Unavoidable as it sometimes can be, those trying to manage their blood glucose levels should try not to eat alone.
This is as breaking bread with a “loved one” has been shown to lower blood sugar.
Medical researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan found in a series of tests that the 115 participants saw “smaller glucose spikes and quicker glucose recovery” following a shared meal, compared to when dining unaccompanied.
“Blood sugar regulation is not just about what we eat, but who we eat with,” said study senior author and associate professor of psychology Dr Shir Atzil.
At the same time, the researchers warned that being sociable is not a substitute for healthy diet and medication.
But the results are further proof that being around friends and family helps people feel good, in part because it has a positive impact physically, as well as mentally.
“Being close to someone you love lowers the physical energy your body spends on regulating itself,” said Assoc Prof Atzil, describing the phenomenon as “a direct metabolic benefit to being together”.
In a paper published in the journal Science Advances on Sept 23 (2026), the team said that social bonds have been “widely associated with improved health, well-being and longevity”.
While people with “stronger ties” to others tend to be more productive and are more likely to report being happier, “low social connectedness” has been linked to slower wound healing and poor sleep, as well as cardiovascular (heart) disease and cancer.
“Our relationships have an active biological role in our physical well-being,” Assoc Prof Atzil said.
In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports in April (2026) that was based on two decades of survey data, a team of researchers at the University of Oxford and University of London in Britain, Harvard University in the United States, and polling company Gallup said that people who eat at least one meal with others tend to report “lower levels of stress, pain and sadness on that day”.
In 2023, then US surgeon-general Dr Vivek Murthy warned of a wider “loneliness epidemic” that in turn, was making conditions such as heart disease, dementia, stroke and depression more common. – dpa
