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.
5 ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables
As we all know, the vitamins and minerals packed in fruit and vegetables are essential for a healthy lifestyle. It’s easy for us adults to comprehend this, but as a child silky chocolate bar and crunchy chicken nuggets seem a lot more appealing than ‘yucky’ broccoli. So how do you convince Read More...
Why there’s real hope for humans in the fight against antimicrobial resistance
If it feels like you’re hearing about antimicrobial resistance more often these days, that’s because it is a growing problem that threatens to get worse if nothing is done about it (sounds like climate change). Antimicrobial resistance refers to the fact that bacteria are becoming immune to Read More...
A nonprofit from Nashville is helping amputees get access to pricy prosthetics
Buying a prosthesis isn’t cheap. That price doubles if you need a second one, or is slightly more if you want a running blade. For a below the knee amputee, a single running blade can cost nearly $3,500. Go above the knee—requiring a knee socket—that cost goes up to $8,000 to $9,000. And if Read More...
The sci-fi idea of suspended animation is now buying ER surgeons more time
Nowadays, it seems things that you would only see in science fiction films are becoming a reality all the time. The latest example of sci-fi-turned-reality comes from the University of Maryland Medical Center where doctors have successfully placed humans in suspended animation for the first time. Read More...
How a tech industry trick could save the humble banana
The humble banana is a key staple in most fruit bowls and everyone’s go-to cure for cramps, but the Cavendish banana variety we find in most stores today was not always the world’s top variety. In the 1950s, Gros Michell was the banana variety of choice for production across the entire Read More...
Soil erosion is a huge problem for small-scale farmers. Here's a brilliant fix
Soil erosion is a vicious cycle, one that is being exacerbated by climate changes as long periods of drought followed by brief, torrential rainfall mean that fertile topsoil and seeds are flushed away before they get a chance to germinate. This leads to a lack of vegetation, which in turn makes it Read More...
New guidelines suggest exercise is crucial for treating cancer
Decades ago, the idea of getting a patient out of bed and moving after a heart attack would be criticized. Today, the benefits of exercise to heart health and recovery are well known. Just like the perception of the ties between exercise and heart health has changed, it seems the same is happening Read More...
Scientists develop AI system that predicts seizures one hour before they happen
For the roughly 50 million people worldwide with epilepsy, the exchange of electrical signals between cells in their brain can sometimes go haywire and cause a seizure—often with little to no warning. Fortunately, technology has come a long way to helping those living with the condition. At the Read More...
New treatment could help prevent food allergies
Food allergies are quite prevalent - about 32 million Americans suffer from some kind of food allergy. Our current approach at reducing the effects of allergies is through a slow exposure of the allergen in a process called oral immunotherapy. During this procedure, patients are given their Read More...
UN to make insulin more affordable for diabetics worldwide
Despite promises by pharmaceutical companies to limit insulin price hikes, the life-saving drug remains out of reach for many patients with diabetes. As part of World Diabetes Day, the U.N. World Health Organization on Thursday announced a new initiative to sponsor the production of insulin Read More...