Abundance Living Food.

Avoiding toxic relations is one of the 7 principles of health and happiness. And when a toxic relationship is replaced for real and unconditional love , our lives automatically becomes more whole and fulfill. Here are some of proven health benefits of love and how you can get in on them.

-Better Heart Health - Dean Ornish, M.D has compiled a number of studies on love and health in his book Love and Survival, the Scientific Basis for the Healing Power of Intimacy. In one study he describes, researchers talked with nearly 10 thousand married men who had no previous history of angina (chest pains). Despite high risk factors like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, men who felt loved by their wives, experienced half the angina as men who felt their wives didn’t show them love.

-Lower cholesterol levels It may seem hard to believe, but according to a study reported in a 2007 issue of Human Communication Research, just putting your affectionate feelings down on paper can lower your cholesterol level. For a period of 5 weeks, volunteers wrote about their feelings for loved ones in 20-minute sessions three times a day. Afterwards, they were found to have significantly lower cholesterol levels than their peers.

-Pain relief and a stronger immune system It's not just romantic love that can improve your health. Just showing your care and concern for others in your community can also provide health benefits. The Institute for the Advancement of Health conducted two surveys involving a total of 1746 people who did volunteer work. Results showed that just helping out in the community offered relief from pain related to stress-sensitive conditions like multiple sclerosis, and headaches, and lupus. Researchers suggested effects were due to relaxation and endorphin release.

When You Love Someone ~ Share Hugs !!!!

Healthy hugging A study conducted by doctors at the University of North Carolina, published in the July/August, 2005 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, discovered that hugging has measurable benefits for the heart. Researchers asked 38 couples to sit close to one another, talk, and then hug. Afterwards, women showed somewhat lower levels of cortisol and lower blood pressure, while both men and women had increased levels of oxytocin, the bonding hormone.

Considering what a powerful emotion love is, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that it can protect your heart, up you levels of youthful hormones, and even lower your cholesterol. Love may have its ups and downs, but overall, at least from a medical perspective, it's worth it!