Study finds dining with a loved one lowers blood sugar levels

By Stephen Beech

Dining with a loved one is good for physical as well as mental health as it lowers blood sugar levels, reveals new research.

Scientists found that blood glucose after a meal is lower when eating with a partner compared with when eating alone.

After consuming the same standardized carbohydrate meal, Israeli researchers discovered that study participants had smaller glucose spikes and quicker glucose recovery in the social setting.

The researchers call the principle "Social Physiology" — the human body regulates itself more efficiently in the presence of social partners.

Study co-author Shir Atzil said: "We used to think of the body as an isolated system that regulates itself.

"Our findings show that human physiology is inherently social.

"Being close to someone you love lowers the physical energy your body spends on regulating itself.

"This gives us a direct metabolic benefit to being together and reveals a core evolutionary reason why humans form bonds in the first place: our bodies run better together."

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The effect extended beyond blood sugar, according to the findings published in the journal Science Advances.

Atzil says social proximity also improved temperature regulation during cold exposure and reduced stress responses in adults and children.

She said the benefits appeared even without physical touch and were not explained by reduced stress.

At a time when blood sugar regulation is a growing global health concern, the new findings suggest that metabolic health may be shaped not only by what is on the plate, but also by who is at the table.

Atzil, from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said: "Blood sugar regulation is not just about what we eat, but who we eat with.

"Our relationships have an active biological role in our physical well-being."

She says the findings offer a new way to understand human connection.

Atzil said: "Relationships may not only support our emotional lives; they may help regulate the body's most basic systems."

The researchers emphasized that social closeness is not a substitute for medical care, nutrition or exercise.

But Atzil added: "The study points to a powerful and overlooked factor in health: the people beside us."