New Study on Your Health for Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow, a day created in 2012 to promote giving to others or donating to a good cause.

We all know going back as far back as Biblical times that it is better to give than to receive. Now, a new study finds that helping and supporting family and friends has a link to lower levels of chronic inflammation but there’s an added twist.

Researchers from The Ohio State University say the study is the first to determine that giving social support may be just as, or more, beneficial from a health perspective, than only receiving support from family and friends. They say having a few close friends or family members to lean on may not be all that beneficial unless you’re also there for them

According to the report, the study’s key takeaway is that a positive relationship with a friend, family member, or spouse is a two-way street. The support needs to be mutual to reduce stress and inflammation.

This study is not suggesting that you should only give to get something, but as we begin the holiday season of gift giving, and mark Giving Tuesday, it is a reminder that healthy relationships with both people giving makes for a healthier life.

(Photo Getty Images)