The Confessing Seventh-day Adventist

My dear female friends,

I have no insight about the content of this post. What are your thoughts?

While researching cancer on the internet, I stumbled upon a website that had the following information:

Wearing Brassieres for Extended Periods

An extensive study of over 4700 women (2056 previously diagnosed with breast cancer, 2674 never diagnosed with breast cancer) was run by authors Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer that indicated a positive correlation between breast cancer and the length of time that women wore bras per day.

Those who wore a bra all day long (defined in the study as any period more than 12 hours) had statistically 21 times greater risk of breast cancer than those who only wore a bra for only part of the day (defined in the study as any period up to 12 hours). Women who wore their bras all day and night (essentially 24 hours per day) had a 5 times greater chance of developing breast cancer than those who wore it all day-long.

The study conjectured that wearing a bra may constrict the flow of lymph fluid in the breast, which then causes the higher risk of breast cancer. Lymph fluid is the natural watery fluid which surrounds and bathes cells in body tissues. Lymph fluid carries disease-fighting cells and helps remove accumulated toxins, some of which may be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). The impaired flow of lymph fluid is thought to allow toxins to build up, thus causing breast tissue cells to be exposed to higher concentrations of cancer-causing toxins for longer periods of time. The study suggested that women wear their bras for fewer hours, thus giving their breasts time to "recover" and also not wearing bras that feel constrictive or tight.

For more details on the study, conducted by Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer, see their book Dressed to Kill, (Avery Publishing Group, New York, 1995). ISBN 0-89529-664-0. Available from The Naturist Society, P.O. Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54902, Tel. 414-426-5009.

Do you believe that's a good answer to the following criticism leveled against Ellen White:

Dangers of Stuffing the Bra!

Quick! Someone warn Adventist ladies about the terrible dangers of having padding in their bras!

"Because it is the fashion, many females place over their breasts paddings, to give the form the appearance of well-developed breasts. These appendages attract the blood to the chest, and produce a dry, irritating heat. The veins, because of unnatural heat, become contracted, and the natural circulation is obstructed. These appendages, in connection with other bad habits of dressing and eating, result in obstructing the process of nature, making a healthy development of the breasts impossible. And if these become mothers, there cannot be a natural secretion of the fluids, to have a sufficient supply of nourishment for their offspring." - The Health Reformer, Sept. 1, 1871, para. 4

How come Adventists never mention this quote when they tell us Sister White was "ahead of her time" with her health revelations?

See the many criticisms of the Dressed to Kill (book)

Interesting topic. I have heard before about the theory that wearing bras (especially "non-breathing" synthetic push-up bras) "full time" is a risk factor for developing breast cancer, by squeezing glandular tissue and obstructing blood and lymph circulation. In scientific circles, that theory is still debated. I had never read, or maybe I´ve just read over, Ellen White´s affirmative statement in regard to it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Dzien. The theory certainly does make sense to me. Uninterrupted circulation of body fluids and the balance of bodily thermodynamics are indispensable for health; obstruction and stagnation are pathological and will have consequences, and some of these consequences can be pretty serious.

I can´t even imagine a woman volunteerly wearing a bra 24 hours long, non-stop; it´s certainly annoying, and you feel so much more "free" and "breathing" as soon as you get it off. But even if it seems absurd, I guess it is not so unlikely that there is a considerable amount of women that sleep with their bras on. Tightness, symmetry, perfect composition are timeless and in these days aggressively promoted beauty ideals/norms which have a decisive impact on women´s mindset towards their body, and they influence women´s habits to a considerable degree. Christian women living in the midst of this world are certainly not fully immune against the dolby-surround influences of cultural trends and norms, so a bit of critical information certainly doesn´t do any harm.

Just because women usually are not wearing overly long skirts and dresses anymore that sweep the dirty street and bring any kind of unhealthy matter into the house, and because the once common habit of wearing unhealthy corsets is rather obsolete, it automatically means that the dress part in Health Reform is a thing of the past. Just think of the wearing of terribly unhealthy footwear that women submit to for reasons of vanity. Or of the many health damaging ingredients in common make-up.

I sure would recommend to any woman the same as stated in the article above: to wear bras as little time as necessary, and to never wear any synthetic and very tight ones at all.

As this is rather an uncomfortable subject in which personal prejuidices and preferences are having a loud voice, I can easily understand why this topic is not brought up more by health reformers. And certainly, in the false name of modesty, a lot of unhealthy and restrictive measures have been propagated. Just think of the chastity belt. I have no doubt bras will always have two kinds of defenders: fashion victims for reasons of vanity, and conservatives for reasons of tradition and a conformist view of modesty.

No matter the many ignorant criticisms: Ellen White was definitely way ahead of her time with her health revelations, and she is very relevant for this our present time.