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.
It’s never too late: lessons from heart disease 20 years on
Most clinical trials follow their patients for a matter of months, usually at best a few years. But what happens when we revisit these patients decades later? How do we adapt to our illnesses, and how much control do we really have over them? A new study by researchers at Northwestern Medical Read More...
Frozen blueberries have more antioxidant power
Blueberries are a super food. New research shows that their antioxidant power becomes even stronger when the berries are frozen. The blue color of blueberries is given by the antioxidant Anthocyanins, which is present in their skin. South Dakota State Graduate student Marin Plumb discovered that Read More...
More efficient use of cropland could feed 3 billion more people
This is a major part of the favorite doom scenario’s of future pessimists: There’s not enough food to feed a growing world population. However a new study published in Science by researchers at the University of Minnesota found that more efficient agricultural practices could feed 3 billion Read More...
Practicing meditation will make you wiser
Meditation is becoming more and more popular in business. And that makes sense. Research conducted by business schools INSEAD and The Wharton School has found that short meditation sessions—of about 15 minutes a day, will allow you to make smarter decisions. Meditation limits “sunk–cost Read More...
Four simple steps to add 10 years to your life
Researchers estimate that a healthy lifestyle can add a whole decade to your life—and they hope this information will be a motivator for people to change their behavior before it’s too late. The World Health Organization has identified four factors that have the biggest impact on promoting Read More...
New implants enable mice to “see sound”
Cochlear hearing implants transmit sounds from an external microphone to neurons in the brain through small electrodes, the implant will give deaf the ability to hear, but the sound is very poor and distorted. Researchers from Germany, Japan, South Korea and Singapore worked together to come up Read More...
Insurer introduces cash for healthy shopping program to save costs
It’s a bit painful that this is such a necessary solution. Eating healthy food should be one of life’s first priorities. But sadly far too often, it isn’t. So insurance company Harvard Pilgrim Health Care from Boston has partnered with supermarkets to encourage healthy shopping habits by Read More...
Want to know the quality of the air you're breathing? Watch your plants
Plants give a clear indication of the quality of the air they are “breathing”. Members of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado have planted an Ozone Garden—a garden comprised of plants that show visual signs of damage when air quality starts to fall. Though the Read More...
Gardening helps dementia patients recall memories
Findings compiled from 17 different pieces of research and published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association has found that outdoor spaces can help improve the memory for those suffering from dementia. Being outside is welcoming, a conduit for conversation, and can actually Read More...
App provides recipes for foods on sale
This is an app that could easily be replicated… “Koken met aanbiedingen” is a new application from the Netherlands that displays cooking recipes for foods that are discounted that day in the country’s largest grocery stores. The app has ingredient lists, photos, and instructions to help Read More...