Essences for GOOD LIFE by Liliana Petre

27/07/2026

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27/07/2026

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Kimchi could help the body remove tiny plastic particles, according to new research. Scientists tested a helpful bacterium taken from kimchi called Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656. In laboratory tests, this bacterium attached to up to 87 percent of nanoplastics. Under conditions similar to the human gut, it still trapped about 57 percent.

Researchers then tested the bacterium in mice with no natural gut bacteria. Mice given the kimchi bacterium passed more than twice as many nanoplastics through their waste compared with mice that did not receive it. This suggests the bacterium can grab plastic particles inside the gut and help carry them out of the body.

Eating regular kimchi has not been proven to remove 87 percent of plastic from people. Researchers tested one specific bacterium in labs and mice, not ordinary servings of kimchi in humans. Still, fermented foods can support gut health. Choose kimchi with less salt and eat it with a balanced diet.

27/07/2026

Important!

You were taught that singing is a talent, something you either have or you do not. Science says something different: singing is a biological mechanism, one that does something inside your body almost nothing else can.

Much of this research comes from Dr. Daisy Fancourt at University College London, who studied what actually changes in the blood and saliva of people when they sing. She found that singing triggers three separate biological systems at once: endorphins, your natural painkillers; oxytocin, the bonding hormone that lowers stress; and immunoglobulin A, a frontline part of your immune defense. Three systems, switched on together, by your own voice. And singing is not just loud talking to the brain, it engages regions tied to emotion, memory, and reward differently than speech, so the same words, sung, travel an entirely different path. Think of your body like a pharmacy: most activities unlock one medicine at a time, while singing opens three at once, all free, no prescription required.

Ancient traditions seemed to know this long before the lab confirmed it, from Gregorian chant to Sufi devotional singing to healers across cultures who used the voice as a primary tool. One honest note, though: most strong studies use group singing in controlled settings, and solo everyday singing has fewer large trials, but across all of them, singing consistently improves mood, lowers cortisol, and activates immune markers.

So use your voice today, and it does not need to be good, your body responds to the act, not the quality. Five minutes, one song, or even a hum, which stimulates your vagus nerve directly.

REFERENCES:

Fancourt et al. (2016). Singing, immune function, and stress hormones. Ecancermedicalscience.
Kreutz et al. (2004). Singing, immunoglobulin A, and cortisol. Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Dunbar et al. (2012). Singing, endorphin release, and social bonding. Evolutionary Psychology.

22/07/2026

When the only thing driving progress is a frenzied race for profit and dominance, you don't get that potential — you get waste. Resources swallowed up at breakneck speed. AI forced into uses nobody asked for, churning out mostly worthless content and degrading public debate instead of enriching it. And a bill footed by the living world and by the people who live next door.

These withdrawals often happen in summer, at the very moment when groundwater is low and farmers are under restrictions. The question isn't "for or against AI." It's: who decides the priority when water runs short? A territory, a river, an aquifer. We have every right to ask what they're being used for.

19/07/2026

Important!

19/07/2026

Interesant!

A new preclinical study found that peppermint essential oil formulated as a nanoemulsion significantly reduced Toxoplasma gondii (the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis), improved survival, lowered parasite burden, and caused direct structural damage to the parasite itself. Even more encouraging, peppermint showed the best balance between effectiveness and safety when compared to lavender (a surprising finding).

While this is a preclinical model, it highlights the remarkable biological activity of essential oils and their potential as future antiparasitic therapies.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42360597/

14/07/2026

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Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, Italy and Denmark are shifting classroom policy away from heavy screen use, bringing back printed textbooks and handwriting practice.

Sweden led the change with a €104 million ($122 million) government plan announced in 2023 to restore book-based learning, especially for younger students. The move followed a review of reading scores between 2016 and 2021, after tablets and laptops had widely replaced textbooks since 2009.

Finland and Norway have made similar moves, reintroducing physical books and reducing digital device use in early education. France, Italy and Denmark have joined the wider European trend by placing limits on phone and screen use in schools.

Officials say the goal isn't to remove technology, but to rebalance it — keeping digital tools for research and coding while restoring handwriting and reading basics for younger students.

Sources: Government of Sweden, CSMonitor, Undark

📸 Photo: AI Generated / Representative Purpose Only