SENSIBLE CLOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN FASHION

The old proverb “Pride goes before a fall” is still true today. There has always been vanity or pride and it still causes many women to disregard their health, preferring to suffer permanent damage rather than to appear old-fashioned. The bladder and ovaries are very sensitive to cold, especially damp coldness. Only those whose health is robust, and who have good circulation are somewhat immune to colds and chills. But most women are very sensitive and suffer abdominal and kidney trouble. Clothes made of synthetic fibers, such as nylon and the like, can cause health problems. Although synthetics became first known in the United States, it is still easier to buy clothes made from natural fibers there than it is here in Europe. There is a commercial reason for this. We produce neither silk nor enough wool, and our cold climate is not suitable for cotton plantations. Besides, land for growing it would be too expensive. But we can produce synthetic fibers, and our possibilities and facilities for doing so continue to expand. The demand for these began during the Second World War because of existing shortages. In the meantime, great strides have been made in the production of man-made fibers. No wonder their advantages are widely extolled. They are sometimes mixed with natural fibers. Although we are not all equally susceptible, yet everyone should recognize the difference between natural and synthetic fibers and thus be able to use this knowledge to benefit his health. Even as a child man is exposed to many unnatural influences. He should not be surprised; therefore, if without any visible reason he feels indisposed, suffers pain or is listless. Trying to adapt to today’s conditions can get even those with a strong genetic makeup down. Anyone who wears synthetic fibers and, in addition, lives in a concrete building, and perhaps has to inhale the fumes of traffic or those from a nearby factory, will have to reckon with youth. Even if he has a healthy body. These unnatural influences responsible for the loss of rosy cheeks that make the use of inakcup necessary. Figuratively speaking, man is charged with electromagnetic cnergy. While some materials and external influences have a neutral effect, natural fibers charge us, as it were, with energy. this is the case with silk, cotton, wool and linen, and is a proved tact. Man-made fibers discharge, the same as concrete in a buildmg does. Many years ago, anyone visiting Dr. Lahmann’s fine sanatorium in l) resden, had an opportunity to learn about clothing conducive to health. Professor Jager’s book about clothing also showed how important the type of clothing is for good health. Whatever we wear, wool, cotton, silk or linen, influences our well-being. From our physics lessons at school we should remember that electricity can he produced by friction. If you owe a raw silk shirt, you can observe that when you take it off at night in the dark it crackles, sparks and may even light up a little. This phenomenon is not the same when you take linen or cotton shirts, since touch and friction produces in each material a different electrostatic charge. It may be exactly this static that is responsible for our feeling comfortable in one material and not in another. It is interesting to note that different fabrics are mentioned in ancient writings and that some mixtures were considered unfavorably. The simultaneous wearing of different fibers was spoken against. In the past, the view prevailed that close-woven material was not as healthy as an open weave. Those who cared about healthy clothing wore coarsely woven shirts and underwear. The coarse materials, hand-woven in Scotland, were preferred.

UNHEALTHY CHANGES

If we compare old experiences with modern views, we must ask ourselves whether modern man’s ways and needs are so fundamentally different that what he has available today would not harm him. On close examination we see that things based on nature’s laws never change. But the best knowledge in this field is useless if the necessary materials are no longer available or only obtained with difficulty or at a price beyond our means. The electrostatic reaction caused by synthetic material is very different from that caused by natural fibers. This is also the reason why many people simply cannot wear clothes, underwear and socks or stockings made of nylon and similar material. If they do, they suffer rheumatic-type pains, which can lead to typical nerve pains, the dreaded neuralgias. Persons who are sensitive anyway, will in time notice from where these troubles stem. If you feel any indisposition or inconvenience, excessive nervousness or a burning, stinging sensation, excessive heat or a slight chill when wearing certain types of underwear, you should simply• experiment by going back to wearing clothing made of natural fibers. If the unpleasant sensations disappear, then you have a clue 1 as to what has caused them. But to be absolutely sure, wear clothing made of synthetics for a little while again. If the trouble returns, then you can be definitely sure. This change for the purpose of testing can be repeated several times, just to make sure that the troublesome symptoms are really caused by the use of modern fibers. Whether the harm is of an electromagnetic or electrostatic nature does not really matter. Well-sounding scientific names are not important; what causes the trouble is. It is appropriate that we talk about these unpleasant conditions, because it is surprising how many people trust in all kinds of Synthetics, from nylon to plastics. Ski pants and jackets are made of glossy, nonporous synthetics, and this raises the question whether wearers can actually feel comfortable in them. Anyone who wears such clothing and does not complain of disturbances and pains is not a sensitive person,. Although even with their certain hardiness they may still feel, uncomfortable. However, anyone wearing a piece of synthetic clothing who becomes aware of something serious should realize that such fibers are not practical for him. Rather than spend a lot of time searching for other causes, it would be better for him to purchase clothing made of natural fibers. Soon he will have difficulty, however, finding what he wants in sports and clothes shops. As regards health we have become poor, as it were. But another aspect merits clarification. A businessman may be enthusiastic about natural fibers, but if he continues to use synthetic lining in his clothing, he is still harming health instead of improving it.