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.
Diabetes: try low-carb, not low-fat, to reduce inflammation
A new study has added an important new insight to the debate about the best diet to control type 2 diabetes, finding that diabetics who followed a low-carb diet both lost weight and reduced the levels of inflammatory molecules in their blood. Since inflammation is thought to play a role in the Read More...
Coffee reduces diabetes risk
What is the best way to prevent diabetes? Research points to coffee. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health set out to establish how changes in coffee and tea consumption affected the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and their surprising results show that increasing your coffee Read More...
Sunshine improves survival rate after cancer
We get almost all our vitamin D from the sun, and The Intelligent Optimist has long advocated moderate sun exposure to maintain healthy levels of this essential nutrient. Lack of vitamin D has been linked to a wide range of chronic health problems from allergies to osteoporosis and high blood Read More...
Simple fitness tests predict longevity
Three simple tests performed in middle age may be able to predict survival in old age. The tests are the strength of one’s grip, speed in rising out of a chair and ability to balance on one leg with the eyes closed. Researchers from University College London looked at how performance on these Read More...
Chimneys for a healthier future for the children of India
The boys in this picture live in the center of Dharavi, Mumbai, one of the world’s biggest slums. More than a million people live in Dharavi and it’s an extremely unhealthy place to live because of the severe air pollution. Onno van Schayck, professor of preventative medicine at the University Read More...
High fiber improves heart attack survival
Eating foods high in fiber—like fruit, legumes and grains—after surviving a heart attack can decrease your chances of dying over the years that follow. People who increased their fiber intake the most after suffering from a heart attack were 25% less likely to die from any cause up to nine Read More...
Statin doc backtracks on claim
A meta-analysis of statin drugs captured headlines in March with the tantalizing claim that the cholesterol-lowering drugs have no more side-effects than a placebo, or sugar pill. However, Dr. Ben Goldacre, one of the authors of the paper and a noted critic of so-called “bad Read More...
Herb of the month: Lavender
The Latin name for lavender is Lavandula angustifolia or officinalis. Lavender comes from the word lavare, which means to wash. Lavender is a hardy winter plant. It has lanceolate, grayish leaves. In the summer purple flowers will appear on the flower stalk. According to herbal books Cleopatra Read More...
Vitamin A reverses pre-cancerous breast condition
A form of vitamin A called retinoic acid can cause breast cells with the pre-cancerous condition DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) return to a normal state. These preliminary laboratory results suggest that retinoic acid might also help women with DCIS from progressing to full-blown breast cancer Read More...
Brain power
Marty Wuttke is conducting a 2–part online course with The Intelligent Optimist on May 5 and 19. Learn more and sign up here. Marty Wuttke became a pioneer in neurotherapy—the manipulation of brain waves to reduce stress, help repair damaged brains, enhance creativity and improve mental Read More...