Is Breast Implant Illness Real?

Hey everyone, welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show, where each and every week we explore the science and principles behind how to grow in body, mind, spirit, and take your health and your life to the next level. On today's episode, we'll be exploring breast implant illness and its prevalence today.

And this is a really important topic because there are people today saying breast implant illness is not a thing, it's not real. There's some doctors and people in government who have come out and said that. And then also, of course, there are Tens of thousands of women coming out saying, no, this is very toxic. In fact, I've got numerous symptoms because of it.

And so we'll find out the truth today based on some really telling scientific evidence. And here's the other thing you're going to start to see, as you maybe have already seen in the media. We've seen so many celebrities coming out recently saying, I've had breast implant illness, and so I'm taking my implants out.

Well-known people like Danica Patrick, Chrissy Teigen, Tori Spelling and Ayesha Curry have recently had their implants removed due to symptoms, and influencers such as Natalie Jill, Courtney Bercich, and Mikayla Peterson have as well.

And I personally know people, including my own mother-in-law, my— one of my wife's best friends, many other patients I've cared for over the years who have had breast implant illness and because of it had their implants removed and afterwards seen a noticeable improvement in their health. Now, I want to share a friend of mine who I recently went on her podcast.

Her name is Natalie Jill, and here's what she recently posted on her social media feed. She said, 33 years I've had implants. As many complications as I've had, including capsular contractures, botched surgeries, even a first rupture at 25 years old, I'd never experienced breast implant illness symptoms that I knew of. That is what I had considered replacing again. But this rupture is different.

I am not myself. My hands feel like arthritis and are in pain. My neck hurts. My face is swollen. I have a rash. The ruptured implants hurts. I've been feeling super off and down and just not myself. I now know without a shadow of a doubt how toxic these are. I guess it took this rupture to see it and get past the vanity. Hey, before we jump into the majority of the content here, do me a favor.

Subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell so you don't miss a single episode. So here's the reality. More than 35 million women have breast implants worldwide, with more and more anecdotal stories of chronic health issues linked to implants. And approximately 60% of the procedures had been done for cosmetic reasons.

Now, the FDA has received complaints about breast implants illness, and here's how prevalent it is: 37,000 people in 2019, 38,000 in 2020, 34,000 in 2021, 44,000 in 2022, and 40,000 complaints in 2023. Now again, this is only complaints turned in to the FDA and medical practitioners, and so this isn't even covering the number of people that actually have symptoms and don't turn in a complaint.

So that number has to be in the hundreds of thousands or millions of people. Now, evidence suggests that silicone exposure is related to the development of autoimmune disease. And so what we're seeing today is people who get breast implants have an increased risk of autoimmune disease, much higher than most people realize. And symptoms can appear immediately after implantation or years later.

I'll give you an example of, again, one of my wife's best friends had implants and immediately she started having symptoms. Whereas I know several people, another family member, a distant relative of mine, who got them, and then it took years later before she had the symptoms. And the FDA says that the longer the implants remain in the body, the higher the risk for complications.

And currently, in 69% of women, the explantation of implants reduced or eliminated their symptoms altogether.

Now, here are the most common symptoms related to breast implant illness: chronic fatigue, Joint and muscle pain, brain fog, hair loss, insomnia, symptoms of hypothyroidism or thyroid dysfunction, anxiety, skin rashes, depression, dry eyes, digestive issues, persistent infections such as viral infections, headaches, and even ringing in the ears.

So, as you can see, there are major symptoms associated with breast implants. Yeah. Even noted by the FDA and major medical websites. Now, we're going to get into what the study shows, the largest-scale study today. But before I do that, I want to get into what breast implants are made up of, which tends to be silicone shells filled with either saline or silicone gel.

And silicone is a synthetic polymer derived from silicone, a naturally occurring element found in salt, quartz, and rock. Now, listen, it's not directly It's not the exact same thing as plastic or petroleum, but it does have a similar nature in terms of its chemical composition and its manufacturing process.

And even though it may have some relative compounds to the things found in some naturally occurring compounds of the earth, like sand and stone, of course, it also is very similar to plastic and petroleum. But the reality is this. The body sees it as a foreign substance.

