In this episode, Sam details a viral video urging people to stop wearing stretchy workout leggings. Between that and HealthTok, there's been a lot of noise lately about the dangers of synthetic materials in our clothes—polyester, nylon, spandex, elastane, and the like. Allegedly, they're endocrine disruptors, and may even contain carcinogens and other harmful chemicals. But is it a concern that actually moves the needle, or just a buzzy conversation designed to sell detoxes and create engagement on social media? As usual, Sam gets to the bottom of it.

Listen to this episode if you're in the loop on HealthTok and always worried about a new endocrine disruptor, if you own lots of cute workout sets that are suspiciously stretchy and sweat-wicking, or if you're pursuing lifestyle changes in an effort to conceive.

Key moments:

01:20 The viral video that sparked the idea for this episode

02:43 The terrifying results of a famous fertility study

04:30 What about male fertility?

07:46 Were the results reversible for both the male and female dogs?

07:53 The mechanism by which each gender’s fertility was affected

08:19 Are synthetic fabrics worse for you when they get hot? (i.e. during workout or sauna)

10:00 The questions we’re answering today

10:52 Do synthetic fabrics impact our fertility?

11:18 Effect of polyester on human male fertility (BAD)

13:06 Did the human men ever recover their fertility?

14:03 How much of our clothing consists of synthetic materials?

15:05 Other bad things that can be found in our athleticwear, and how they affect us

16:53 The terrifying truth about fast fashion brands

18:28 How endocrine disruptors in YOUR life can impact your FUTURE CHILDREN

19:40 Your positive/easy fertility story does not invalidate other people’s struggles

21:12 US fertility rates and their correlation to the use of plastic in clothing production

23:52 Data points about the modern impact of microplastics and chemicals on human fertility

26:21 Is the adverse impact of synthetic fabrics worse when they get hot? (i.e. during workout or sauna)

28:15 Do we need to stop wearing our workout clothes?

Visit ⁠⁠⁠Zocdoc.com/CAPSLOCK⁠⁠⁠.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠FunctionHealth.com/CAPSLOCK⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks for listening! New episodes are released every Sunday at 8 AM ET, so if you liked this episode, subscribe or follow to get notified about the next one. And please leave me a rating or review, so I can continue to improve the show. Talk soon!

Follow along:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lifeincapslock

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@lifeincapslock

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@lifeincapslock

Threads: www.threads.net/@lifeincapslock

Resources for this episode can be found here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices