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.
Flossing your teeth prevents inflammation that may lead to cancer
Taking good care of your gums helps to prevent cancer. Gum disease is caused by sticky, bacteria-laden plaque that forms on teeth. According to a new study, women with gum disease are 14 percent more likely to develop cancer than those with healthy teeth and gums. The link appears to be strongest Read More...
‘Ego dissolving’ psychedelic drugs could assist with mental health
The altered state of consciousness and temporary lack of ego that results from using psychedelic drugs could help some mental health patients recover from their symptoms, according to academics at the University of Adelaide. Researchers in the University’s Department of Philosophy have been Read More...
How to trick your heart into thinking you exercise
Researchers have discovered that a protein called cardiotrophin 1 (CT1) can trick the heart into growing in a healthy way and pumping more blood, just as it does in response to exercise and pregnancy. They show that this good kind of heart growth is very different from the harmful enlargement of Read More...
Scientists say that there is one form of exercise that helps improve depression
Several studies show that yoga is the best form of exercise to help improve low mood, anxiety and reduce stress and even beat depression. One of the studies found that veterans who took twice-weekly yoga glasses for eight weeks had fewer symptoms. Another study found women aged 25 to 45 who took Read More...
The humble squid’s extraordinary service to neuroscience
I first saw them by night, or rather by flashlight aimed beside the dinghy as we fished a mile beyond Brighton’s pier. A whole shoal of them appeared beneath the boat, waving their arms, their button eyes glistening. We were not fishing for squid – too foreign a taste for England in Read More...
Largest U.S. organization of doctors urges hospitals to offer plant-based foods
The ancient Greeks already knew that food = medicine. That’s why it is so strange that the food that patients receive in hospitals—when they need the best—is often mediocre. But that may change. The largest organization of doctors in the U.S., the American Medical Association (AMA), is urging Read More...
New mindfulness approach can help athletes get ‘in the zone’
Sports psychologists have developed a multi-step program based on the practice of mindfulness to increase coaches’ and athletes’ mental readiness for the game. Mindfulness involves being aware of the present moment and accepting things as they are without judgment. When it comes to sports, Read More...
What you need to know about the hidden health cost of fossil fuel subsidies
Fossil fuel companies receive billions of dollars in government subsidies each year. A major argument for ending those subsidies these days, is the effect that carbon-based pollution has on the atmosphere – what scientists now say causes climate change. But new research suggests that there is Read More...
‘Because they are expected to be happy, many in the West feel depressed’
We live in a culture of happiness. And that’s a problem. Valuing feelings of happiness or wanting others to be happy is not a bad thing. However, not being happy becomes a failure when there are only smiling faces around you on billboards, television, magazines or the internet. We cannot always Read More...
A compound found in broccoli and cauliflower shows success in treating melanoma
New research shows that a drug based on a compound found in broccoli and cauliflower causes melanoma—the deadliest form of skin cancer—to die and hampers melanoma tumor growth by 69 percent. Simply eating the vegetables probably won’t be enough to actually fight melanoma, researchers said. Read More...