The Good Old Days…

“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them” – Andy Bernard, The Office (US)

 The truth is, the “good old days” are taking place right now. Every single thing you do today is something your future self at 80 years old wishes they could go back and re-live.

I think about this every so often when I’m with my parents, with my dog, with my friends, enjoying a moment….

For my parents those moments spent with me probably feels like just yesterday they were playing with me when I was a kid.

In the blink of an eye a few decades seems to have gone by.

Even more reason to go and do today what you’ve been putting off doing for a while. Do things today to remind yourself that THIS is the good old days right now!

Are Omega-3s worth it?

Omega-3s are a group of fatty acids which are important to bodily functions (hormone production, building cell membranes etc).

The ONLY way we can get them is through diet… (or dietary supplements)

The three main types include EPA, DHA (both of these found in seafood for example) and ALA (found in plant oils and nuts)

There has been a number of studies suggested that eating foods rich in EPA/DHA types can help to reduce risk of cognitive decline but the evidence is inconsistent.

The best evidence we have based on published literature is that either consuming 1-2 servings of oily fish per week (containing EPA/DHA sub types) reduce the heart disease risk BUT ONLY for those people who already had heart disease or were high risk for it (not for general populations).

The evidence is even more murky with omega 3 supplements and their benefits when it comes to prevention of heart disease. The research is limited.

It’s worth noting that in a typical fish oil supplements only 1/3^rd of the total oil content is actually omega 3 fatty acids… so you’d need to take more than 10 capsules to achieve a therapeutic dose…

What You Should Read 

“Good To Great” – Jim Collins

Whilst this book takes on the premise of how a “good company” can become “great”.. the lessons in this book can be repurposed to the individual. How can YOU become great?

I had a boss in surgery who once told me during a difficult case “good is the enemy of great”. In part surgical aphorism, in part cautionary tale.

In the pursuit of greatness, it is tempting sometimes to stop at good enough. But is good enough all that we can muster?

This book dissects the brutal facts of what leads to greatness, how to focus in on one thing, how to stay disciplined and more.

If you want to read another genre of book, but more about optimising your own biological company – grab a copy of my best-selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”

We’ve Got A New Virus In Our Gut!

Our understanding of the gut and its ecosystem of tiny inhabitants called the microbiome is still in its nascency.

Recently a Stanford-led team of researchers have potentially discovered a brand new subset of gut dwelling creatures in humans…

These new creatures are called “obelisks” and they’re found inside bacteria in our guts and mouths. It’s not even that rare..vthese obelisks were found in 7% of gut bacteria samples!

These obelisk are seemingly similar to viruses and are basically tiny loops of RNA which can infect other organisms just like viruses can but since they can’t code for protein, they don’t have the classic virus capsule shell.

The next step will be figuring out if they’re harmful or a hindrance to human health!

What You Should Watch:

“The Sidemen Story” – Netflix.

Whether you know who the sidemen are or not, or if you care for them or not – this is a very interesting documentary.

When I was growing up in the 90s, kids wanted to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, surgeons… you know, the classics!

As the Premier League took off and footballer’s wages became astronomical, and other sports went the same way, kids wanted to be professional sports players.

But now… if you ask a classroom full of kids what they want to be.. you’ll probably hear “a Youtuber!”

The rise of the creator economy has created a new paradigm in career aspirations. You no longer HAVE to go to get a “proper” job to live the life you want because seemingly everyone has a Youtube channel or a podcast in the pursuit of money and fame.

This documentary charts the journey and ups and downs of arguably the internet’s most famous social media collective: KSI and the sidemen.

How Defibrillators Actually Work…

When a defibrillator is used in an emergency setting if someone has gone into cardiac arrest… an electrical shock is sent to the heart

Contrary to popular belief this doesn’t “restart” the heart but the shock temporarily stops all electrical activity and this actually causes the heart to completely stop beating for a few moments.

However this pause is critical as it prompts the heart to reset its rhythm on it’s own like a biological ctrl+alt+del…

Ideally it will start beating again momentarily with a normal rhythm!

Don’t believe Hollywood!