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.
To avoid stigma, Covid-19 variants will be given Greek alphabet names
Scientific names for the variants of diseases and illnesses can be complicated to say and difficult to remember, so people often fall back on distinguishing between variants based on where they were detected. This year especially, the world has seen how identifying diseases based on certain Read More...
This edible packaging cuts plastic waste out of takeout food
Concerned about the plastic footprint of your takeaway meals? Worry not, soon you’ll be able to eat the containers your food comes in! At least that’s the vision of design studio Forest and Whale which created Reuse — a container designed for takeaway packaging that can be eaten or composted Read More...
Study: Waking up earlier can significantly reduce your risk of depression
As the saying goes, “the early bird gets the worm,” but it turns out waking up early can provide even more benefits than previously thought. A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder, Harvard, and MIT has found that waking up an hour earlier can reduce the Read More...
Developing countries can address food insecurity with tiny fish
We've previously written about the health benefits of eating sardines, but thanks to the work of nutrition specialist Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted, the potential of these tiny fish (along with anchovies) will be unlocked to improve the overall health and food security of impoverished communities in Read More...
Use coffee grounds to make your garden even more brew-tiful
Wait! Don’t throw those coffee grounds away! Did you know the leftover grounds from your morning brew can do wonders for your garden? Today we share three ways that coffee grounds boost plant health. Add grounds to your compost First and foremost, composting your grounds keeps them from Read More...
Study: Plant based meals could be more important at dinner
About 18 million people die each year as a result of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and congestive heart failure. That number could be significantly lower if people would cut meat out of their dinner meals. A new study found that people who eat a plant-based dinner reduce Read More...
This free online program helped 15,000 Black women embrace veganism
Black women in the United States experience the highest rate of preventable chronic diseases. This includes heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. These days, there is a lot of literature out there about the benefits of a plant-based diet, however, within the Black community, there aren’t Read More...
Why our libraries should double as food banks
When the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity, many community centers like libraries, museums, and sports fields began doubling as food pantry distribution sites. University of North Carolina researcher Noah Lenstra studies the relationship between libraries and food security and pinpoints Read More...
Fish scales and frog skin could help regrow bone fragments
People in Singapore consume a lot of fish and frog meat and now, researchers have uncovered a way to put the waste from those ingredients to good use. Their research shows potential for using fish scales and frog skin to create bone repair material. Usually, when someone is born without a Read More...
Robotic prosthetics with tactical feedback can help amputees feel again
We have previously written about prosthetic legs that can adjust to different terrains and prosthetic hands that can be mind-controlled—but now, new developments have reached a novel level of efficiency for prosthetics and neural implants. A study published in the journal Science writes about Read More...