And when your body believes something is foreign and it shouldn't be in there, your body starts off having an inflammatory and then an immune reaction because it wants to eliminate it from the body. And this is where you'll see breast implants are linked to autoimmune illness. So in recent years, we have the largest study ever done on breast implant illness.

This was published in the Annals of Surgery in 2019. And in the— this study was done on 99,993 women with implants. So nearly 100,000 women with implants. And here's what the study discovered. They found a 2 to 8 times higher frequency of Sjögren's syndrome, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, and melanoma, and stillbirth in women with silicone implants. And here's the crazy part.

There was a 75% reduction in the 11 most common symptoms after explant. So when women were getting the implants removed, they had a 75% improvement in their symptoms. And think about this. This is significant. A 2 to 8 times higher risk for autoimmune disease with breast implants. Now, in terms of the melanoma risk, that alone was increased by 271%. And for stillbirth, the increased risk was 350%.

Now, remember, this is one study, but also this is an incredibly large study done on 100,000 individuals. And one case of breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma was reported as well. And breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma. And so this is a rare type of cancer.

That can develop around breast implants, and it's a type of immune system cancer that's not actually breast cancer. So here's what's happening is you have a foreign object in the body, in the implants. So the body has an immune reaction over time, which can turn into lymphoma, a type, a rare type of cancer found in the body as your body's trying to fight off the implants themselves.

Now, listen, there is little scientific evidence about how to treat breast implant illness aside from explanting the implants. And that typically is the method that you want to do. You want to get the toxin, you want to get the foreign body out of your body in order to allow your body to heal.

Now, I want to share with you, if you're going to get your implants removed, what you should be doing from a diet and supplement standpoint in order to support your body in the healing process. And this is something I've done working with patients. Over time in helping them detox and cleanse and heal more quickly post-surgery. And actually before, during, and post-surgery.

And so here's what you want to do. One, you want to consume a very nutrient-dense diet, a lot of anti-inflammatory foods. That's going to help the body heal. So we want to tamper the inflammation down. And you want to do a lot of organic whole foods. You want to get a lot of protein from sources like wild-caught fish. Chicken and grass-fed beef. You also want to get plenty of collagen.

A lot of areas around the breast tissue are collagen-based, and so you really want to support collagen production by drinking bone broth, taking a collagen or bone broth supplement as well. You also want to get plenty of healthy fats.

Now, in Chinese medicine, they would say citrus fruits like grapefruit looks like the breast, and so getting some good citrus fruits that are high in vitamin C, which support collagen production, And support lymphatic drainage.

In fact, in Chinese medicine, taking orange peel oil or any sort of citrus essential oil was used to help clear the lymphatic system, which is something you want to do around the breast during that time. Also, getting plenty of fiber via vegetables, fruits, seeds is going to be beneficial. And then reducing your sugar and processed food consumption.

Now, in addition, you want to get, as I mentioned, Citrus fruits, specifically lemons, limes, grapefruit is probably the ideal there, along with some oranges and berries. Goji berries, blueberries, blackberries are going to be some great options. Getting lots of cruciferous vegetables.

Reasons why cruciferous vegetables are so beneficial, they're high in sulfurane or sulfur-based compounds that support detoxification of the liver. And so really what you want to do is you want to support your liver and lymphatic system and your cells in cleansing and detoxifying your body. This is also why turmeric can be wonderful. Ginger is anti-inflammatory.

And as I mentioned before, getting bone broth and collagen can be helpful. In addition to diet, another way to support your body in detoxifying from BII symptoms is dry brushing, getting on a rebounder, so a mini trampoline for 5 to 10 minutes a day supports lymphatic drainage.

Getting in an infrared sauna, and also doing lymphatic support methods, whether it be lymphatic drainage massage or other natural treatments. Exercise is a good remedy post-surgery. Typically, you want to wait a few weeks until your body's ready. Your surgeon will give you advice on that. Stress management is important.

And then conversations with your care team, of course, you know, your plastic surgeon, your therapist, working through both the physical cleansing And oftentimes the emotional cleansing process as well.

And then the herbs and supplements that are the most beneficial for cleansing your liver and lymphatic system are going to include milk thistle, burdock, N-acetylcysteine known as NAC, glutathione supplements, and vitamin C. These are all going to support the liver and detoxification, and then also superfoods like spirulina. Would also be recommended in that case as well.

