
More evidence essential oils 'make male breasts develop' - plessthanpt05
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43429933
======
nimbius
soapmaker here. While lavender oil is nice to have, its also rather cost
prohibitive in what i believe would be a compelling dose to elicit this type
of response.

as for tea tree oil, im in favor of phasing this out entirely as it seems to
serve no real purpose in cosmetics and is actually somewhat toxic to humans.
Its had a number of folk remedies, such as a cure for syphilis and a tincture
to reduce boils, but none of these have succeeded in scientific testing.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil#Safety](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil#Safety)

most cold process soaps will fragrance at 3-5% the weight of the actual oil. I
can speak from experience that 5% tea tree oil soap is vile. The final product
emerges with an acrid fragrance not unlike pine floor cleaner, and each bar is
brittle enough to crack if dropped. many crack during the curing process, and
the final product has a texture similar to the gear shift on a cheap car.

~~~
toomanybeersies
I thought it was well known that tea tree oil is toxic.

I've been using it for a while do deodorise my shoes. It seems to be effective
at killing whatever makes them smell. Anecdotally it also works for killing
fungal infections of the feet too, although I've switched to using iodine,
which is actually proven to be effective and tends to clear fungal infections
within a couple of days.

~~~
zappo2938
Tea tree oil kills MRSA on the skin. All the low dose natural products are
causing the bacteria to become resistant. Otherwise, for fungal infections
soaking feet in vinegar once a day for a week should work just fine. Smells a
little.

~~~
toomanybeersies
I wasn't using low dose natural products on my feet.

I had a spray can of 100% tea tree oil that I would spray on my feet. It would
sting like hell anywhere I had broken skin but it was effective.

Iodine is much more pleasant to use and doesn't smell so bad, it's cheaper
too.

~~~
jcims
Doesn’t it stain?

~~~
reitanqild
Temporarily, it then sublimes directly into gas form without passing through a
liquid phase. (Verify before you use it everywhere, but this is what I would
expect with the mixes I've used. Also see
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine))

------
staplers
A better link:

“Since there was no identifiable cause for prepubertal gynecomastia in the
three patients we reported, we speculated that environmental factors might be
contributing to their condition. Together, the case histories and NIEHS in
vitro studies provide support for our hypothesis that topical exposure to
lavender and tea tree oils likely caused gynecomastia in the three patients.”

\- [https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/lavender-
tea-t...](https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/lavender-tea-tree-
oils-may-cause-breast-growth-boys)

~~~
zmk_
Sample size of 3?!

~~~
deusum
Three boys and a lab test of cancer cells. And they don't expect long term
effects from the oils.

The article title is a bit sensationalist, but a thorough investigation is
arguably worthwhile

~~~
tritium
Hmmm, so a there's a broad suspicion that endocrine disruption is a widespread
problem, and suddenly we see a dubious article provoking confusion, and
possibly a lot of very costly research only to determine we might've been
barking up the wrong tree?

This story sounds familiar... [0]

[0]
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2146171.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2146171.stm)

------
rainbowmverse
>> _" The American study found that key chemicals in the oils boost oestrogen
and inhibit testosterone."_

I find this highly suspect. If the effect were significant, every trans woman
I know would be talking about their essential oils instead of salt cravings
and estrogen pills/injections.

Is there something to this, or is it another case of shoddy science reporting?

~~~
Analemma_
I doubt the effect is anywhere near large enough to be satisfactory for people
who want to transition.

~~~
lostgame
Trans woman here. Was going to say this, but you nailed it.

Just going to confirm right now any effect this has is nowhere close to the
kind of estrogen changes that actual hormone therapy provides.

------
wallflower
From personal experience, I avoid eating too much tofu. At one point, I had a
condition called gynecomastia. The doctor asked me about my diet (eating
steamed tofu every day) and recommended that I stop based on some research he
had read. Condition went away.

~~~
6t6t6t6
Just bro science here, but if tofu had a real effect on the hormones, wouldn't
that mean that gynecomastia should have a much higher prevalence in the
countries, such as Japan, where tofu is consumed daily?

~~~
VLM
Genetic variance based on geography much like the situation with lactose
intolerance.

------
amelius
Does anyone know why there seem to be so many more estrogenic substances
compared to androgenic substances, in our everyday lives?

It seems a bit unfair ...

~~~
jnwatson
Speculation is that plants produce phytoestrogens for herbivore birth control.

"Phytochemical mimicry of reproductive hormones and modulation of herbivore
fertility by phytoestrogens"
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1474615/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1474615/)

~~~
snowpanda
This is really interesting, thanks for sharing. Question: so are plants
leeching it into the soil => our water supply? Or is it the plants that we're
eating?

~~~
ianai
Plants have phytosterols instead of cholesterol. If anything, predation chose
for plants that had some population controlling affects on predators. But I’ve
read those same compounds are completely ignored by our bodies.

I’m going to suggest there’s more going on than we know here. Ie there are
toxic compounds leaching into food from plastic containers, possibly water
supply, and definitely cooking utensils.

------
hawktheslayer
I started using a diffuser at home, typically with tea tree or eucalyptus oil.
It helps me relax, maybe via the placebo effect. But I have also become
somewhat obsessed with it, to the point where I have a diffuser at home, the
office, and even in my car. Had anyone else had this experience?

~~~
zaarn
This sounds like a somewhat minor psychological addiction (I'm not a doctor
though and addiction is not always harmful)

~~~
hawktheslayer
It can't be worse than my coffee addiction...

------
thetrumanshow
See, now this lends some credence to the idea that the oils can have any
(medicinal or other) effect at all... which up to this point I found highly
suspect.

~~~
colecut
2 years ago I had a boil on my neck that lingered for months. It shrank to
nearly nothing within a week or two of tea tree oil.

But now I'm worried about manboobs. So far so good though.

~~~
zamalek
Another comment indicated that it's poisonous, so I assume that's how it
worked for you.

~~~
colecut
I'll take it

------
b1daly
Given the problems with replication, and the selection biases, I’ve decided
it’s a safe bet to ignore the implications of articles about health studies!

It’s shocking how many dietary and medical practices have been championed, and
then later repudiated.

One challenging example: fish oil.

Article saying it’s good...

[http://time.com/4619488/omega-3-fats-heart-
health/](http://time.com/4619488/omega-3-fats-heart-health/)

Article questioning the overall research:

[https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/fish-oil-claims-
no...](https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/fish-oil-claims-not-
supported-by-research/)

------
antirez
I'm happy to be so sensitive to any kind of flavor to eliminate everything
that smells from my life, more or less. I guess it is some form of innate
protection.

------
truculation
Drat, my favourite toothpaste contains tea tree oil.

~~~
anotherboffin
The hypothesis is that topical exposure is linked to the hormone changes. For
me, that means tea tree oil in toothpaste shouldn't be something to worry
about.

~~~
justinator
_Tea tree oil should NOT be taken by mouth for any reason, even though some
traditional uses include tea tree oil as a mouthwash, treatment for bad
breath, and treatment of toothache and mouth ulcers._

[https://www.poison.org/articles/2010-dec/tea-tree-
oil](https://www.poison.org/articles/2010-dec/tea-tree-oil)

~~~
mrfusion
Don’t you get the oil when you drink tea?

~~~
justinator
Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) is a different plant altogether than
Camellia sinensis (Tea plant)

Tea tree smells very similar to turpentine - you know: paint thinner. I often
wondered if they are chemically similar.

