Women's health: what wearing a bra will do to you

[LBR]

Two excellent articles:

http://www.theherbaladvisor.com/Healthy ... Kill.shtml
http://toavoidthecancer.blogspot.com/20 ... er-up.html


And a great website:

http://www.brafree.org/

Also, on a related note:

Lots of women who are peri-menopause and having changes in breast tissue, which could lead to serious problems, are taking iodine to restore the tissue to health. This is not so well publicized, as the medical world would lose a lot of money if women stopped wearing the torture garments that cause the problems, and took iodine to reverse the problems.

[red]

I'm just going to balance that with these two articles from respectible sources:

http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=5434

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/998348.stm

[red]

and actually .. the suggestion tht the information is supressed by the bra industry and the medical profession:

The medical industry is making billions each year on the detection and treatment of breast cancer

is ...well..laughable from a blog... that appears to be by the same people.. who have SOLD a book on this subject. talk about making money out of people's fears.

[ellie12022]

Thank you so much for those links, absolutely fascinating. Over the last year or so, I have stopped wearing bras so much , so these articles confirm that maybe I am doing the right thing. (I have one breast that has been getting lumpy & uncomfortable and I started towonder if it was something to do with the bra).Although I do have this feeling that I am being a bit risque, as if I am doing something naughty. It's made me realise how much rubbish I have been fed culturally about bra wearing,and my mother obviously too,as she passed things onto me. I shall look into camisoles now, they sound really comfy. I will pass this info on to my sister - my niece has just started wearing a bra.

I too have heard recently about iodine being used to treat fibrocystic disease in breasts.

Have you any personal experience of improvements to health from not wearing bras?

[Silver Ether]

Well I can go with the dangers of wearing a bra... it just makes sense , like wearing a garter.

I have never wore a bra ... except when pregnant as I was very lucky not to be big boobed unless pregnant. now as I am older I wear ... don't know what you call it to be honest .. elasticated crop top the best I can think of ... as I do now have boobs and it stops them banging my knees...

Bras are uncomfortable and give you lumps where you don't have them damn things...

[contadina]

I think the key is ensuring you get properly fitting bras and to keep measuring yourselves as we do change shape. I forget the statistics but the majority of British women wear bras which are too big on the back and too small in the cup. I got measured in Rigby and Peller a few years back and discovered I was not a 34D but a 32F - a big difference which resulted in me feeling a lot more comfortable and a much better shape.

[Ratty]

I whole-heartedly agree that getting remeasured frequently is a very good idea. M&S do a great service. My bra size has changed a lot in the past 18 months as I've gone from pregnancy, breast-feeding to "still carrying a load of baby weight"! I'd not be able to go bra-less all the time. If I'm at home then I don't wear a bra but if I'm going out then I do simply because walking fast makes my chest 'bounce' in an uncomfortable way! If you are small-breasted then I suspect its much easier to give bras a miss.

[ina]

I wear all cotton sports bras (organic cotton, of course) - very comfortable, stop me from bouncing about too much (and boobs getting entangled with knees!), and are definitely not restrictive in any way. I particularly hate those underwired jobs...

[barefootlinzi]

Very interesting. While i am not convinced that bras cause breast cancer I dont think they are great for you. I do wear bras, at the moment non-wired breastfeeding bras but I was rubbed badly by one of these during the hot weather we had recently, and this has made me think about why women wear bras. I think i will try to go without a bra more often, but i think i will feel self consious in public so maybe a nice camisole is the way to go.

[Millymollymandy]

What I hate about bras is that I am not comfortable because nobody makes a bra that fits my size!

Bra manufacturers never take into account that there are tall women in the world who need much longer straps over our shoulders and that our backs are quite naturally much larger than an 'average' height woman, but we don't necessarily have big boobs!

Therefore I squeeze my (rapidly expanding with flab) back into a 36 which is now much too tight and the straps are let out as long as they can go but dig into my shoulders, in order to be able to get a cup size that fits. I'm pretty much an AA to A cup as it is but if I try a 38A - if you can ever find such a thing - the cup size is big enough to fit me as a hat.

An A cup should be the same size no matter what the back size is. It's supposed to be so many inches bigger than the back measurement so should technically stay the same, but NO.

[ina]

I really don't want to do advertising for any company... But have a look at Greenfibres sports bras. I find them great. With a small cup size, the camisoles might be even better for you.

[red]

bras are not suposed to be uncomfy - if they are.. you have the wrong size. I agree It can be difficult to get the right size, and if I were a smaller cup size, I would probably go without more often. as it is.. I'm ehm.. a big girl... and a bra makes me more comfortable, not less.

I lead a physical life... chasing the sheep, climbing trees, dancing etc. a bra is a really good idea. But i don't wear something uncomfortable, never underwired.
I also wear walking boots most of the time... you wont find me in stillettos.... sometimes its practical not uncomfortable.!
what I don't understand.. is why I would need someone else to tell me not to wear something that hurt? The NHS are not making lots of money out of the bra industry....

[the.fee.fairy]

I fear that Deodorant is more or a risk than bras.

Without correct support, there are a number of problems that can arise - back pai, permanent stoop, permanent breat ligament damage etc.

I wear bras, and i'm not likely to stop. I have pierced nipples, and therefore wear padded bras (well...not just cos of the piercings ) otherwise it would look like i had 3 nipples all the time!

Bras...definitely. Couldn't do without one.

[Annpan]

I have to wear one too and sometimes I wear under-wired, I happen to like the support and posture they give me. Looks like I am the only one here.
On regular, baby carrying, digging holes, chasing stuff, or walking I have to wear my old BF bras, because I have yet to find an unwired bra that is quite as comfortable and supportive (and I really need the support)

I couldn't manage without a bra, I can barely hang out washing without wearing one - I would prefer to have a smaller chest and not have to wear a bra, but I have a feeling my OH might disagree.

[hamster]

I have to wear one too and sometimes I wear under-wired, I happen to like the support and posture they give me. Looks like I am the only one here.
On regular, baby carrying, digging holes, chasing stuff, or walking I have to wear my old BF bras, because I have yet to find an unwired bra that is quite as comfortable and supportive (and I really need the support)

I couldn't manage without a bra, I can barely hang out washing without wearing one - I would prefer to have a smaller chest and not have to wear a bra, but I have a feeling my OH might disagree.

Nope, not just you. I definitely couldn't go without the support either! Risk muscle injury doing anything remotely strenuous probably...