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.
Sierra Leone declared free of Ebola transmissions
The World Health Organization declared Sierra Leone free from Ebola transmissions on Saturday, as West Africa battles to stamp out the deadly virus that is holding on in neighboring Guinea. Nearly 4,000 people have died in Sierra Leone of Ebola since the outbreak began in late 2013. The Read More...
Food companies replace synthetic colors with plant-based colorings
Artificial colorings, widely used in packaged food, are increasingly being replaced by natural colorings. Spurred by a 2007 study in The Lancet linking synthetic colors with hyperactivity in children, food companies are learning to work with plant-based colors, derived from a variety of fruits Read More...
Vitamin D pill a day may improve exercise performance and lower risk of heart disease
Taking vitamin D supplements can improve exercise performance and lower the risk of heart disease, according to the findings of a preliminary study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh. Vitamin D, which is both a vitamin and a hormone, helps control levels Read More...
6 surprising health benefits of hemp seeds
Among the many benefits of the legalization of marijuana would be eliminating any lingering confusion about the legality of its close relation (read, basically the same plant), hemp. While the possession of industrial hemp, also known by its botanical moniker, Cannabis sativa, has never been Read More...
Compassion is a remedy for depression
Schadenfreude is a feeling of pleasure that occurs to some people when they find out that someone else is hurting. Feeling pleasure, even joy, when seeing someone else fail, flounder or fall victim has to be one of the most unsettling (and repulsive) concepts—but it isn’t rare and it’s Read More...
Studies show probiotics essential to brain health
Probiotics are known for their abilities to heal your digestive woes and promote a healthy gastrointestinal system. But did you know that new research shows that can impact whole body healthy? In fact, some studies are indicating that probiotics may be a big player in brain function and health as Read More...
A wall that grows food: This company invented a system to change a wall into a farm
There's a saying in the Netherlands that you can eat "from the wall". This is because there is a fastfood chain where, after inserting some coins, you can get your snack right out of a box in the wall, 24/7. But "eating from the wall" could get a whole new impulse, a healthier one, with the idea to Read More...
Death from heart disease, cancer, other big causes down
Death is a certainty in life, but premature death has become less of a certainty in the United States, according to a new study. Researchers compared the rates and causes of death in the U.S. population between 1969 and 2013 using death certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System. Read More...
Meditation and yoga make you less likely to need a doctor
A new study has found that relaxation techniques dramatically decreases the need for healthcare visits and interventions, which is a good reason to pull out the old yoga mat. Healthcare practitioners have known for a long time that using relaxation techniques can improve health, but it’s hard Read More...
A hospital reduces repeat ER visits by providing social workers
A Milwaukee hospital is trying a new approach to get newly insured residents to stop using emergency rooms as their main source of medical care and develop relationships with doctors instead. The pilot project at Aurora Sinai Medical Center, the only hospital left in a mostly poor, black area of Read More...