Impact of Clothing on Health
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In the vein of my other threads regarding work and cell phone usage, I wanna give my insights on extra-nutritional factors impacting our health.
This will be written from the male perspective, though I would love input from women on the same matter but applied to their situation.
Firstly there is the much-discussed matter of fabrics. Polyester, acrylic and viscose fabrics are ideally avoided, though it can be hard especially if you have to wear a uniform. In that case you can try wearing a layer of cotton underneath if the temperature allows it. I buy all my clothing secondhand, over the years I've transformed my wardrobe to be nice, vintage wool, cotton, linen and silk items almost exclusively. Linen is my favorite for warm climates. There is some studies done on the higher vibrations of organic matter.
Secondly, there is a totally under-discussed matter in my opinion: the matter of vagus nerve impingement. This is very serious, and one should never wear belts for this reason. Look for clothing with an elastic belt for your free time. and look into suspenders. If you don't like the style (in my opinion they can look very good with the proper clothing) you can even wear them underneath a vest or overshirt. I got my dad into wearing one and it has singlehandedly shifted his perspective on my approach to health immensely. It is so important not to be putting pressure on your hip and vagus nerve like that, as it affects the whole organism in a profound way.
Older pants have large crotches and even if you wore a belt it would be more around the belly button rather than the waist. Modern pants allow for no groin mobility, making this matter even more important. I highly recommend looking into this matter by buying less restrictive elastic-waisted pants or using suspenders. If you have to wear any kind of suit for work, even better. There's even invisible types of suspenders, altho since they are often polyester meant to be worn straight on the skin I wouldn't directly recommend those. I recently went hiking in suspenders and my barefoot hiking boots and it was such a pleasant experience.
The third tip regards footwear. Shoes should be foot-shaped. That's the first thing. Pushing the toes together is so awful and is hurting you everyday without you knowing.
The second element of good footwear is for it to be zero-drop, or 'barefoot', meaning there is no heel. This also impinges nerves and really fucks with your body in a profound way. Many sandals also have this issue! Any shoe that allows for individual toe movement allows the feet to be used properly. I have some VIVO shoes -they do discount on used items on the ReVivo store, you can also wear a pair for a year and return them. The ones i have are black ESC somethings. They're the only ones that aren't DISGUSTINGLY UGLY and are watertight and mostly made from leather. The first time I walked on them was honestly an amazing feeling, even on asphalt.
These are things you can change that can improve life quality more than you'd expect. Important to approach your health from every possible angle you can! Would love to hear any intelligent insight on the matter.
Thanks for reading!
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@CO3 Can you give more info on the belt and vagus nerve connection? Would something like a draw cord waist be bad then because its not elastic? Also the elastic wasteband in most clothes is made of spandex which is akin to polyester... you dont really want that directly on your skin and they are also frequently tight on your skin as well...
A big big one of importance is organic natural fabrics. There is no reason not buy organic cotton, organic silk, organic linen etc. You also need to look for GOTS certification, as that is the real deal and gives assurance that the fabric is fully organic and untreated at any point in the process from farming to final product.
Most conventional fabrics are bleached then coated in various chemicals before being woven and sewn and then are further treated with stuff like anti wrinkle or softening agents. Then the dyes used can also be extremely problematic.
GOTS ensures you dont have any of this. OEKO TEX unfortunately only ensures that the end product is free of detectable harmful chemicals but the fabric can still be processed with a lot of the unnecessary junk found in normal clothes.
Sadly you cannot trust most textiles unless they are GOTS organic certified as they will then be using all sorts of harsh chemicals and dyes (which are intentionally made to never wash out and therefore will still be present even in older clothes). You dont want that stuff on your skin when you dont need to have it there.
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@CO3 said in Impact of Clothing on Health:
Secondly, there is a totally under-discussed matter in my opinion: the matter of vagus nerve impingement. This is very serious, and one should never wear belts for this reason. Look for clothing with an elastic belt for your free time. and look into suspenders.
Yeah, it's new to me, thank you!
to be zero-drop, or 'barefoot'
Isn't this contextual? I.e., 'barefoot'-like is great if one is walking into nature (grass or sand), but what about concrete? Aren't springy soles better when walking on hard pavement?
A little learning is a dangerous thing ;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring :
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
~Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism -
@CO3 Thanks for the tips ! Had no idea about the belt and its effects.
I have been doing the same other things for the past years and I can say it has improved my health significantly, most notably regarding circulation. I used to have very cold feet and now they are never cold. One last effect, and perhaps one of the most underrated effect of walking 90+% of the time in barefoot shoes, is the balance that is developed. I don't fall, I don't trip.
