Do you wash your hands with antibacterial soap on a regular basis? Well, it turns out, you could be harming your liver. A March 2015 article in Life Extension magazine reports that the main antibacterial agent in these soaps, a substance called triclosan, can cause liver cancer in mice in a laboratory setting.
This is alarming news for the millions of people across the world who use antibacterial soaps often or exclusively. People believe they are doing the healthy, ‘sanitary thing’ for themselves by using these soaps. It would appear that in the quest for cleanliness, they are putting their bodies at risk in other, more disturbing ways.
Antibacterial soaps can cause serious harm
A study published in the June 2014 issues of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed triclosan disturbed the chemical balance of the liver in lab mice. Mice who were given a substance to promote liver cancer were discovered to have compromised liver function when exposed to triclosan. Continually exposed to triclosan over a six month period, which is equal to 18 human years for mice, these lab animals developed more tumors than the mice not exposed to triclosan.
The tumors these mice developed was also more frequent and produced larger samples than the mice who were not exposed. Researchers on this project believe triclosan can cause liver cells to multiply, mutate and become fibrotic. This, in turn can promote formation of tumors when allowed to continue over a long period of time.