Ills of a very tight bra

When it comes to dressing even the bra you wear is important. Many women think that the tighter the bra, the better it is. Tight bras give you a fuller and more enhanced bust and more importantly, gives support and shape. Some woman are so used to wearing bras that they even wear one when they sleep! However, a recent study conducted at the Harvard university, has linked wearing tight bras to breast cancer. This is because wearing a very tight bra can restrict blood circulation and can also impair the lymph tissues.

According to the study, less oxygen and fewer nutrients are delivered to the cells, while waste products are not flushed away. This is especially the case with women who wear bras for more than 12 hours a day and even sleep in them. The study also discovered that middle-class women are at a higher rick of breast cancer since they work for longer hours.

Since lymphatic vessels are very thin, they are extremely sensitive to pressure and are easily compressed. General Physician Dr M D Mody agrees. “The main reason why extremely tight bras are bad for breast health is because they restrict the lymph flow in your breasts. Normally the lymph fluid washes out waste materials and other toxins away from the breasts but bras inhibit this action, so toxins can start to accumulate in the breast, and that can help cancer to develop.”

Many experts say that a lot of women believe that if they follow a regular diet and exercise daily, their chances of developing breast cancer are reduced. According to gynaecologist, Dr Smiti Kamath, “A lot of the women who come to me are very health conscious people, who exercise regularly. They get surprised when they’re told that the lymphatic circulation in many tissues (especially the primary lymphatics) is highly dependent on movement. Wearing a bra, especially a constricting one with underwires, and especially to bed, prevents normal lymphatic flow and is likely lead to anoxia (lower than normal oxygen content), which has been related to fibrosis, which in turn has been linked to increased cancer risk,” she says.

Oncologist Dr M V Shah says that women who have a history of breast cancer in their families should be especially careful. “Bras inhibit the way our bodies normally cleanse themselves and get rid of cancer cells and toxins like dioxin, benzene and other carcinogenic chemicals that cling to the body's fatty tissues like breast. In fact, if you find a lump in your breast, it may very well be filled with lymph fluid that was not able to move away from the breast tissue,” says Dr Shah.