By Dr. Joseph Mercola
     with Rachael Droege

Does love protect us? Does it provide emotional and physical well-being, and can a lack of love, heartbreak or heartache be a detriment to our health? Certainly. Even Mother Theresa said, shortly before her death, "loneliness and isolation in the West" was the most significant "disease" she had encountered during her lifetime. It is yet another wonder of the human body that intimacy can protect and heal us from disease. Unfortunately, the reverse also holds: a lack of intimacy can bring on any number of health problems.

When I say intimacy I am not only referring to the physical form but also to the emotional form that can occur between families, friends, spouses and even strangers. Studies have shown that when people feel loved or give love they:

• Live longer
• Feel happier
• Have better health
• Make more money
• Tend to have better cardiovascular health
• Are less prone to depression

Further, heartbreak is a very real thing. According to a study published in the January 2004 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, ending a relationship had a negative effect on both men and women’s mental health, and was particularly hard on women. And, this type of stress--the kind that occurs from emotional events--may be even worse for the physical body than stress from non-emotional events, even though they evoke the same types of responses.

For instance, women heart patients facing severe stress from marriage difficulties were found to have three times the risk of heart attack as women without such stress, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, stress that the women felt from work-related issues did not have the same effect.

Interestingly, another study, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, found that helping others, or so-called altruistic love, is associated with higher levels of mental health, above and beyond the benefits of receiving help. This means that lending an ear to your spouse or family may have even better benefits for you than for the receiving person.

But research studies aside, I think most people would agree that giving and feeling love is sure to lead to a happier existence. Of course, that’s great to hear for those who are surrounded by love. For those who may be struggling with a relationship or are facing any type of love difficulty this Valentine’s day, I’d like to leave you with some wise words from the famous English poet Alfred Tennyson, "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Looking for Love? Consider Looking Online!

Seven Simple Secrets of Great Relationships

The Secret to Romantic Intimacy

Your Keys to Happy Marriage