Another Side Effect

My last posting began a series of sharings from Dr. David R. Hamilton, PhD,'s book , "The Five Side Effects of Kindness", and today we look at his second point. The first point said that doing kindnesses makes us FEEL good, but now he is saying that it is actually heart-healthful to undertake them.. The key is that acts of kindness can produce oxytocin, and therefore kindness can be said to be cardioprotective.

Kindness Is Good for the Heart. How exciting is that??

Acts of kindness are often accompanied by emotional warmth. Emotional warmth produces the hormone, oxytocin, in the brain and throughout the body. Of recent interest is its significant role in the cardiovascular system. Oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide in blood vessels, which dilates (expands) the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure, and therefore oxytocin is known as a ‘cardioprotective’ hormone because it protects the heart (by lowering blood pressure).

So . . . the obvious advice I give you is:

Go, and be healthy!

Go and be conscientious about showing kindness everywhere you can.