There is a myth at times that natural products ’causes’ allergies while man made products are safer. For example some people prefer processed bread and say they cannot handle whole wheat. This thinking extends to cotton clothes as well as bedding. This is counter-intuitive and misleading because more often than not the man-made/processed products have chemicals that are toxic and harm us in the long run. Check out http://bit.ly/9Hi4mQ for MCS and what it could mean to our health in the long term. Organic products are by definition chemical free and while a few people may react to natural cotton, the trade-off of having toxic chemicals in most of our systems seems to be an obvious one.
Organic cotton is preferable because the pesticide residues are toxic–that is, they can cause damage to the body. Everyone should be cautious about exposure to toxic substances whether they have a noticable reaction to them or not, because in the long run they damage the body in many different ways, and also cause damage to the environment in their manufacture, use, and disposal.
Many natural materials–apparently cotton among them–have their own fragrances, odors, oils, etc, to which some sensitive individuals have reactions. These are not inherently harmful materials, just some people have reactions. The smell of cedar wood, for example, does not to my knowledge damage cells, but many people cannot tolerate it.
In my work, I have to distinguish what is toxic–causes harm to the body–and what is not toxic but some people react to.
I think of materials as being in three catagories:
* Toxic (harmful to everyone, like pesticides)
* Neutral (not inherently harmful, though some people may react, like cotton)
* Beneficial (having an inherent benefit, like an egg, though some people may react)
Most people need only watch out for the toxic things. People who have individual sensitivies to certin neutral and beneficial materials need to watch out for those exposures too.
I’ve talked to people in the past who have told me that they can tolerate a refined material, but not the natural material–like they can eat white bread, but not whole wheat. Obviously whole wheat bread and organic cotton are “better,” but for a person with individual sensitivities. a trade-off will need to be made, particularly if the reaction is severe.
In my opinion, in the long run, it would be best to improve the overall health of the body to be able to tolerate these more natural products. for the simple reason that these more refined products do have an element of harm, whether it be pesticides, or lack of nutrients, or whatever.
