It seems that most of the controversy surrounding Gwyneth Paltrow comes from her Goop website.
Usually the site gets ridiculed for its ridiculously expensive gift guides, or for generally being out of touch — but this time the criticism is aimed at a far more serious topic.
Related: Gwyneth Is Prepping The Adult Version Of Glee
A recent article, written by Dr. Habib Sadeghi, explores the link between wearing bras and breast cancer, a claim that has been discredited by the scientific community in the past.
Sadeghi writes:
“While the Dressed to Kill study didn’t present an open-and-shut case on bras and breast cancer risk, the correlation it drew between the two was so strong that it couldn’t be ignored, especially when it was 4 to 12 times as great as the connection between smoking and lung cancer. In recent years, additional research has given even more credence to the original study, and those who laughed at the data are now giving it a serious second look. A Chinese study from 2009 found that not sleeping in a bra dropped a woman’s risk of breast cancer by 60% (4). In 2011, a study by the Department of Public Health in Venezuela found that bras played a primary role in fibrocystic breast disease and cancer, and that any bras that left indentations or red marks on the body were a risk, especially underwire and push-up bras (5). A study of 2,500 women in Scotland in 2014 also showed that bra fit and length of wear were also connected to increases in breast cancer rates (6).”
This claim, however, has been rebuked by the American Cancer Society:
“There are no scientifically valid studies that show wearing bras of any type causes breast cancer.”
After the Goop post was published, OB-GYN Jennifer Gunter also refuted Dr. Sadeghi’s writings on her blog:
“There is a fairly robust case control study (or as robust as we are likely to see) by Dr. Chen et. al. showing no risk with bra wearing in 2014 (never mind that the connection seems biologically implausible), but Sadeghi questions that study because big cancer doesn’t want a bra-breast cancer link because all of us non complementary and alternative doctors who don’t offer lymphatic rejuvenation therapy in our clinics are really tools of Big Lingerie. Sadeghi says, “Perhaps the researchers felt it was inappropriate to implicate bras in breast cancer when they’re used to raise money for the institution.” He is questioning the validity of the study because the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle (where Dr. Chen works) gets money from a 5K called the Bra Dash. Researchers, clearly desperate to get the money from the 5K that has participants wear pink bras are hiding data on bras and breast cancer. Does GOOP have an editor that actually approves this stuff?”
Dr. Gunter also takes the site to task for publishing something that will scare women for no reason.
So don’t go tossing your bras into the trash!
But also feel free to free-boob if you’re so inclined.
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