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Microplastics—tiny pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in length –– are everywhere, from bottled water to food to air. According to recent estimates, people consume tens of thousands of these particles each year, with unknown health consequences. Now, researchers found that people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have more microplastics in their feces than healthy controls, suggesting that the fragments could be related to the disease process. The prevalence of IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is rising globally. Characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, IBD can be triggered or made worse by diet and...

In a previous article we wrote about the UK government’s procrastination in promoting non-pharmaceutical therapies, such as gut biome therapies, and how the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) had labelled vitamins and supplements as “unapproved drugs.” In this article we explore what could be some of the reasons behind their bizarre attitude towards promoting age old approaches to health and wellbeing.This article is the second of a three-part series on gut microbiomes or gut biomes in which we attempt to highlight some answers to three questions:Part 1: What is ADE and a cytokine storm, and what’s the gut got...

The results make for an interesting read. First, an analysis of nine astronauts, published in Scientific Reports in 2019. This study looked at crew members who stayed on the ISS between six and 12 months, and found that, surprisingly, their gut microbiomes actually grew more diverse in the relatively sterile and bacteria-free environment of space. This unexpected find might be a result of the carefully controlled diets on board the ISS: NASA works hard to make more than 200 food and drink options available on the space station, probably giving astronauts a more varied choice than they would get at...