Today’s Solutions: February 18, 2026

Health

Finding good health news amidst a pandemic can be quite daunting. That’s not the case with The Optimist Daily, where positive news is in high supply. Our Health section covers the latest good news from the health sector, featuring solutions ranging from mental and physical health to immunity, nutrition, and cutting edge medical research.

Pizza Hut launches plant-based

Pizza Hut launches plant-based toppings nationwide

Hamburger joints were early adopters of plant-based meat options, but now, Pizza Hut’s collaboration with Beyond Meat makes them the first national pizza chain to offer plant-based toppings across their 7,000 locations.  The pizza restaurant recently launched two vegetarian pizzas, the Read More...

This vertical farm wants to im

This vertical farm wants to improve agriculture by growing food for cattle

Producing food for cows requires an enormous amount of land. In fact, the US uses 780 million acres — or 41 percent of its land — to grow animal feed, either on pastures or through growing crops. And as demand for animal food continues to grow, the availability of arable land decreases. In some Read More...

Plantega is bringing vegan foo

Plantega is bringing vegan foods to your local bodega store

If you live in New York City, you will soon have easier access to plant-based ingredients thanks to Plantega, an initiative bringing vegan foods to the city’s bodegas, corner shops, and convenience stores.  Your typical bodega is a small corner shop featuring processed snacks and packaged Read More...

3 ways to improve communicatio

3 ways to improve communication while wearing a face mask

While face masks are vital for minimizing your risk of Covid-19, they can be a real hindrance to everyday communication. You might notice that your voice gets muffled when you try to greet the neighbor, or that you can’t understand the cashier clerk when they speak to you. Since face masks are Read More...

Saliva test could help doctors

Saliva test could help doctors diagnose concussions more accurately

To confirm a concussion diagnosis, doctors often have to rely on the ‘best guess’ sort of assessments based on subjective symptom reports from patients. But physicians may soon be able to more accurately diagnose such brain injuries by measuring the number of certain molecules in a person's Read More...

How your body and mind can ben

How your body and mind can benefit from dark chocolate

For more than 3,000 years, chocolate has been used for its healing properties. Flash forward to today, and scientists are finding scientific evidence for the healing properties of chocolate, or at least, dark chocolate. Like green tea and red wine, dark chocolate contains polyphenols, a powerful Read More...

This nasal spray may help prev

This nasal spray may help prevent Covid-19 in remote areas

The problem with any potential Covid-19 vaccine is that they are difficult to distribute in low-income and rural areas. Fortunately, researchers from Columbia University may have an effective alternative in the form of a nasal spray. The spray is a lipopeptide (a lipid and peptide combination) Read More...

Promising flu vaccine derived

Promising flu vaccine derived from tobacco plant passes clinical trials

Since the influenza virus mutates every year, the vaccine against it has to be reformulated accordingly every flu season, which is a massive undertaking. But a recent breakthrough — which sees the tobacco plant as the main protagonist — could make things easier for vaccine developers. In Read More...

It’s autumn. Time to enjoy t

It’s autumn. Time to enjoy the health benefits of pomegranates

We love eating seasonally at the Optimist Daily. Now that it’s autumn, there’s a special red fruit that is in-season and chock full of antioxidants: pomegranates! Let’s take a dive into the nutritional benefits of pomegranates, shall we? Health benefits of pomegranates Registered Read More...

White background with psilocybin mushrooms on scale.

Study: psilocybin therapy 4 times more effective than antidepressants

In 2020, Oregon voted to become the first state to legalize access to psilocybin for all adults. A study reinforces the idea that voters made a sensible decision. The preliminary human trials investigated the effect of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat the major depressive disorder Read More...