Living Alone Can Affect Heart Health Unless You…

Health Wellness

In Genesis 2:18, we are told that God said it is not good for man to be alone, so he made woman from the man’s side.

A good friend of mine is a retired doctor and he told me that there is a unique reason that woman was made from man’s side, specifically his rib. He told me that if a rib is removed but the sheath of the rib remains, a new rib will grow back. It’s the only bone in the human body that can regenerate, and it’s a myth that men have 1 more rib than women, as we all have the same number of ribs.

When God created every living creature, He created them male and female for two reasons – so they could reproduce and so that they would not be alone.

Being alone is not a natural state for humans. We were created as social beings, part of a family structure, but what happens when we age and there is no other family or you are separated for whatever reason and your spouse either passes away or leaves you alone? Many older people often remain alone as they can’t bear the thought of venturing into another relationship or feel guilty about going on with their lives or many other reasons.

A number of studies over the years have revealed that people who live alone have a higher risk heart disease which cuts lifespan shorter.

If you, or someone you know is living alone, you and they should be interested in a recent study that revealed an easy way to reduce the risk of heart disease for everyone, especially those living alone:

“‘A very interesting finding in our study was that dog ownership was especially prominent as a protective factor in persons living alone, which is a group reported previously to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death than those living in a multi-person household,’ lead study author Mwenya Mubanga, a doctoral student in the Department of Medical Sciences at Uppsala University in Sweden, said in a statement…”

“In the new study, the researchers looked at the heart health of more than 3.4 million adults ages 40 to 80 living in Sweden. Younger individuals were excluded from the study due to their low risk of cardiovascular disease, the researchers said.”

“The data were collected from Sweden’s Register of the Total Population, which contains information on birth, migration, changes of citizenship, family and marital status, and death for all Swedish citizens and residents ages 18 and over. Specifically, the researchers chose to focus on data collected over a 12-year period, starting Jan. 1, 2001, according to the study.”

“To better understand the influence of pets on humans’ heart health, the researchers compared the population data to records of dog ownership during that same 12-year period.”

“Overall, the results of the study showed that dog owners had a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease or other causes during the 12-year period, particularly for people living alone.”

“‘Perhaps a dog may stand in as an important family member in the single households,’ Mubanga said in the statement. ‘The results showed that single dog owners had a 33 percent reduction in risk of death and 11 percent reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease during follow-up compared to single non-[dog] owners’.”

The researchers also looked at breeds of dogs and found that people who owned dogs bred for hunting such as terriers, retrievers and hounds had an even lower risk of cardiovascular disease. They believe that this could be attributed to these dogs being more active and the owners getting more exercise which in turn is great for reducing risk of heart disease.

Some years ago, I also saw a report that said that petting a dog or cat for at least 10 minutes every day helps increase lifespan. It helps to reduce stress which takes a bigger health toll than many realize.

Bottom line, getting a dog when you are older is healthy and may help you live longer. They don’t have to be a high-priced pedigree breed, but can be a rescue dog from a pound, which saves two lives, yours and the dog’s.

Living Alone Lonely mental health

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