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Description
Did you know that breast milk contains substances similar to cannabis? Or that it's sold on the Internet for 262 times the price of oil? Feted and fetishized, the breast is an evolutionary masterpiece. But in the modern world, the breast is changing. Breasts are getting bigger, arriving earlier, and attracting newfangled chemicals. Increasingly, the odds are stacked against us in the struggle with breast cancer, even among men. What makes breasts so mercurial—and so vulnerable? In this informative and highly entertaining account, intrepid science reporter Florence Williams sets out to uncover the latest scientific findings from the fields of anthropology, biology, and medicine. Her investigation follows the life cycle of the breast from puberty to pregnancy to menopause, taking her from a plastic surgeon's office where she learns about the importance of cup size in Texas to the laboratory where she discovers the presence of environmental toxins in her own breast milk. The result is a fascinating exploration of where breasts came from, where they have ended up, and what we can do to save them.… (more)
User reviews
It is, however, a good choice if you're curious about
It's probably not a book for everyone but, if you're interested, it's eminently readable, lightly humorous at times and worth your while.
Nevertheless, perhaps the most interesting stuff for me in the book was the actual experiment, where the author and her daughter went through pollutant detox. They changed the way they ate, the couches or seats they sat on, the bottles they drank from, etc. And their before and after tox screens were drastically different. It's pretty amazing. The problem is, of course, that it would be very hard to get to work without driving a car for most Americans. It would be hard to carry a glass bottle for water, with a non-plastic lid. It would be hard to do most of the things we do. (I am typing on my laptop right now, who knows absorbing what chemicals through my fingers from the plastic keyboard. I am sitting on a couch which probably was treated with flame retardants. My feet are resting on a chest, which also probably has some flame retardants on it. Let's not get into the packet of "cheese" I sprinkled over the macaroni I just ate... )
I learned some interesting things about breasts and pollutants. I also decided that there is not much that I can do to change what will happen to my breasts, apart from trying to live a relatively healthy, natural life (I say, as the AC hums and my cell phone rings...)
The book is cataloged 612.664, right in there w/ medical information......
I didn't know you could have your breast milk tested in Germany for fire-retardants & other chemicals and that American women test 10-100 times higher than European women. Also did you know, that breast milk contains a cannabis like substance in it? I didn't either.
I had never heard (and hope to never again hear) breasts called: "Dingle Bobbers" (which I was sure was a term for male anatomy), Jellybonkers, or Chumbawumbas (Come on, Really?).
But if you want the scoop on the health hazards that make breasts endangered, then by all means read this book.
I found this book fascinating. I liked how breasts were
I'm glad I listened to it. I plan on listening again. There is so much information within this book.
A good way to start a book? Well, it got my attention!A narrative from a woman who for various reasons gets her breast milk analyzed to see what's in