Hey <<First Name>>!

It's been a busy a few weeks as I am going through a location change (concise details to come) while continuing to treat and train remarkable patients and clients. Is this my excuse for missing last week and getting this week's issue in at the last minute? Well, yes.

I'm going to keep my gab short n' sweet as I found an intriguing informational email (like this one) about your overall health and wellness that you would not expect. I know what you're thinking: He's going to talk about some weird crap about food. Well, even though I'm passionate about food (good) because food is the number one way our body directly interacts with our environment, and the info I share is most definitely not crap, I'm throwing a curve ball this week.

Before we move any further -- just to clarify -- I am a huge fan of the Golden Girls.

The following is an astounding statement: A landmark study published in 2010 involving more than 300,000 participants found that social support was a stronger predictor of survival than physical activity, body mass index, hypertension, air pollution, alcohol consumption, and even smoking fifteen cigarettes a day!

Below the dotted line is the rest of the article from Chris Kresser.

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The researchers found that people with adequate social relationships had up to a 90 percent greater likelihood of survival than those with poor or insufficient relationships.

A central idea behind the ancestral health movement is that there’s a mismatch between our diet and lifestyle and the one humans adapted to. The quality and quantity of close relationships and social connection is yet another way that this mismatch manifests in the modern, industrialized world.

And while you might suspect that diet and other lifestyle factors, like sleep and exercise, would have a far greater impact on health than social support, research suggests otherwise.

Why is social support is so important to health? One theory is that social relationships help buffer the effects of chronic stress by providing emotional and other forms of support. Another theory holds that social relationships directly influence health through their effect on physiology, behavior, and mood.

This shouldn’t be surprising; for the vast majority of our evolutionary history (and still today in many parts of the world), humans lived in close-knit, tribal groups. We are social animals; it’s in our DNA.

Regardless of the reason, one thing is clear: if you want to live a long and healthy life, you need social support.

But how do you find that support in an increasingly fast-paced, fragmented, modern world? Here are a few ideas:

• Cultivate friendship. Only 25 percent of Americans say they are truly satisfied with their friendships. Check out Alia McKee and Tim Walker’s free book, Lifeboat: A Field Guide to Awesome Friendships for tips on how to cultivate meaningful and rewarding relationships with friends.
• Put yourself out there. Join a book club or some other activity group; play on a soccer, softball, or ultimate frisbee team; learn ballroom dancing; go to parties; and get out and about!
• Volunteer. People who give social support have lower blood pressure, and they’re more likely to report having greater social support (what goes around comes around!). Volunteering is also a great way to meet like-minded people that you’re likely to connect with. Try a service like VolunteerMatch to get started.

Putting yourself out there and forming new friendships and connections is not always easy, but according to the research, making a new friend may have a bigger impact on your health than starting a new exercise routine or losing weight. (Don’t take that as a recommendation not to be physically active or maintain a healthy weight, but as an indicator of just how important social connection really is!).

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In conclusion, this is exactly why Betty White is still a badass...

Until next week (I promise)!