Rats in Pants- How Synthetic Clothing Impacts Sexual Vitality and Fertility

Rats in pants? No, this article does not focus on charming, animated rodents akin to Pixar's 2007 film Ratatouille. This article focuses on the research conducted by an Egyptian sexologist, researcher, and surgeon, Dr. Ahmed Shafik, who won the Ig Nobel Prize at Harvard University in 2016, and how his findings may impact sexual and reproductive health. The article also delves into the work of Dr. Heidi Crawford-Yellen and her findings with different fabrics and their impact on overall health.

Dr. Ahmed Ali Mustafa Shafik was born on May 10, 1933, in Menoufia, Egypt and died on  October 31, 2007, in Paris, France at the age of 74 years. His prolific, indispensable, and influential work faced disapproval from the Egyptian Government, leading to his official criticism. As a result, he had to publish his articles in scholarly journals under the name Shafik 1 and Shafik II. In 1963, Dr. Shafik underwent a three-month detention while advancing a novel method for urinary diversion, which was subsequently documented in the Journal of Urology. In 1964, during his efforts to create an artificial bladder, he was arrested again and detained for a year. He also performed the first bladder transplant in 1967, which resulted in his hospital administration where he performed the surgery taking disciplinary actions. Dr. Shafik’s unbridled and scientifically forward-thinking approaches led to one of his more unusual experiments that yielded remarkable results.

In the scholarly research article, Effect of Different Types of Textiles on Sexual Activity,  found in European Urology journal in 1993, Dr. Shafik’s performed a study on 75 rats who were fashioned rat pants made of either 100% polyester, 50/50% polyester/cotton mix, 100% cotton or 100% wool, and one control group. The sexual behaviors of the rats were assessed prior to having the pants put on them, after 6 months, and again after 12 months. The electrostatic potentials generated on penis and scrotum were also measured. The results of the study indicated that the intromission of mounting (which is the fancy medical term for the animal sticking their penis in a vagina) decreased significantly with rats wearing polyester and polyester-cotton mixed pants. Also with the polyester and polyester-cotton mixed pants wearing rats, the textile blends induced an electrostatic field in intrapenile structures, which is thought to be the cause of decreased sexual activity in the pants wearing rats.

Why would a study on rats in pants not being able to get it on matter? Well, this study is after Dr. Shafik’s previous research, Contraceptive Efficacy of Polyester-Induced Azoospermia in Normal Men, published in 1992. In this study, 14 men were enlisted to wear a polyester sling applied to their scrotum over the course of 12 months. The results of this experiment found that all the men became azoospermic (they were not producing sperm), testicular volume decreased, the seminiferous tubules revealed degenerative changes, and that there was a generated electrostatic potential created by the polyester suspensor. When the polyester sling was removed, the test subjects had an increase in sperm production levels, and everything returned to pre-experimental norms, including five of the couples being able to conceive after the experiment. Dr. Shafik reproduced his rats in pants experiment on 50 male human subjects in the 1996 published article, Effect of Different Types of Textiles on Male Sexual Activity. This subsequent study on humans yielded the same results as the rats in pants study, polyester and polyester-cotton blend materials had a significant negative impact on the sexual performance of the test subjects.

Why are the results of these studies significant? The polyester utilized in both studies is a synthetic fabric. Synthetic fabrics are derived from a fossil-fuel-based polymer solution. In other words, plastics. Other popular and commonly utilized synthetic fabrics used today can be found in activewear, undergarments, and other wearable items and bedding. Synthetic fabrics include a wide array of acrylics, nylons, spandex, jeans, and of course polyester.  Polymers have been shown to have a negative impact on human health, just like what was found in Dr. Shafik’s rat pants and scrotal sling studies. Although Dr. Shafik’s study did not indicate that there had been a hormonal change in the rats, could polymer-based clothing impact hormones? Do polymer-based synthetic fabrics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which cause a host of developmental and biological effects including thyroid issues, diabetes, and cancers, etc…? Possibly. But one thing that was concluded in both of Shafik’s studies is that the synthetic polymer-based fabric had a significant impact on the sexual and reproductive health of the test subjects (mice and men).

