The Omegas

As sometimes happens, one thing reminds me of another.
The coronas (yes, plural, as there are several corona viruses: common cold virus, Sars, Mers, Covid-19..),
remind me, by way of contrast, of the omegas - omega essential fatty acids : omega 3 (linolenic acid) and omega 6 (linoleic acid). 
The first group, the coronas, seeks to destroy immunity, the second, the omegas, helps strenghtening it.

Omega 3  (found in oily fish, nuts and seeds) has brain, vision, and heart benefits. Omega 6 (found in meat, dairy, vegetable oils) along with its 'cousin' omega 3, also plays a crucial role in brain and body functions.

The thing is, that Omega 6 has 'invaded' Western diet violating the balance between the two omegas, and practically pushing  Omega 3 out- thus causing some harmful effect on health  ( blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, water retention etc..).

bottle of omega 3 capsules

I know of a successful chess player who's also a doctor. Someone has told me that he's heavily on omega 3 as this helps him plan and perform his brilliant chess moves and win the game. Good for him! There's a lot of money and honour involved in these games.

And after all, omega 3 is not 'ritalin'  (used in ADHD), or some other drug, known as enhancing  performance.
It's just...fish oil which happens to improve brain activity and stabilize mood - recommended to all or most of us.

Good Things That Might Happen in 2019

According to the Media, tiny Luxemburg is to become the first country in the world to make its public transport - free.  That would be a very smart move, worthy to be followed by other small countries with  limited territory and lack of natural resources.
The advantages of such a move are enormous: it would ease congested traffic and make the roads safer,  improve ecology, and above all - improve people's health. 

Cannabis is gradually getting legalized in various parts of the world. It's a positive direction, and it should include as many countries as possible. I'm in favor of legalization of this plant which is said to have the potential of easing the suffering of the sick (cancer/ parkinson patients and others). They say, it is not addictive like alcohol, and not harmful like smoking.

Egypt's president, El-Sisi, has recently launched a rhetorical 'attack' on the overweight in his country and told egyptians they should take better care of themselves. Opposition to his words is loud, invoking poverty, junk food, faulty health care, and the other usual slogans; but his clear voice on the matter is a start, a good one, even though he might do nothing practical about it.
It seems El-Sisi is the right guy  in the right place who might bring about significant changes in his country (including the issues of obesity and the alarming birth rate), setting an example to the other countries in his continent.

Scientific researches  of the last couple of years might give us, in 2019, a clue as to the workings of the human mind. It's quite a mystery when a person who has it all: career, family, money, love,  - takes his own life (recent case in my country), and leaves family and all around him utterly devastated and grieving. We need some more insight into that super computer - the brain- to be able to prevent, perhaps, this kind of tragedy.

Happy 2019!