Social relationships are key to survival, study says...

Having satisfying social relationships may be about as important as not smoking when it comes to your lifespan, a new study suggests.

It turns out that people with adequate social relationships have a 50 percent greater likelihood of survival than people who have poor or insufficient relationships. That means that having good relationships is comparable to quitting smoking in terms of survival benefit, and is a stronger factor than obesity and physical activity.

Researchers from Brigham Young University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill looked at 148 different studies that examined the connection between survival and relationships. Regardless of age, sex, initial health status, cause of death, and follow-up period in the individual studies, the new analysis finds that those with stronger relationships have an increased likelihood of survival.

This principle of social relationships aiding survival has even been seen in babies, the study noted. In the mid-20th century, infants in orphanages were observed to have high mortality rates predicted by lack of human contact. Death rates in these settings substantially decreased with changes in practice and policy to promote social interaction.

One theory behind these results is that social relationships may buffer the negative effects of stressors on health, such as illness and transitions and changes in life. Social relationships may also promote healthy behaviors, in the sense that people may directly encourage each other's good habits or indirectly provide good models.

"In addition, being part of a social network gives individuals meaningful roles that provide esteem and purpose to life," the authors wrote. 

Positive attributes such as happiness spread in social networks, as well as negative behaviors such as smoking and obesity. But they also found that people who dropped their friends who gained weight were more susceptible to obesity themselves.

The study on social relationships and mortality appears in the journal PLoS Medicine.

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Functional Fatty Acids

Wikipedia states:

The human body can produce all but two of the fatty acids it needs. These two, linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic (ALA), are widely distributed in plant oils. In addition, fish oils contain the longer-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Other marine oils, such as from seal, also contain significant amounts of docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), which is also an omega-3 fatty acid. Although the body to some extent can convert ALA into these longer-chain omega-3 fatty acids, the omega-3 fatty acids found in marine oils help fulfill the requirement of essential fatty acids (and have been shown to have wholesome properties of their own).

Since they cannot be made in the body from other substrates and must be supplied in food, they are called essential fatty acids. Mammals lack ability to introduce double bonds in fatty acids beyond carbons 9 and 10. Hence linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid are essential fatty acids for humans. In the body, essential fatty acids are primarily used to produce hormone-like substances that regulate a wide range of functions, including blood pressure, blood clotting, blood lipid levels, the immune response, and the inflammation response to injury infection.

Essential fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids and are the parent compounds of the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acid series, respectively. They are essential in the human diet because there is no synthetic mechanism for them. Humans can easily make saturated fatty acids or monounsaturated fatty acids with a double bond at the omega-9 position, but do not have the enzymes necessary to introduce a double bond at the omega-3 position or omega-6 position.

The essential fatty acids are important in several human body systems, including the immune system and in blood pressure regulation, since they are used to make compounds such as prostaglandins. The brain has increased amounts of linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid derivatives. Changes in the levels and balance of these fatty acids due to a typical western diet rich in omega-6 and poor in omega-3 fatty acids is alleged to be associated with depression and behavioral change, including violence. The actual connection, if any, is still under investigation. Further, changing to a diet richer in omega-3 fatty acids, or consumption of supplements to compensate for dietary imbalance, has been associated with reduced violent behavior and increased attention span, but the mechanisms for the effect are still unclear.

 So far, at least three human studies have shown results that support this: two school studies as well as a double blind study in a prison. Fatty acids play an important role in the life and death of cardiac cells because they are essential fuels for mechanical and electrical activities of the heart.

Chris Shugart writes:

Two Questions, Two Supplements

I get asked two questions a lot:

1. If you could only take two supplements, what would they be?

2. What core supplements should I put my spouse/parent/child/grandparent on?

My answers are the same for each question: a protein shake and a functional fatty

acid supplement such as fish oil capsules.

Functional fatty acids (FFA) are even more important than protein powders, because

while it is feasible to get adequate protein through diet alone, it's nearly

impossible to conveniently get enough fatty acids through solid foods.

* Want to practically beam with health and vitality? You need to supplement with fatty acids.

* Want to live a long life and have a lot of life in those years? You need to supplement with fatty acids.