The timing of Dr. Shafik’s findings is interesting in that the research articles came out in 1992,1993, and 1996, respectively. The erectile dysfunction medication for men, Viagra (a Pfizer medication originally intended for cardiovascular issues), went on the market in 1998 and became quite profitable. Coincidence? Maybe. Or is this another problem created by big pharma and associates so they can sale the “cure” (as the pill for an ill with no actual cure market is quite profitable). We may never truly know. But as the rise in the use of synthetic fabrics increases for clothing manufacturing, could there be a correlation with the booming sexual dysfunction and fertility markets?

Back when our grandparents were of child-bearing age, it was rare for couples to have fertility issues and our grandparents had multiple children in their families. My grandmother had thirteen brothers and sisters in her family. Could it have been that great-grandma’s sexy organic cotton robe just got grandpa in the mood? Or was it because the organic cotton underwear grandpa was wearing was not impacting grandpa’s sexual performance and health? I wonder if the Amish (who I am quite sure still wear organic wool or cotton) have sexual dysfunction and fertility issues? Today I personally know multiple people trying to conceive and are unable to do so despite their best efforts. Why?

In 2013, Dr. Heidi Crawford-Yellen published her study, Tikkun Olam to Heal the World Wearing Healing Flax-Linen Attire. In the article Dr. Crawford-Yellen asserts that fabrics can either have a healing or detrimental impact on health through the frequencies that the fabrics impart. Her ideas are not new and span back to ancient times where linen was used to heal wounds and to enhance health. Dr. Crawford-Yellen also based her claims utilizing research found by Nobel prize winning Dr. Otto Warburg. Dr. Warburg found that healthy human beings have a signature frequency that measures between 70-90 (but what measurements were used for this quantification was not identified by Dr. Crawford-Yellen). Dr. Warburg asserted that when this frequency was below 50 it could result in chronic illness and cancer.

In her own research, Dr. Crawford-Yellen utilized an instrument called an Ag-Environ machine that measures frequencies in angstroms (m) for her study. The machine was originally designed to help farmers determine when the optimal time was to plant or harvest their crops. Dr. Crawford Yellen’s study using this instrument indicated that the human body has a frequency of 70-100m. She found that when individuals were ill this frequency measured below 50m. She also found that specific fabrics had certain frequencies that were higher and were beneficial for human health by helping to increase the natural frequencies of the individual. These fabrics included linen with a frequency of 5,000m, wool also showed a frequency of 5,000m (but when the two were combined they had a frequency of 0m), and unbleached organic cotton was shown to have a frequency of 100m. Fabrics shown to have lower frequencies that were detrimental to human health included standard bleached cotton with a frequency of 40m, silk fibers had a frequency of 10m, Rayon measured at 15m, and polyester, acrylic, spandex, lycra, viscose and nylon measure 0m. The results of this study indicate that certain fabrics either enhance the energy levels and health of an individual, or it can be draining and decrease the overall health of an individual.

The findings of these combined studies raise multiple questions. If these findings have been shown to be true by multiple researchers, why hasn’t more research been conducted to help enhance health and decrease illness? Why are these harmful materials allowed to be used in our clothing, bedding, cosmetics, medicines, foods, and other vectors that can impact human health? Is science being suppressed on purpose? Research was conducted on male sexual reproductive health and vitality, but what about women? Is my favorite thing in the world, my yoga pants made of synthetic fabrics, causing sexual and reproductive issues? Would wearing synthetic underwear or bras cause cancer, reproductive issues, or decrease sexual desire in woman? What about sanitary products such as menstrual pads and tampons that contain elevated levels of polymers? When my brother was born my mother used cloth diapers. Now it is widespread practice to use disposable polymer-based diapers. Over a lifetime, what is the impact of continued use of synthetic fabrics from diapers as infants, to undergarments throughout the lifespan, and then again in adult diapers doing to the sexual and reproductive health of human beings? The only thing I do know is that people need to be aware that this may be a factor that has a negative impact on health, and the only way to change things such as this is through awareness. Hopefully, this information reaches those who need to hear it and it is the catalyst for change that enhances health and well-being.

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