Am I wearing poison?

I found out my favorite hoodie/sweater is made of polyester, I wear it all day and night to bed.

In general, look for natural fibers like:

• Cotton
• Silk
• Linen
• Hemp
• Wool
• Cashmere

medical studies show that synthetic fibers cause muscle fatigue — which can mean the difference between winning and losing for competitive athletes.

In a study of 24— to 27-year-old men, natural linen long sleeved shirts were worn for five hours -- and then polyester ones were worn for another five hours. Their arms were monitored during both, with electrodes measuring skin temperature and velocity of the men's muscle tissue.¹

No changes were measured when they wore the linen. But when they donned polyester they endured a range of muscle disruptions…

A 24-month study of male dogs wearing either loose-fitting polyester underpants or loose-fitting cotton ones showed that wearing polyester created significant decreases in sperm count and degeneration of the testes. The animals wearing cotton suffered no side effects.

Scientists think polyester traps body heat, encourages chemical absorption, and creates electrostatic build-up… which all affect sperm count.

Effect of different types of textile fabric on spermatogenesis: an experimental study.

Shafik A.

Author information

Abstract

The effect of different types of textile fabric on spermatogenesis was studied. Twenty-four dogs were divided into two equal groups, one of which wore cotton underpants and the other polyester ones. Seven dogs wearing nothing were used as controls. The underwear was fashioned to fit loosely in the scrotal area so as to avoid its insulating effect. It was worn continuously for 24 months during which the semen character, testicular temperature, hormones (serum testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin) and testicular biopsy were examined. The garment was then removed, and the same investigations repeated through another 12 months. The results were analysed statistically. In the polyester group the testicular temperature showed insignificant changes during the period when the pants were worn (P > 0.05). By the end of the 24 months there was a significant decrease in sperm count and motile sperms, with an increase in abnormal forms (P < 0.001); the testicular biopsy showed degenerative changes. After garment removal the semen character improved gradually to normal in 10 dogs; two remained oligozoospermic. There were insignificant changes (P > 0.05) in hormones during the study. In contrast, the cotton and control groups showed insignificant changes (P > 0.05) in all the aforementioned parameters during the 36 months of the study. The polyester pants thus had a deleterious effect on spermatogenesis in the dogs which was, however, reversible in the majority of cases. The cause of this effect is unknown, but it may be assumed that the electrostatic potentials generated by the polyester fabric play a role in it.

http://fibtex.lodz.pl/39_12_55.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8279095

http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/ijmh.2009.22.issue-3/v10001-009-0021-8/v10001-009-0021-8.xml

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/233009022_The_effect_of_raw_material_composition_of_clothes_on_selected_physiological_parameters_of_human_organism

¹ Clement, Anna Maria, and Clement, Brian, Killer Clothes: How Seemingly Innocent Clothing Choices Endanger Your Health … And How to Protect Yourself! Hippocrates Publications, 2011. p.75.
² http://www.cool-organic-clothing.com/organic-clothes.html (downloaded 8/13/11).
Much of the information in this article was taken from the book Killer Clothes, by the Clements.