I received a lovely little article this morning about the health benefits of love.
It made me stop and think if each benefit was true for me. Are they true for you?
1. Enjoy a Happier Life
I definitely am happier when I am with Larry. It’s noticeable to me and to others. A friend just commented on that recently. But not just with Larry. I’m happier when I’m with friends and family and even when I am doing activities that I love. It’s the LOVE you feel that’s important here, I think, not what or who you are loving.
2. Live a Longer Life
I would say this is true for me too. Having spent most of my adult life very happily married, I think that has contributed to my health. At age 61 I have far fewer health problems than other people my age that I know. I attribute that to living a toxic-free life, but also to love.
3. Fewer Colds & Flu
I hardly ever get a cold or flu. It’s been shown that those who have positive emotions are better able to fight off cold and flu viruses. I agree with that.
4. Better Blood Pressure
While I can’t prove this one in my own life, apparently happily married folks have the best blood pressure averages, and unmarried people have the worst.
5. Healthier Eating Habits
Now this one I can verify. It’s much easier for me to stick to good eating habits if Larry and I are eating good food together. It’s also easier to keep those good habits going when you have a partner to help. Those evenings when I need to work and don’t have time to cook, when Larry is with me he can take over the cooking duties and make something simple, delicious and nutritious.
(I trained Larry to cook just for this reason. His cooking used to be pretty funny. Once, many years ago, I was sick so he made “spaghetti with red sauce,” the red sauce being opening the refrigerator and putting alll the red foods in a pot. But now he’s really interested in cooking and is getting pretty good at it. I don’t mind eating his cooking at all.)
Each of these benefits have studies to substantiate them. The studies are all given in the original post:
