In Part I of this series, we learned that love is very potent medicine. Scientific studies have shown that those who feel loved have better immune systems, faster wound healing, and lower rates of angina pectoris, or chest pain.

In Part II, however, we will learn that the absence of love can be quite detrimental to your health. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 17:22 “A joyful heart is good medicine.” But the rest of that verse adds, “But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”  Makai Allbert, writing in The Epoch Times, tells us love can heal, yet its absence can be emotionally painful—even physically devastating.

In 2005, a group of research doctors from Johns Hopkins University wrote a study on a heart condition known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome—a nickname medical professionals don’t object to.Stress-induced cardiomyopathy occurs after people—primarily women older than age 65—experience sudden acute emotional stress. This could be caused by the death of a loved one, the breakup of a relationship, or another distressing event.

Research reveals that these “broken hearts” often exhibit an enlarged and ballooning left ventricle. While this condition can lead to adverse outcomes, including higher mortality, it is typically reversible with appropriate care, as the affected heart muscle remains viable and capable of recovery.

Truong Nguyen, an obstetrician and gynecologist, said he believes love should be at the core of medical practice. “Do no harm” is not enough, he said, suggesting that medical staff should truly care for patients with the love and attention they would show to friends or family. He told The Epoch Times that you don’t have to look far to see the absence of care in medicine, as medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States.

Showing love for patients promotes their safety and cultivates a positive mindset that can help them heal. Furthermore, many modern treatments have limitations, and that’s where spirituality or belief in God may be helpful, he said. As he pointed out, this “intervention” has no negative side effects.

Love as an emotion and intervention does not have to come from a single individual. Many people feel a higher or more transcendent love, usually associated with religious experiences. A study by Jeff Levin at Baylor University examined the concept of religious love, defined as the feeling of loving or being loved by God. The findings indicated a significant association between perceived divine love and self-reported health ratings.

How do we harness the power of love?

Here is where I depart from the author of this article and the physicians he quotes. While they advocate “Six Ways to Harness the Power of Love” by drawing on positive thoughts, self-love, keeping a journal, and other self-help remedies, I would take a more spiritual approach.

The author of all love is God. The Bible tells us in I John 4:7, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”  If you truly want to love and be loved, you must know God. And to know God, you must know His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30. To know Jesus is to know God. And to know God, is to know love. That’s the best medicine of all!

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” This wisdom actually comes from the Bible. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine.”  But did you know that love may be even better? In this Valentine’s Day season, this may be the most important message of all!

Makai Allbert, writing in The Epoch Times, tells us science continues to develop an increasingly nuanced and comprehensive understanding of love and its effects on the body.

In a seminal experiment published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers found that couples with warm and affectionate interactions healed 40 percent faster from minor blister wounds than those who argued or demonstrated hostility.

The study suggests that positive emotional states generated by loving relationships activate the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the “rest and digest” system, which can reduce inflammation and accelerate cellular repair. By contrast, hostile relationships inhibited healing by 60 percent, likely because of elevated stress hormones such as cortisol.

Dr. Cynthia Thaik, a Harvard-trained cardiologist and medical director of Holistic Healing Heart Center, told The Epoch Times that love heals at a biochemical level by releasing oxytocin, a neuropeptide often called the “feel-good” or “love” hormone. According to Thaik, this hormone reduces stress and improves immune function.

Love naturally lessens feelings of pain. A Stanford University study exposed a group of participants to moderate levels of thermal pain while showing them photos of their romantic partners. This group reported significantly lower pain than those who were either shown a photo of an acquaintance or were given a task as a distraction—such as “think of as many sports as possible that do not use a ball.”

The heart is universally recognized as a symbol of love, and fittingly, love significantly affects the heart itself. A study that asked 10,000 men the question “Does your wife show you her love?” found that those who answered “yes” had a 50 percent lower rate of angina pectoris, or chest pains. This reduction was present even in men with high-risk factors such as high cholesterol and diabetes.

“Love heals the heart and inspires peace, harmony, and calmness,” said Thaik, who approaches heart health holistically. “In order to maintain a balanced and healthy physical heart, we must take care to feed the emotional heart.”

