after taking my morning shower and not stink even a little bit. Granted, I work in an air conditioned office all day but still, it's amazing. I'm sure that if I did a job where I sweated the end result may not be so pleasant, but my current routine works for me: wake up, exercise & sweat, take a shower, go to work, sleep, wake up and the pits are still fresh. TMI? Sorry but some experiments are worth communicating.

See? This is me now. Don't I smell good? I'm prettier too.

The original email:

For years I have heard about the possible link between aluminum and breast cancer (and also perhaps Alzheimers) and to date there is no proof of causation. Still, there seems to be a preponderance of "coincidence" in the presence of aluminum in the body and cases of breast cancer that continues to stimulate research in this area. In the UK, and let me say that Europe is always WAY ahead of the States in warning their citizens of possible environmental concerns, they use something called the Precautionary Principle when they see a potential link to something that may be causing negative health outcomes for which there is still uncertain data. They clearly state that more research is needed (and is ongoing) but send out warnings regarding this possible link.

A few facts to consider:

1. Our skin is the largest organ of the body and it does absorb chemicals that are smeared on it. For this very reason many medications are now available in transdermal form.
2. Our bodies do absorb and hold onto some chemicals, aluminum being one, causing a sort of "cocktail" of chemicals that lodge in certain tissues.
3. Aluminum is a known endocrine disruptor. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that may interfere with the body's hormones (think estrogen) and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects. This is not uncertain but has been shown to be factual.
4. The location of most breast cancers are in the upper outer quadrant of the breast, the area nearest the armpit. This has always been the case but the percentage of new cases found in this location has increased significantly in the last 40 or so years.
5. Aluminum has been found in the nipple discharge of women with breast cancer; it is absent or in negligible amounts in the nipple discharge of women without breast cancer.
6. Antiperspirants have aluminum in them; deodorants do not. Aluminum binds with the dead skin cells in the armpit to form a plug of sorts to prevent sweat from exiting through the pores of the sweat gland. Deodorants simply make the area smell better.
7. Shaving the armpit causes small, imperceptible abrasions in the skin through which chemicals can easily and quickly enter the body. This is why antiperspirants are required to state on the label "Do not apply to broken skin."

So for what it's worth, I am passing this along to the three most important women in my life. Do what you will with it, but I couldn't not pass this along. The current  recommendations are:

• shave as infrequently as you can
• do not apply antiperspirant, especially after shaving
• use only deodorant or, if possible, simply wash with soap and water