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.
Urban agriculture is sprouting in Africa
The recent development of urban agriculture is not limited to the rooftops of Brooklyn and the community gardens in San Francisco. The phenomenon is surging is African cities, as rural populations are flooding to urban centers in search of better opportunities. In some places, it was sowed by Read More...
Grip strength better than blood pressure at predicting fatal heart disease
The human body in a never-ending source of discoveries. So is the exploration of human health. Consider this: grip strength is better than blood pressure at predicting fatal cardiovascular disease and stroke risk, according to a study of nearly 140,000 people in 14 countries published in the Read More...
Sexying up ugly produce to reduce food waste
As we discussed before, 40 percent of food in America gets wasted. To put things in perspective, a third of the food produced globally gets spoiled or squandered before it even reaches consumers, according to the FAO’s conservative estimates. It is a shocking fact that eliminating food waste Read More...
Organic food diet linked to dramatic drop in level of pesticides in the body
The health benefits of organic foods have been recently put into question in the United States by various studies with scientific credentials. This is a rather interesting development given the steady growth of the American organic foods segment in an otherwise stagnant food market. It turns out Read More...
Food prices to come down over coming year, says United Nations
Good news with regard to food reserves comes around too rarely these days to keep silent. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization just informed the world that a plentiful wheat and meat production, together with a strong dollar, will drive down food prices over the coming year. At the Read More...
Lyft-style apps for doctors' home visits take off in America's big cities
Doctors’ home visits are a thing of the past. And they are making a resurgence in US big cities thanks to a host of new mobile apps. In San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York City, patients can hail a doctor as they would a Lyft driver. Typically, doctor and patient have never met before—owing Read More...
Diet change can impact biomarkers of cancer risks in just two weeks
Let thy food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food. Hippocrates’ words of wisdom have been validated yet once again by a new research study at the University of Pittsburgh. Twenty fast food loving African Americans and 20 rural South Africans swapped diets for two weeks. Guess whose health Read More...
Smartphones help alleviate depression in rural India
India has among the highest rates of depression in the world and only one psychiatrist for more than 300,000 people on average. Rural areas fare the worst, with a higher rate of suicides among farmers than the rest of the population. A program launched by the government’s National Rural Health Read More...
America’s #1 poultry producer renounces antibiotics
Superbugs have become a major public health hazard in America. Scientific research has conclusively shown that they are caused by the routine sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics by the meat industry. Early March, food giant McDonald’s, one of the largest buyers of chicken in America, announced it Read More...
Vigorous exercise will keep you fit, strong and healthy way past your primetime
Contrary to popular belief, declining level of physical capacity over the years and age-related illnesses are less due to the curse of age than to the compounded effect of a sedentary lifestyle. The recent trend of older competitive runners outnumbering younger athletes in a case in point. It also Read More...