“The strength of your friendships is as critical for your health as the lifestyle choices you make,” writes Elizabeth Svoboda in “Lessons for Living” in Psychology Today (September 2012).  Her insight has implications — both for adults, as well as the children we care for.  Svoboda contends:

”We’ve all heard the usual advice for living longer:  exercise more, quit smoking, limit junk food.  But nurturing your relationships plays an important role as well.  Supportive friendships may do as much to promote your physical well-being as a top-notch diet and workout regime.  ‘The higher the quantity and quality of your relationships, the longer you live,’ says Bert Uchino, a psychologist at the University of Utah…. 

”Researchers speculate that the stress associated with low social support sets off a cascade of damaging reactions within the body, including cardiovascular dysfunction and weakened immune resistance.”