A small thing to add re-barefoot shoes compagnies, there are multiple ones out there but if you are in Europe, Mukishoes ( https://mukishoes.com) is a brand that is cheaper than vivo barefoot and does the job, while still being quite discrete for barefoot shoes (they have also been holding very well after a full year of intense use, something I can't say about my vivo sadly).
Thanks for the tip regarding belts !
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@CO3 I work on a farm so barefoot “shoes” are out of the question. Most boots have some sort of heel so I’m not really sure what boots would be suitable. I do notice wearing riding boots all day my legs are incredibly sore.
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@noseleather said in Impact of Clothing on Health:
Also the elastic wasteband in most clothes is made of spandex which is akin to polyester... you dont really want that directly on your skin and they are also frequently tight on your skin as well...
Yeah and it's usually inside of the pants. not on the outside. I forgot to mention the following:
you can check the fabric of something by taking a tiny part and burn it. Plastic burns like well plastic, cotton, etc barely burns at all. I have never had pants with an elastic lining have the elastic on the outside, and the waist has never touched my skin.
Boxers are the only underwear you should wear btw.
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@Aniciete said in Impact of Clothing on Health:
I work on a farm so barefoot “shoes” are out of the question
Why? I'm not saying I'm not sympathetic, but at least explain it. Do you require a reinforced shoe to avoid injuries? I can't really think of any other possible reason other than you misunderstanding terms.
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@Kvirion said in Impact of Clothing on Health:
Aren't springy soles better when walking on hard pavement?
Nope. The springiness also has nothing to do with it. Zero drop refers to not only the thickness of the sole, but the heel raise as well.
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You must be a man.
Cotton bras are impossible to find and if you find them they are a truly awful fit. Unfortunately. -
@happyhanneke Aerie has a wireless cotton bra! Ok 91% cotton - not bad. It fits just like a regular bra.
https://www.ae.com/us/en/p/aerie/bras/lightly-lined-bras/superchill-wireless-lightly-lined-bra/7790_8376_062?menu=cat4840006Although not good to wear when you don’t have to.
https://brasandbreastcancer.org/ -
@CO3 It’s in my best interest to wear steel toe boots because I’m constantly dealing with farm equipment and livestock. I’m definitely open to buy barefoot shoes when I’m not working though. Wearing boots for 8-10 hours a day starts to take its toll.
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@happyhanneke Honestly the best thing would be to not wear a bra... but cottonique makes 100% cotton ones as an option but yes fit is an issue but its still worth it
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@noseleather
Jeez that must be the ugliest underwear that I have ever seen.
Good thing I'm old and married for a long time. Otherwise I probably would be out the door.
I'm going to try this out, it might be comfortable at least. -
@CO3 Linen is my favorite fabric. I love how it wrinkles and makes you look like a Miami Vice extra. Kino
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@Aniciete said in Impact of Clothing on Health:
It’s in my best interest to wear steel toe boots because I’m constantly dealing with farm equipment and livestock.
oh yeah ofcourse. you don't want a cow leaning on your toe and pulverizing it lol.
I would look for wide toe box work boots with a minimal drop and relatively flexible soles. I found the terra venom online that fits at least the first two criteria.
I see the brand 'keen' also mentioned. to some extent the heel itself kind of protects your foot, so none of these are truly barefoot. But having used barefoot sandals before these current boots, i can confidently say the super wide toe box isl likely more important than the sole thickness ( which is still important)
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@happyhanneke What do you mean? I specifically mention I am a man in this thread lol. I wear a polyester uniform on a daily basis now and have no way around it. So it's not like I'm not understanding of the fact that it's hard. That's why i asked specifically for female input here
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@Aniciete https://store.japan-zone.com/products/soukaido-vo-80-steel-toe
lol these seem interesting. Don't know how they'd hold up in mud and they're a bit like insane to just wear around the city,
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I can no longer wear or touch anything polyester. My skin starts to itch as it has become very sensitive to toxic material.
Kamakura shirts are my favorite 100% cotton and one of the last trad/ivy brands that still deliver quality. UNLIKE BROOKS BROTHERS!
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@Kilgore Almost all secondhand stores have lots and lots of cotton options. I bought a silk shirt and a wool long coat for 3 euros the other day. One of the only perks of living in Northern Europe is you have great secondhand stores with beautiful natural clothing
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no clothes like an african lion hunter, dick swinging like a madman, the natural organic way
