Men’s Health: Why Your Underwear Matters
Are styles of underwear something you typically ponder about? Probably not. We guess you’re likely just sticking to the ones you’ve been wearing your entire life, or through trial and error have landed on your favorites by now. Either way, you’ve ended up with underwear that works for you, so you might as well just go with it - right?
Wrong! What if we told you that your underwear plays a more significant role in your well-being than simply keeping the boys in check? In fact, the design, construction, and fit of your undergarments have implications for your health, beyond a bit of uncomfortable chafing or ball jostling.
The Problem With Underpants
When leading a busy, active lifestyle, picking a versatile pair of drawers that can take you from the office to the gym is vital. If you have checked out the underwear selections available in today’s market as of late, you may have noticed that brands make all kinds of promises about the benefits and functionality of their products. And who knows if what they are claiming is even true? But, hey, it sounds good, right? After all, who wants to spend too much time thinking about underclothes that other people can’t even see?
The trouble is, poor choices of undergarments could lead to all kinds of problems both in the near future and down the road. These are largely due to three main aspects of your undies: fabric, style, and fit.
Here’s how each of these could be affecting you and what you want to look out for when choosing the best undergarments.
Fabric
First, you want the material that is up-close-and-personal with your nether regions all day long to be clean, comfortable, and breathable. Obviously, the benefits of wearing fresh underwear each day go without saying in terms of helping you maintain proper hygiene.
Cotton is still one of the most popular underwear fabrics of choice for many men. And sure, it’s classic, comfortable, and seemingly durable. So, what’s not to love? Well, if you’ve ever worn a pair of cotton undies for a heavy-duty exercise, then you’re likely very familiar with the issues it can cause! Cotton sucks up moisture like a cartoon bear feasting on honey, and leaves it trapped there, sitting uncomfortably against your skin for the rest of your workout.
Cultivating a crotch swamp doesn’t just sound nasty - it IS nasty! Aside from feeling truly unpleasant, hot and sweaty skin increases the risk of health issues such as irritation, rashes and contact dermatitis. It is also the perfect breeding ground for all kinds of nasty critters - both bacterial and fungal - yuck! If not dealt with promptly, these can progress to a larger infection.
Style
Boxers, briefs, trunks, thongs… the ones you choose will likely be determined by your body type and lifestyle. Looser-fitting underwear like boxers are good for your semi-active average Joe with a regular wardrobe. Tighter-fitting variations like briefs are better for fans of tight jeans and fitness fanatics.
Yet, both too-loose and too-tight fitting drawers could each cause you problems.
If you’re frequently engaging in vigorous exercise like running, boxers could be doing more harm than simply traumatizing innocent passersby with the overly obvious jiggling of your junk. Constant bouncing of your low-hanging fruit could lead to mild, moderate, or even severe pain that over time, could become chronic. The best way to protect yourself against this is by choosing more supportive undergarments.
On the other end of the scale, tight pants tend to retain heat which could also have disastrous consequences for your little athletes. Your twiddle-diddles evolved to sit below your body for a reason - the swimmers need to be kept cooler than the rest of you. The kind of regularly soaring scrotal temperatures associated with briefs has been linked to both a lower sperm concentration and count, meaning it can have negative implications on your fertility.
Beyond this, keeping semen quality high, even when you aren’t trying to have kids, is important as other studies highlight it as a marker for supporting men’s general health. Higher quality semen is also linked to the prevention of various health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Fit
Choosing the best style of underwear for your needs is all well and good, but unfortunately, it’s all for naught if the fit is not right. If you’re the kind of person who likes to overlook a few extra pounds and keep on wearing under garments even when they have started to dig uncomfortably into your sides, pressure marks and skin-irritating friction may be the least of your woes.
Too-tight underwear, like other restrictive clothing, can put additional stress on your stomach and intestines, worsening symptoms like acid reflux and heartburn as well as existing gastrointestinal issues. Research also links small clothing to a type of spinal nerve compression called meralgia paresthetica. This can cause tingling, numbness, and pain in the side of your thighs.
Performance Underwear Ticks All The Boxes
Now that we’ve traumatized you with all the ways underwear can go wrong, let’s take a closer look at what you should be looking for in undergarments that will serve you well.
Basically, for good all-round underwear, you’ll want to invest in a pair of performance underwear that will keep you cool, comfortable and supported whatever the situation you find yourself in - on and off the field.
Features to look for in your performance underwear include:
- They fit snuggly, but not too tightly to reduce rubbing, riding up, chafing and skin irritation
- They offer optimal support to prevent too much movement without restriction of motion
- They leverage moisture-wicking technology to maintain a cooler environment in your nether regions while reducing the risk of infections
- They are constructed from a breathable, cooling and ventilated fabric that help maintain the health of your sperm, reduce odor and keep you comfortable all day long.
Engineered to keep up with the busy, active lifestyles of today’s men, Turq performance underwear features a seamless, supportive fit, with silver-infused microfibers and ventilated-air flow fabric that helps keep you cool, fresh, and healthy no matter what.
So, you can comfortably and confidently take on the world without the chafe!
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