Thoughtless Thursday: Eat Right, Exercise, and - Get A Dog?!

I saw an infographic recently that combined lots of recent health research into one easy-to-read and fun format. I was particularly pleased to see lots of ways our dogs help us with mental and emotional health. When I start to feel myself getting down, Toby helps me get up and out for a walk.

Time to get up!

So, when Perrin Carroll of Chewie Says contacted me about sharing "22 Ways Dogs Make Humans Healthier", I readily agreed. He graciously offered to write this introduction for Terra Toby:

What if I told you your dog may be able to help you stay healthier (in some cases) better than the actual medication you were prescribed by a doctor?

You might think I was totally bonkers, but it’s true! In a study conducted by Dr. Karen Allen, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Buffalo, it was discovered that folks with high blood pressure saw a bigger benefit from owning a dog than they did from medication designed to treat high blood pressure.Of course, that’s not always the case, and you should still go to a doctor, but… it definitely goes to show that dogs might have a bigger impact on our health than we might think.

Here’s another good example: a researcher named Erika Friedman found that dog owners tend to have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels that folks who don’t own dogs—even though they tend to eat take-out food more often and are more likely to be drinkers! There’s no clear reason why this is true, but some researchers think it’s because dog owners tend to be both more active and less stressed.

Anyway, it’s just cool that dogs can have such a huge, positive impact on our health.

Here’s a cool infographic that outlines 22 different ways your dog can make you healthier. If you’d like to read more of the in-depth scientific details, check out this article, where the infographic was originally published.

Enjoy!

Look at that source list at the end! Lots of thinking there - just not by me. Thank you Perrin Carroll for letting Terra Toby share this cool info!

(This is not a sponsored post. I'm sharing the infographic because I think some of my readers might find it as interesting as I did.)

This post is part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop, hosted by Ruckus the Eskie. Don't think, just link!