14 DAY TRIAL // Gwyneth Paltrow is known to make some pretty outlandish health claims on her website Goop, but she seems determined to outdo herself with each new one. This time, she brings up the old myth (which has long been debunked, by the way) that bras cause cancer.
In a recent Goop post by Dr. Habib Sadeghi, the same doctor who claimed that “water has feelings” and who is often credited with coining the phrase “conscious uncoupling” for “divorce,” women are told to ditch their bras because they considerably increase cancer risk.
Bras cause cancer, apparently
Dr. Sadeghi, a longtime Paltrow collaborator, bases his piece on a book written by a couple of medical anthropologists, “Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras,” which came out in the ‘90s.
For the record, the American Cancer Society has long refuted the claims made in it, stressing that women have nothing to worry about in terms of developing the disease if they wore well-fitting bras.
However, Dr. Sadeghi would beg to differ: there are 3 ways in which bras affect the breast and all 3 can considerably increase the risk of getting cancer. His advice would be to eliminate bras altogether, or if not possible, to limit the use and to buy only models without an underwire, which adds more support.
He writes that bras can put so much pressure on the breast that they impede lymphatic flow, which, in turn, causes cancer. Dr. Jennifer Gunter, an OBGYN from San Francisco, has written an excellent takedown of Dr. Sadeghi’s theory, and she explains that this isn’t a cause for cancer. Neither can bras impede lymphatic flow, at least not without being so tight as to cause serious pain.
Then, Dr. Sadeghi says, bras can raise the temperature of the breast, which, again, leads to cancer by altering the hormonal balance. That’s not accurate either, Dr. Gunter writes back.
Last but not least, the underwire in the bra can magnify and manipulate radiation coming from cellphones and even a WiFi network, which practically means you’re turning your breast into a huge bullseye for cancer. Obviously, this claim isn’t accurate, Dr. Gunter says: in fact, it’s downright ridiculous.
More responsibility
As noted above, through her Goop website, Paltrow has been making all kinds of strange claims. She came under fire before for saying that a hot sauna will flush the flu out so you wouldn’t have to take medicine, and for urging women to have their lady-bits steamed (on the inside, no joke).
She always recommends Spartan detoxes and enemas, and she once claimed that water had to be drunk in a certain way because it has feelings, which, if negative, impact our health.
The fact that she’s pushing pseudo-science articles from this Dr. Sadeghi, knowing she has a platform of millions, is dangerous. She should show more responsibility in her work, Dr. Gunter believes.
“This stuff scares women. When people have cancer they desperately reap their past to try and come up with things they may have done, and so this kind of misinformation could cause women to stress and lose sleep and that is definitely bad for your health, never mind being cruel,” she writes. “Ladies, wear your bra or don’t. Your choice. Heck, wear it to bed if it’s comfortable. It’s all good.”
Ironically, Paltrow sold “cancer-causing” underwire, padded bras on her website: $80 (€70.74) a pop.