I thought my parabens rant would be my last regarding claims and beauty scare tactics used in various parts of the press without substantiated and undeniable proof. After finding another press-covered story, by the AP no less, about the possibility of oils in bath products potentially causing breast enlargement in boys, I decided enough was enough.
The study the AP is reporting on was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, which was looking into a condition called gynecomastia, suspected that essential oils such as lavender and tea tree oil could be the culprit for the condition. While the study could not pinpoint any estrogen-like compounds in the oils or make any solid claims to prove that without a doubt these essentials oils cause such a condition, the hormone specialist who oversaw the boys involved in the study went so far as to tell their parents, “I would not give these products to my children.”
Before I go any further, it should be noted that this was one study only done on three boys. It confuses me how this federally funded study without substantiated claims made it into the New England Journal of Medicine and then got picked up and distributed among the news media by the AP. We contacted Paula Begoun, founder of Paula's Choice and well known for several best-selling books such as The Beauty Bible and Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, for her input on this story. Paula told us,
"We looked at this story too, and your reaction was mine as well. Three kids is hardly a study by any standard and it doesn't prove a thing about those two ingredients. There can be many reasons why a male child might have enlarged breasts. This is not direct evidence and it would take hundreds of children in controlled, monitored environments to prove the possibility (soy milk would prove a bigger risk for phytoestrogens). The news media's job is to grab our attention and keep us on the same channel regardless of truth, reality, or balance."
MSNBC even began a poll asking parents if they were concerned with the findings. Out of 1521 people who took the poll, an amazing 25% said yes, another 30% said yes, but that more studies needed to be done and I stood with the 43% who were not concerned. Since I have all male children, friends passed this article onto me with fear that the products I use are harming them. It is instances like this that make me angry when the press doesn’t use caution when promoting a story as newsworthy. There is no reason for me to believe that essential oils will harm my sons just based on this one study that even claimed they couldn’t conclusively link the two, and as Chemist Steven Dentali, at the industry group American Herbal Products Association is quoted as saying, “Warning people to avoid such oils is premature without the additional basic research needed to bolster the case that the issue here is both real and significant.”
While I am sure the study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine as a method to prompt further interest in conducting more studies, the media should be cautious about preliminary (unsubstantiated) claims and publishing the findings, scaring the public unnecessarily. I wonder what the Aromatherapy Association thinks about this?
What do you think?
