Received in an email: Nurturing friendship for health.

1. Friends Heal

2. A recent study published by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), implies that friendship amongst women is actually very special. The research has identified that female friends contribute to strengthen identity and protect our future. They constitute a heaven in the middle of our real world full of storms and obstacles.

3. Female friends help us fill the emotional gaps in our relationships with men and help us remember who we actually are. After 50 years of research, the study points out that there are chemical substances produced by the brain that help create and maintain friendship bonds amongst women.

4. The scientists involved in the research were mostly men. They were all surprised to find the following results. When a hormone called OXITOCIN is liberated as a result of stress, women have the need to protect their children and group with other women. When this happens, larger quantities of this hormone are produced and even the most profound stress is reduced provoking a calming down effect.

5. These reactions do not appear in males because the testosterone produced by men has a tendency to neutralize the effects of oxitocin; while female estrogens increase the production of this hormone.

6. After repetitive analysis, it was proven that existing emotional ties amongst females, who have true and loyal friends, reduce the risk of illness related to blood pressure and cholesterol. This might be the cause that women generally live longer than men. Women who do not establish friendship relations with other women do not show the same health results.

7. So having female friends not only help us live longer but also to live better. The study also suggests that the more female friends a woman has, the higher is the probability that she reaches an advance age without physical problems besides living a healthy happy life.

8. In the same study it was observed how women can cope with critical moments (such as the passing of a spouse or parents) as it was perceived that those women who can trust their friends react without major illnesses and recuperate faster than those who do not have a person to trust by their side. The study concludes that friendship amongst women is a source of strength, wellness, happiness and health.

9. This is why, and because of many other reasons, that we say: ¡Qué vivan las amigas! So Dear Friends, for this and for being who you are, Thank you and May God always bless you...