The Hidden Dangers of Polyester – NaPodPoMo

In today’s episode of Self Powered Healing, I’m going to be talking about polyester.

I have this tendency, or you could consider it a bad habit, of reading ads on Facebook as I’m scrolling through. It’s probably a procrastination thing, if I’m honest. Sometimes I will find new products, although I’m really careful and scrutinize a business before making a purchase, because many of them are not so above board, shall we say. I’ve been noticing lately that there are some clothing companies coming out that don’t use polyester or synthetic fabrics. And for me, that’s a good thing.

I also see companies that will tell you anything to get you to buy their product. So, Caveat Emptor, Let the buyer beware!

Today I want to focus on those clothing companies. There’s many ads for clothing that are made from cotton or wool or other natural fibers, and they’ll talk about polyester being just another form of plastic, suggesting that polyester clothing is really toxic clothing.
Well, guess what? I happen to agree with them. In fact, I know that it is true, at least for me. I have first hand knowledge.

I’ve never been crazy about polyester, because it just didn’t absorb moisture. And living in South Texas, that was not the ideal, as it just made you feel warm and sticky. And to be honest, kind of gross.

Now I admit, there’s advantages to polyester. It does wash and dry nicely, it doesn’t often need ironing, and it looks really good. But for me, how I feel with it on is more important than all of that.

I’ve also found that perspiration odors don’t want to wash out of polyester. Maybe you’ve noticed that too. I learned it first hand when I was at a memorial service for a friend, and suddenly I noticed this odor. But further research has shown me that there are many people that have had this issue and that it has been proven to be a problem.

That was in 2013 when I had that little encounter. I had very little in my closet that was polyester and I quit wearing any of the blouses or tops that were 100 percent polyester.

But I did have some polyester pants that I wore occasionally. They were nice in that they didn’t wrinkle and they’d pop out of the dryer ready to wear and they were really comfortable. Well, until they weren’t.

I started to experience some days where I was antsy. It’s, it’s hard to describe the feeling. I almost feel like it might be what ADD is or ADHD. I just couldn’t sit still. I was just really antsy, very uncomfortable. I actually came to describe the feeling as a bit of a “bat-guano” crazy feeling. And one day, I realized that it only happened when I wore those polyester pants.

And that is why I no longer wear polyester clothing of any kind. Oh, I might have an outer jacket that’s got polyester, but anything that’s close to my skin is not. And all the other synthetics too. I do allow a bit of elastic and up to 5 percent spandex. for stretch. But other than that, it is not for me anymore.

You know, I also had a similar reaction to a dermatologist recommended brand name lotion. It was suggested for a rash that I had, but I realized it also gave me that same “bat-guano” crazy feeling.
And it all got me to wondering if ADD or ADHD is its own actual health conditions? Is it a disease? Or is it more a reaction to the far too common use of synthetic ingredients in our world?

You might be saying, oh, but other people don’t ever have this experience, so perhaps it’s just in your head.

Well, that could be. I don’t know.

I believe that it is I experience it because I stopped wearing most synthetics. And so when I did wear them again, my system was no longer accustomed or acclimated to them.

Is that the right answer? I don’t honestly know. But if you ever have that ADD/ADHD feeling and are curious, try avoiding polyester for a while and see what happens.

What I know for sure is, polyester is plastic, and it is a petroleum-based product, and prior to the 20th century, humans were not exposed to all of that much of it. Either way, I’ll keep avoiding it.

Thanks for listening today. If you have any comments on this episode or on the whole NaPodPoMo concept in general, you can visit this page to leave comments either on this page or at SelfPoweredHealing.com/November2024. You can also find a listing and link for all November’s episodes on that same page: SelfPoweredHealing.com/November2024.  

By the way, Self Powered Healing is still looking for interviews with people who want to share a story of healing. Do you have a healing story? I would love to hear about it and see if maybe you could share it on our show. So if you’re interested in sharing, then visit selfpoweredhealing.com/share to schedule a chat.  

You aren’t committing at this point. You’re just having a chat with me to see what’s going on. It will be confidential unless or until you decide you want to share. And if you get there and there’s not a convenient time for you, send me a message because we’ll always find a time.  

And remember this always,  