RVS writes: “What should we believe regarding statements that linen is healthy. The site appears to be Judaeo-Christian. I’m considering buying the feminine products to reduce plastics in contact with my body but I am concerned about supporting a new agey type business when they speak of ‘frequency’.” 

Your gut instincts are spot-on, RVS! The idea that linen emits a frequency that can heal the body is widely endorsed by the New Age and au naturel enthusiasts but is completely unsubstantiated by science.

The site sent to us by RVS is that of Life-giving Linen, a company founded by Melanie Ellison who dropped out of college to start the business. Ellison claims to have been inspired to start the business after reading about a linen frequency study conducted in 2003 by a Jewish doctor named Heidi Yellin.

According to the study, various fabrics have “frequencies” and the higher the frequency, the more energy is lent to the body. Linen was found to be a “super-fabric” because it has a frequency of 5,000. Anything under 100, such as polyester, rayon and silk, puts a strain on the body. It was also discovered that mixing animal and plant-based fabrics “cancels-out” the frequencies. For instance, both linen and wool have a frequency of 5,000 but when worn together, they cancel each other out.

It sounds very interesting, but is it true?

Research into the background of Dr. Heidi Yellen turned up nothing on her credentials or background and led me into sites dealing with Torah research.

Another researcher, Marcia Montenegro of Christian Answers for the New Age also got nowhere when trying to find more out about Dr. Yellen.

“The alleged scientific study refers to studies by a ‘Jewish doctor, Heidi Yellen,’ which refers back to other dubious sounding studies, none of which indicated any scientific verifiability. When I tried to find the credentials for Yellen or what the ‘Dr.’ referred to, it took me into strange places, including a site that was blocked by my computer as dangerous. Another site gave anecdotes about how putting linen on wounds or sick people healed them. I felt like ‘Alice in Insane Linen-land’,” Montenegro reports.

There does not appear to be any other studies confirming Dr. Yellen’s findings and the only other proof given consumers by Life-giving Linen are user testimonials which are essentially useless.

Ellison goes on to cite the work of Dr. Royal Raymond Rife who asserted that diseases can be diagnosed by the frequencies they emit and that by feeding the body with the proper vibrations they can be cured. He called his pseudoscience “radionics” and invented the Rife Machine which allegedly generated corrective frequencies. 

Ellison also writes about the biblical significance of the use of linen as if inclusion in the Bible should make it the fabric-of-choice for the Christian au naturel crowd.

I can’t help but agree with Montenegro who wonders if anyone has really thought about that statement. ”Have they perhaps considered that linen is mentioned because there were not a lot of choices at the time? There was no polyester, rayon, or other synthetics at the time. Silk was too expensive for most people.”

In other words, linen wasn’t a super-fabric in Biblical days, it was one of the only fabrics available at the time.

It’s also important to note that most of the sites I visited that are selling linen products for their alleged “frequency” superiority are heavily invested in other New Age practices such as Reiki, aromatherapy, iridology.

Linen is a fine fabric to wear and sleep on, but there is simply no credible evidence that it has any impact on the overall health of the user.