Your Clothes May Be Making You Sick

Many people are falling ill then find out when they remove the toxic burden and inflammation causing triggers from their lifestyles, their health improves. Removing toxicity from our lives is healthful yet different for each person, according to the damage going on inside their system. Some people see success by simply dropping their soda intake while others need to go to more drastic measures.

For these people it is necessary to remove inflammatory foods including grains, sugars and processed foods of any kind, reverting the home to a place of cooked meals that nourish the body with nutrient dense foods. Others with more severe damage need to only source their food from local farmers who do not use pesticides, anti-fungals, GMO feed, hormone filled injections or antibiotics on their vegetables, poultry or meat. Still, others need

to also remove the chemicals burden absorbed through their skin, the largest organ in the body. Chemicals in beauty products contain toxic heavy metals which “assist” the body in absorbing the product, preservatives, synthetic fragrances, etc. 

Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, neurologist and author of GAPS, has developed the protocol designed for those with illnesses like autism, depression, ADHD, allergies and auto-immune diseases. This protocol removes problematic foods, which feed pathogens, nourishes the body, eliminates the toxic burden and rebuilds the system.

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The struggle for many people is removing the offending toxic overload as it is everywhere, including in the air we breathe. Some people throw their hands up in the air and say things like, “Forget it, I’m not even going to try.” However, for those who are very sick, with severe autism, FPIES or PANDAS babies, there is no other option. Searching for new offenders is the only path to success.

This opens the debate regarding BPA plastics that make up our polyester or fleece clothing.

Our stores are filled with clothing made from recycled plastic bottles. The same people who are removing plastics from their lives, in an effort to remove damaging BPA toxins, an estrogenic releasing toxin, may not be aware they are wearing the same plastic bottles which make up their clothing. To learn more about BPA or BPA free products and their toxic impact on your health click here.

Polyester used to be made from coal, air, water, and petroleum through a chemical reaction process between alcohol and an acid. Today it’s made mostly from plastic bottles.

To watch a “National Geographic” video on how polyester clothing is made from recycled plastic bottles click here.

Discovery News says, “When scientists conducted lab tests on more than 20 top-brand baby bottles along with more than 450 plastic food and beverage-packages, virtually all leached chemicals that acted like the hormone estrogen, even though many were free of BPA.”

The NIH (The National Institute Of Health) says, “More than 800 studies were published on the health effects of BPA between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s.” Further studies are ongoing.

In another publishing the NIH said, “BPA was found to migrate from polycarbonate water bottles at rates ranging from 0.20 to 0.79 ng per hour. At room temperature the migration of BPA was independent of whether or not the bottle had been previously used. Exposure to boiling water (100°C) increased the rate of BPA migration by up to 55-fold.”

No studies have been done on the leaching of these chemicals into our bodies through our largest organ, the skin.

The NIH published a study on, “Permethrin, an agricultural insecticide, applied to clothing in an effort to protect military personnel from infectious insects. “Leaching and/or absorption were evaluated, the presence of sweat, different fabric types, and the effects of prelaundering. Results showed that fabric treated with permethrin at a rate of 0.125 mg/cm2 lost the substance to the skin surface at an average rate of 0.49%/d. At the end of the 7-d exposures in rabbits, about 3.2% of the available permethrin had reached the skin, 2% having been recovered from excreta (absorbed) and 1.2% remaining on the skin surface.”

If chemicals from the fabric leaches into the skin, chemicals within the fabric itself could do the same.

When plastics are heated they release toxins whether they are in water bottle form and we drink the toxins or if they are in the form of clothing as holding plastic against your skin could have the same effect. The biggest concern may be fleece pajamas where the material is pressed directly against the skin for an 8-hour stretch, under warm blankets. If the person is sick with the flu, including a fever, lying in bed holding in heat could be potentially more dangerous. 

Science Daily says, “Prior to boiling water exposure, the rate of release from individual bottles ranged from 0.2 to 0.8 nanograms per hour. After exposure, rates increased to 8 to 32 nanograms per hour,” giving specific numbers to the NIH publishing. 

As consumers we have choices. We can shop with our dollars being our voice. It is this author’s opinion, as no verifying tests are available, that polyester and fleece fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles should not be worn directly against the skin. Instead wear a long sleeve cotton shirt under the fleece or polyester fabric so there is a buffering layer between potential leaching BPA or other plastic toxins and the skin that absorbs these toxins.

Choosing clothing that sits directly on the skin should be sourced from organic cotton or bamboo if possible. Click here for a healthy choice of pajamas pants and top. Click here for bamboo.

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*Nourishing Plot is written by a mom whose son has been delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia through food. This is not a newsarticle published by a paper trying to make money. This blog is put out by a mom who sees first hand the effects of nourishing food vs food-ish items. No company pays her for writing these blogs, she considers this a form of missionary work. It is her desire to scream it from the rooftops so that others don’t suffer from the damaging affect of today’s “food”.