Indeed, love directly affects how your heart works. A study by Brooks Gump, endowed professor of public health at the Falk College at Syracuse University, showed that when people were around their spouses or partners, their blood pressure decreased. Interestingly, even if the relationship was not a particularly happy one, blood pressure still dropped.

Today, we have learned of the many positive effects of love on our health. Next post we will learn what happens in the absence of love.

When I went to college and later medical school, I learned to drink coffee. I didn’t especially like it at first, but it did seem to give me an energy boost that got me through the long hours of study necessary in my profession. I started out using milk and sugar, but eventually graduated to just black coffee, the stronger the better. I certainly felt like I needed that caffeine boost to get me through the long days and nights of medical training.

But now there is some evidence that caffeine may actually drain us of energy! Flora Zhao and Zena le Roux, writing in The Epoch Times, report on new information in the medical literature about caffeine. They say, “Every morning, most Americans reach for that steaming cup of coffee, believing it is their lifeline to alertness and productivity. However, the daily caffeine fix is more of a clever illusion than a genuine energy booster. When you drink coffee, you are actually borrowing energy from your body’s future reserves.”

“Caffeine is generally a brain stimulant,” said Edward Giovannucci, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In its pure form, this purine alkaloid appears as a bitter, white powder. Besides coffee beans, caffeine is found in more than 60 plants around the world, including tea leaves, guarana berries, and cacao beans. Caffeine counteracts a molecule in the body called adenosine, which makes us sleepy, Giovannucci told The Epoch Times.

Adenosine levels in the brain are low when we wake up but gradually accumulate throughout the day. As adenosine increasingly binds to its receptors, it signals the brain that rest is needed, causing us to feel drowsy. During sleep, adenosine is cleared, and this cycle repeats. Insufficient sleep leads to a buildup of adenosine and increased receptor sensitivity, which explains the grogginess and sluggishness often experienced after a restless night.

Caffeine has a structure similar to adenosine, allowing it to block adenosine from binding to its receptors and take its place. This prevents the brain from receiving drowsiness signals, effectively muting the tiredness noise.

Adenosine not only signals drowsiness, but also suppresses brain cell activity. When caffeine blocks adenosine, it indirectly stimulates the central nervous system. It triggers the release of various biochemicals—including dopamine, glutamate, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol—resulting in enhanced alertness, mood, and cognitive function.

A 2020 meta-analysis involving multiple studies indicated that caffeine intake can somewhat enhance cognitive, work, and driving performance in sleep-deprived individuals. The feeling of an energy boost from drinking coffee is real, Cindy Chan Phillips, a registered dietitian, told The Epoch Times.

Borrowed Energy

The energy boost caffeine provides is fundamentally the result of reduced fatigue signals rather than a direct increase in energy levels, Mary Curristin, a nutritionist and health coach at ART Health Solutions, told The Epoch Times. Food provides energy, but caffeine does not. A cup of black coffee contains fewer than five calories, and the energy it provides is essentially borrowed from the body. 

Caffeine keeps you alert by blocking adenosine, but “it is temporary,“ said Melissa Ann Prest, a registered dietitian with a doctorate in clinical nutrition from Rutgers University. Rather than eliminating the adenosine that causes fatigue, caffeine merely masks its presence in the body for a short time. Once the effects of caffeine wear off, the accumulated adenosine floods the body with drowsiness signals, a phenomenon often referred to as ”caffeine crash.”

“Caffeine does not ‘give’ you energy; it borrows from your future energy reserves and thus is a drain on the body,” Dr. Rachel Carlton Abrams, a family practice physician who is also board-certified in holistic medicine, wrote in her book “BodyWise.” Overreliance on caffeine is “not sustainable” without proper nutrition, sufficient rest, and general good health, Curristin said.

In summary, caffeine does make it possible for you to stay awake and perform tasks as needed longer than you might without it. But your body pays the price for this “’borrowed energy” leading to the “caffeine crash” we have all experienced.

And one more important point. Caffeine usage leads to dehydration which can cause kidney stones! As one who has experienced the agony of kidney stones, I don’t recommend caffeine!