And then I also really like the modalities. Number one would be red light therapy or an infrared sauna and even hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which is going to drive oxygen deeper into your cells and tissues, supporting tissue regeneration and healing. And I want to mention as the last thing here, when it comes to breast implants, the connection to identity, self-esteem, and our mental health.

You know, there are many women who get breast implants because they don't feel like they're enough. They're self-conscious or maybe struggle with comparing themselves to others.

And this is where I really believe our age of social media today, of constantly trying to look a certain way on the outside to other people rather than working on our inside, can really— uh, it's treating the symptom It's not getting to the root cause. And here's the thing I just want everyone to know, breast implants will not solve your problems.

If you keep comparing yourself to others, you're never going to feel like you're enough. So here's a solution to building a rock-solid identity. Number 1, read the Bible. Read what God says about you, that you're the apple of his eye, that he knows you to the very hair on your head, that he has a plan and purpose for your life. And so God sees more than the outside. He looks on the inside.

He sees your beauty. He sees your value. He gave his son for you. So knowing that and meditating on that can truly help build and strengthen your identity.

In addition, hanging around other people that are encouragers, who, who also— I want to just say this— people that are focused more on serving others and who are less concerned with vanity and are much more concerned with their God-given mission in life, their unique gifts and talents, and things that are more not focusing on themselves, but using the things that they have on the inside in order to serve humanity.

And here's the reality.

If you are a woman and you are on social media and you're following people that have breast implants and you're hanging out with a group of other women that whether they have implants or whether they are, have a level of vanity or That's part of what that group of people does versus if you are spending time with other women who are much more focused on, you know, serving God, having a mission in life.

And by the way, I'm not saying that these things are exclusive. I know some amazing women that have breast implants and they are serving God and humanity and amazing entrepreneurs and number of things.

But I would say statistically, if a woman is on social media and following people to where, you know, their physical appearance is the top priority or a very high priority in their life, and another group as well, and they have implants, you're more likely to get them yourself or feel that state of comparison.

So my point there is focus on people who prioritize character as the highest thing and not physical appearance. Um, not to say we shouldn't look our best, right? I know I work out consistently. I do it more because I— listen, I, I want to look good on the outside. Even more so though, I want to, I want to live out my God-given calling and be serving God when I'm 80.

And I'm going to be a great dad playing with my kids. And I want to, you know, honor my wife. And, and I like feeling good. I want to be physically healthy. Um, but I think it's important to know why are you getting implants, um, you know, and, uh, and also What are the side effects of getting those implants?

And so I just wanna encourage you, stay conscious, have a level of emotional intelligence and self-awareness, and really just weigh the risks versus the benefits. And also know if you are getting implants because of feeling like you're not enough or self-comparison, no, it's not gonna fix it. At the same time, you need to go inside. And know why you are enough, because God gave his son for you.

I know I'm giving a Christian message here, but I think it's important to understand that. That is— I, I know no other way to build your identity in such a powerful way, to know who God created you to be. Also to look at your unique gifts and skills on the inside.

What are the other things of value that you bring as potentially a, you know, as a spouse, as a partner, As a mother, as a friend, as a, you know, whatever other gift and skill you have as an artist or a musician or a writer or a customer servant rep or a marketer or an entrepreneur, whatever it is. What are the other things that you offer?

The gifts, the natural characteristics you have of being generous and kind. Focus on those things, and I think that in turn will help really strengthen up. Your identity, but I want to encourage you to listen. There are millions, as I'd mentioned, I think 35 million women who currently have breast implants, and those are creating toxicity in their body, leading to other health issues.

So I want to encourage you share this video, share this podcast because there are so many people who don't know that they have chemicals leaking into their system, into their lymphatic system, and it's affecting their liver and causing. Health problems.

And so thanks so much for being on mission with me and for helping share this message because the world needs to know the truth about breast implants. And I wanna say thanks so much for tuning in here to my show, the Dr. Josh Axe Show.

Remember, every week I'm diving deep into the science and the principles of how you can grow in body, mind, spirit, and take your health and your life to the next level. Also, make sure to subscribe, like, and share. And I'll see you on the next episode.