Love is…

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Happy Valentine’s Day!  A perfect day – set aside to think about those you love and who love you right back.  It’s a feel good day when it seems like everyone is smiling and eating chocolate.  Oh yeah, I love this day.

Did you know that love does more than just make you smile and feel warm inside? Love is actually as good for your health as it is your emotions.

Consider the love-ly facts:

1. A study last year from the University of Pittsburgh found that women in good marriages have a much lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those in high-stress relationships.
2. The National Longitudinal Mortality Study, which has been tracking more than a million subjects since 1979, shows that married people live longer, have fewer heart attacks and lower cancer rates, and even get pneumonia less frequently than singles.
3. A new study from the University of Iowa found that ovarian cancer patients with a strong sense of connection to others and satisfying relationships had more vigorous “natural killer” cell activity at the site of the tumor than those who didn’t have those social ties.  These desirable white blood cells kill cancerous cells as part of the body’s immune system.
4. Doctors at the University of North Carolina have found that hugging may dramatically lower blood pressure and boost blood levels of oxytocin, a relaxing hormone.

Now…off to the kitchen to make a big, homemade heart-shaped cake for those who make my life not only happy but healthy as well.

Have an amazing day,

Joi