While heart disease is the leading cause of death for most Americans, Heart Health Month is a good time to reflect on another important aspect of being healthy: emotional health. “For Heart Health Month, I want to invite you to think about the other heart, the heart that cares, shares, gives, and heals, as this is essential to our health,” said Michal Coombs, MHS, CHES, Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) Program Coordinator at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP).
Coombs explained the importance of emotional health by looking at Dr. Kelli Harding’s research on “The Rabbit Effect.”
“[Harding] recounted an experiment that was performed in the late 1970s to understand the correlation between a high-fat diet and high blood cholesterol, leading to heart disease,” said Coombs. “The research team fed groups of rabbits a high-fat diet. At the end of the experiment, the researchers measured the rabbits’ cholesterol, heart rates, and blood pressure, and all of these measurements were essentially the same, but when they examined the blood vessels microscopically, there was a huge variation between groups.”
Coombs added, “Accounting for every variable, the lead researcher finally discovered one of the postdoc assistants that helped feed the rabbits handled the rabbits differently than any other assistant: when she fed her rabbits, she talked to them, cuddled them, petted them—she gave them love. They repeated the experiment again and found the same effect—the group of rabbits that received affection and love had many of the adverse effects of diet disappear…the relationship made a difference.”
Coombs explained that this experiment demonstrates the importance of emotional well-being.
“In a world where we could be counting calories, making sure we get one car ahead on the freeway, or proving our point is the right point, Dr. Harding invites us to instead deliberately turn our focus to be ‘other-centered,’ to engage more proactively with each other, to respond instead of react, to initiate problem solving. When we feel good, we do good. And at RMUoHP, we have a lot of good to do!”
