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.
This app is designed to minimize food waste
In the US we waste about 133 billion pounds of food each year. A new app called PareUp connects frugal grocery shoppers with food that is about to be thrown in the trash. Businesses post on the PareUp app foods that are discounted because they are approaching their sell-by date. Then consumers look Read More...
This process keeps the food you have to throw away out of the landfill
If you are unable to eat all the vegetables you buy on PareUp before they go bad, but don’t want to throw them away, there might be a solution coming. Italian scientists are developing a process the will make plastic out of biowaste. The process creates a cellophane-like material out of Read More...
Bibliotherapy: Read and write to heal
Reading and healing have an age-old association. In ancient Egypt, libraries were known as psyches iatreion, “sanatoriums of the soul.” During the Renaissance, the poetry of the Psalms was thought to “banish vexations of both the soul and the body,” according to Italian humanist philosopher Read More...
Reaping the health benefits of gardening
While stress is abundant, the solution may be close-by. According to a new study gardening can have overtly beneficial therapeutic effects. Just 5 minutes in the garden will give your mind a chance to unwind, and focus on things that aren’t causing you stress. To avoid turning your garden into Read More...
Edible food containers will minimize packaging waste
Food packaging is a huge waste. Thankfully, David Edwards, Harvard University Professor and edible food packaging designer, has come up with an answer that would make the plastic bag redundant. His solution, called the WikiPearl, is an edible skin that can be wrapped around food to prevent Read More...
The benefits of human touch
Amazing things can happen with just a simple touch, like holding someone’s hand. Research has shown that the human touch can relive anxiety, reduce fear, and decrease the perception of physical pain. In times of stress, a touch can positively impact hormones in the brain’s hypothalamus, the Read More...
A healing touch
“You can’t imagine how much it helped me having you there to hold my hand when I was so scared.” Have you ever said this to someone in your life? Or has someone ever said it to you? Something remarkable happens through physical contact, something as powerful as a drug, something that Read More...
Scientists discover how lizards regrow their tails
For years scientists have been perplexed at how lizards regrow their tails, a great defense mechanism that could have huge implications for human amputees. Researchers at Arizona State University have uncovered the “genetic recipe” that lizards “turn on” to regrow their tails. Scientists Read More...
Urban farms give Singapore food stability
Buying food in Singapore can get expensive. The tiny island-nation relies on 35 countries to import 90 percent of its food. One of the main reasons for this is land scarcity—at only 280 square miles with a population of 5.3 million people, Singapore has just about ran out of space. Importing so Read More...
Dairy fats lower type 2 diabetes risk
A new study has uncovered intriguing connections between levels of different types of saturated fats in the blood and risk of developing type 2 diabetes—adding more data to the growing body of evidence that, contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, saturated fats from dairy products are Read More...