Health

I open the window and breathe in the air, trying to guess the weather. Floating around, mixed, are scents and miasms alike; it's hard to decipher these intricate clues.

Our reality isn’t always a calm place. Feelings of safety and peace that are so necessary for our well-being often elude us. What is happening today on a global level only goes to show how fragile our world is, and how easily we can lose control over the things we thought we had mastered.

For some people, being vegan is part of their lifestyle, but others cannot conceive of missing out on dairy products, meat or eggs. This could be explained by several myths that revolve around these diets.

Attitudes toward food form a complex mosaic shaped by factors such as nutritional needs, hunger, taste preferences, socioeconomic status, demographic and emotional influences, as well as ethical, cultural, and religious values. Equally important is the level of education on nutrition (Gahagan, 2012). This plurality of factors helps explain the global diversity of dietary habits.

From Europe to Asia and from Africa to the Americas and Australia, none of the culinary traditions, not even those acclaimed by scientists, generate an optimal supply of nutrients. Moreover, the food we eat daily kills 11 million of us prematurely every year. So then, what should we eat?

Ancient Greek athletes consumed large amounts of meat, believing that their performance was due to the animal protein it contained. This idea was later strongly supported in the 19th century by the chemist and physiologist Justus von Liebig, who proposed that protein is the main substance for building muscle.

What feeds our fear in times of crisis, such as this pandemic we are in? How can we avoid letting fear paralyze our search for information and our ability to make the right decisions?

Stress and anxiety are some of the most commonly used words today; we all have felt at least once in our lives what they mean and what effects they have. Are there any truly effective ways to overcome stress and anxiety?

Anyone who suffers from depression is likely to be fed up with advice from otherwise well-meaning friends who send them all sorts of online articles promising yet another secret to curing depression.

I leave the house with gloves and a mask on. When I return, I clean my shoe soles and I wash my gloves with disinfectant. Then I take off my clothes, place them somewhere outside, take off my gloves and mask and wash my hands. Is this normal? Or am I a germophobe?

What are mRNA vaccines? How do they work?

The quantity of Vitamin B12 required for a healthy diet is measured in micrograms, but the impact on human health is far greater than these tiny amounts would suggest.

Pray! If not to God, then to a god. Admit that we are defeated, because this is the first step towards victory.

Our attitude towards fruits and vegetables as well as other plant-based foods is almost paradoxical: they are probably the healthiest of foods, they are tasty (or can be prepared to be, with little skill), and they are relatively cheap. However, most people consume these super foods in smaller quantities than is necessary.

We might be tempted to believe that most antibiotics are distributed to people through pharmacies and hospitals. The reality, however, is surprising.