EiR Blog

Most people suffering from environmental illnesses experience gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms of some kind, or show other signs that something is not quite right in the gut. Perhaps tests such as a comprehensive digestive stool analysis (CDSA), or equivalent, reveal an imbalance in the normal balance of bacteria, yeast, and other microbes that is essential for overall health. Research has revealed pathological changes in the composition of the gut flora (gut dysbiosis) in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, and autism...and this is a relatively new area of study so this may only be the tip of the iceberg. The most common (and most widely accepted) finding has been the presence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in IBS, ME/CFS and fibromyalgia. Healthy individuals have very little bacterial growth in their small intestines (most gut microbes reside in the colon) - SIBO is the presence of large numbers...

Hey all, Just wanted to let everyone know that my website Planet Thrive was recently freshened up, with an updated design and some great new features! We have close to 1500 members, and we are growing every day. Please come check us out. Here are some highlights of the new features we just unveiled: EI Lifestyles - featuring inspirational people and places. Read our first feature on the inspiring world traveler Mirjam, MCS Adventuressa, now exploring Brazil for cleaner air. Latest News - for chemical sensitivity, electrical sensitivity, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, myalgic encephalomyelitis, gulf war syndrome, autism, cancer, and other environmentally based illnesses MCS-TV - live TV and video library for Environmental Illness and related conditions (thanks to MCS-International!) Mind Games - all new games to exercise our injured brains!! We also just posted an interview with filmmaker Michael Roland Williams and Karen Noseff of the upcoming Black Mold...

As I suffer from IBS and gut dysbiosis that give me quite a few troublesome gastrointestinal symptoms a close relative recently recommended I try a supplement containing an extract from the plaintain banana plant. Plaintains are large bananas found in the tropics which have to be cooked before being eating.  I have to admit I had never even heard of this supplement but my relative has had quite severe digestive upsets for most of her life and now swears by it, saying it's the most effective treatment she's ever found. So, before trying it for myself I thought I'd use this week's blog to explore this banana plant extract and the rationale for its use in digestive disorders. The extract is made from the non-fruiting stem of the plaintain banana plant and if you look at medical studies it might be referred to by its botanical name, Musa paradisiaca, or as dried...