A Trick To Remove Microplastics From Your Water…

Microplastics are everywhere and although the long-term consequences are relatively unknown they’ve been linked with a number of health problems…

so if we can get rid of them, we should right?

But what exactly can we do about it?

A team of researchers from Jinan University in China found that boiling tap water for 5 minutes can remove >80% of micro and nano plastic contaminants!

To test their hypothesis, the team measured tap water samples and found there was an average of 1 milligram / litre of nano/micro plastic (NMP) content in them.

After boiling these samples for 5 minutes and allowing them to cool, it was found that >80% of the NMPs were gone.

This simple trick could effectively “decontaminate” NMPs from household tap water.

When the water is boiled, particularly “hard” water with a higher calcium content, the limescale would attract NMPs and they are removed.

3 Daily Wins…

I’m trying to boil my life and pleasures down to its most simple levels that are both meaningful but also easy to achieve.

I’m not a self-improvement guru and I never take heed of those who call themselves that.

We are all different with our own idiosyncrasies… however there are a few commonalities we share and would do well to achieve.

Every day I try my best to gain a few small wins in these domains:

Physical – walking, lifting weights, sleeping well. This category can be something which makes you feel good physically and isn’t limited to just what I’ve outlined here.

Mental – writing, reading, creating. Over the past 18 months I’ve been more mindful of picking up books and reading something when I’ve got a spare moment. My life is so shrouded with medicine that I need a break sometimes and getting lost in a world of fiction is often the answer.

Spiritual – praying, studying, growing. My family and culture is a very spiritual one and I do like to get lost in my own thoughts and ponder the nature of things when time allows. This category is a bit more nebulous but it can be loosely defined as something which inspires you and gives you a sense of peace, calm and satisfaction beyond mental rest or physical ability. My simple way of achieving this is taking a walk with my dog through a forest early in the morning. I come across zero humans, I’m lost in my own thoughts and for a brief 20 minutes my worries and stresses are on pause.

Why You Should Write More…

I don’t mean on a word document or an email.

Pick up a pen or pencil and scribble things down on a piece of paper – old school!

If you compare writing on paper to typing on digital devices – the hand written version produces a more complex spatial encoding of the information written so you get stronger activity in areas in the brain integral in visualisation, language and memory for a stronger recall.

In the modern world we are saturated with digital devices for almost every activity – ordering food, booking hotels, sending emails, contacting friends, entertainment… so writing on a piece of paper is rare.

So actually, handwriting some notes or occasionally journaling can now become unique activities to aid your learning, development and memory. Try it today – no excuses!

Life Updates….

I’m going to become a pizza chef.

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while you might recall many months ago I recommended a show on Netflix “Chef’s table – Pizza”, which analysed four of the world’s best and most unique pizza chefs.

Well.. I took inspiration from that and am planning to buy one of those mobile pizza ovens, make my own sourdough pizza dough and cook pizza as much as I can.

If you think about it – how bad really is home made pizza?

If you use sourdough bread (or even normal dough) that is made from scratch, you top it with lots of vegetables for your fibre and polyphenol fix, you’ve got tomato sauce (again home made and chock full of lycopene), some cheese (the aged ones are fermented and lack any lactose) and/or some meat for protein.

It’s actually a pretty healthy meal if done right!

I’ve got my annual appraisal next week so all focus has been shifted towards that after which I can relax again

Also… I’m keen to do a stage/speaking event very soon so if you’d be interested in finding out more about this and want to help me decided where to do this or want to hear about it as soon as I announce dates, I’d be grateful if you could fill in this form to let me know your preferences:

(you wont get any spam, and I’ll be the only person who will have access to these details!)

What You Should Read:

“Reincarnation Blues” – Michael Poore

I’ve been trying to read more fiction so my mind can be forced to create the visual imagery which is often lacking when reading just hard non-fiction with all its data, details and facts.

This story is about a man called Milo. He’s a simple man, except he’s lived and died 10,000 times and has the memories to prove it. Anyway after dying 9995 times, two other-worldly beings inform Milo that he only has 10,000 chances to be perfect and if he does this he can join “The Everything” and become a cosmic soul. If he doesn’t he will end up as nothing and stop existing. With this knowledge and only 5 more chances left…

Anyway, I’m really glad I picked up this book because the cover isn’t a “grab me” cover but I like themes around reincarnation and karma/dharma and if you enjoy psychology, sociology, superstition and mythology and random ethereal sci-fi… this is one for you!

If you’d like to read my book to fill your brain with interesting facts, order it here:

There Is Another Microbiome You’ve Never Heard Of..

You’ve probably met the oral, gut and skin microbiomes but… there’s also a hidden world of microbes in semen too. This could have an integral role to play in male fertility.

Scientists analysing the semen of men undergoing fertility treatment found one particular bacterium that could be pivotal: Lactobacillus iners

A higher abundance of this bacteria was found in men with abnormal sperm motility compared to men with normal sperm motility.

It’s worth noting that sperm motility is a factor contributing to fertility. L iners could potentially be negatively linked to male fertility although we actually barely know much about male fertility and need more exploratory work to establish causative links!

However I’m sure the more we figure out about the microbiome in general, this might help to pave the way for personalised fertility treatments too!