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.
Yoga and meditation improve mind-body health and stress resilience
Many people report positive health effects from practicing yoga and meditation, and experience both mental and physical benefits from these practices. However, we still have much to learn about how exactly these practices affect mind-body Read More...
Psychedelic medicine works but how to overcome the stigma
In the 1960s many scientists experimented with psychedelic drugs. That research ended with a ban of the drugs in the 1970s. Gradually, the research is returning and it is showing good results for many mental ailments. However, as this interview with a professor at a leading university makes clear, Read More...
Study shows that self-help is as effective as going to a therapist
You may not need a therapist, after all. A meta-analysis of 15 scientific studies has found no significant difference in the treatment outcomes for patients who saw a therapist and those who followed a self-help book or online Read More...
Do probiotics for eczema work?
Dealing with eczema can be a daily struggle. About a third of people who have the condition report spending 1-3 hours a day treating Read More...
Norway is slashing food waste through selling out-of-date produce
It is well-known that “best by dates” on produce and food packages are mere guidelines. The dates don’t mean that the food will be bad for consumption by the given date. Nonetheless, supermarkets and consumers throw away a lot of food based on these dates. Norway is now aggressively fighting Read More...
Healing human tissue with “cotton candy”
It looks like it but, no, this is not cotton candy. Instead of sugar, researchers pour polymers into a cotton candy machine to make a heap of wispy strands. The polymer fibers are combined with hydrogel into a substance placed on wounds to keep them moist and help them heal. When the fibers Read More...
The next best thing for your gut goes back to the very beginning
Research shows that inflammation in the gut is the beginning of many diseases. That makes healing the gut a primary focus of medicine. The initial healthy status of the gut of a baby comes from its mother’s breast milk. Apparently, sugars known as human milk oligosaccharides play a key role. Now, Read More...
Google buys startup that turns smartphones into health diagnostic tools
Google has bought Senosis Health, a startup that turns smartphones into medical devices and collects various health stats. The Senosis apps can monitor lung health and hemoglobin counts, among other things, using functions on a smartphone including its accelerometer, microphone, flash and camera. Read More...
Here are the health benefits of pepper
Peppercorn is native to the tropical evergreen rain forest of the Malabar region (State of Kerala in South India) from where it spread to rest of the world through Indian and Arab traders. A judicious pinch of pepper is sufficient to make a world of difference to many soups, stews, marinades and Read More...
EU certifies Natural Cycles app to help women with birth control
There are many apps that help women with tracking their monthly cycles. However, Natural Cycles is the first app certified as a form of contraception by the European Union. Natural Cycles uses a specially developed algorithm and other factors, including temperature, to determine which days a woman Read More...