* Want to be lean and muscular? You need to supplement with fatty acids

* Want to stay mentally sharp and perhaps even psychologically healthy? You need to supplement with.yeah, you guessed it.

Five Good Reasons to use FFA (Functional Fatty Acids)

1. Fat Loss

Fish oils ( a prime source of the omega-3s known as DHA and EPA) and some other fatty acids can improve body composition! Through several mechanisms of action, FFA can help you reduce excess body fat, particularly in the abdominal region. One study done by the Nutritional Physiology Research Group in Australia showed that omega-3 enriched fish oil combined with exercise provides significantly greater fat loss benefits than exercise or fish oil alone. Basically, the omega-3 fatty acids switched on the oxidizing or fat burning enzymes. But here's the catch: they needed a driver-exercise. Combine fish oil supplementation with training and you get more fat loss than training alone. And where did most of this fat loss come from in the studies? The abdominal region! Next, omega-3 can increase insulin sensitivity, which leads to less fat storage and more fat release.

2. Muscle Gain

In human studies of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), participants gained some muscle along with losing some fat. Researchers theorize that some type of 'nutrient partitioning' effect occurred. In other words, calories that might originally be stored as fat were being partitioned into muscle with the help of CLA.

3. Overall Health and Longevity

One of the biggest causes of heart disease is inflammation. Get a whole bunch of omega-3s in your diet and you can reduce and control inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids make the blood less likely to form clots that cause heart attacks. They can also protect against irregular heartbeats that cause sudden cardiac death. Omega-3s can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease through these mechanisms too: decreased triglyceride levels, decreased growth of atherosclerotic plaque, improved arterial health, and lower blood pressure. Omega-3s might be able to zap existing cancer cells by starving them of linoleic acid. They can also upregulate the genetic material necessary for the destruction of cancer cells and block adhesion of cancer cells to other healthy cells. CLA may also be important here. In animal studies, CLA seemed to literally erase certain types of tumors. In human studies, subjects using CLA showed marked decrease in triglyceride levels and a significant drop in fasting blood sugar levels. CLA may also bind to receptors the same way as some anti-diabetes drugs. It's even been shown to reduce arterial plaques by 30 percent.

4. Mental Health & Brain Health

* Some recent research has shown that taking a daily fatty acid supplement may boost the effectiveness (or even replace) antidepressants in some people. Depressed people who added omega-3s to their treatment showed less anxiety, fewer sleeping problems, and less overall sadness.

* Even for non-depressed people, FFA may offer mood elevating properties.

* Other research has shown that a daily dose of FFA can dramatically improve the behavior of unruly children and develop their concentration and language skills.

* FFA have been shown to reduce tension and stress in adults.

* The "mood stabilizing" effects have such potential that omega-3s have been used in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

* FFA may help improve memory.

* FFA may also help in the treatment of Alzheimer's, ADHD, and autism.

5. Miscellaneous Grab Bag O' Goodness

* Since asthma, like heart disease, is also a disease characterized by inflammation, functional fatty acids could help.

* FFA help improve digestion and elimination.

* FFA can help in the treatment of dysmenorrheal (menstrual pain).

* Omega-3s in fish oil protect the eye from two serious eye diseases: age-related macular degeneration and dry-eye syndrome.

* FFA have been shown to prevent heart damage caused by smog.

* FFA may help boost the immune system.

* FFA supplements were found to protect the skin from harmful UV rays and reduce sunburn.

* One study showed that a daily supplement of FFA makes arthritis medicine unnecessary for many patients.

Recommendations

So you want to get more functional fatty acids into your body? Here's what to do:

Diet: To boost your intake of fatty acids, eat more walnuts, spinach, flax seeds, and omega-3 enriched eggs.

Supplements: To really benefit from functional fatty acids, you're going to need to supplement with them. No surprise here, but I recommend Flameout. (Note: Flameout is sold-online only-at tmuscle.com. Although Flameout was designed specifically for men, women can enjoy great success/results as well. I, also, use O3Mega from GenuineHealth.com) 

References

1. Essential Fatty Acids. (2010) Wikipedia. Retrieved April 19, 2010, from