Study Says Negativity In Marriage May Cause Heart Disease

It's time to get positive in your relationship. A new study, conducted by Roberto De Vogli, PhD and a researcher for the study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, says that couples and close friendships marked by negativity, such as conflict and adverse exchanges, boost the risk of heart disease. 9,011 British civil servants were asked to complete a questionnaire either between 1989 and 1990 or 1985 and 1988. They answered questions about up to four of their close personal relationships, but mostly about their primary relationship. De Vogli and other researchers suspect that people may mentally "replay" the negative interactions. "It can activate emotional responses, including depression or hostility," De Vogli says, in turn boosting heart disease risk. We at hitchedmag.com have strived to keep couples entertained, educated and inspired. Although studies like these aren't the most positive look at marriage, we feel it necessary to inform our readers, as well as offer tips and expert advice so they can make positive changes in their marriages and in life.

4 Foods to Fight Breast Cancer

Just about everywhere you turn right now, you're seeing pink. Why? It's breast cancer awareness month. Self magazine has an article on Yahoo! Health that discusses four foods that have been clinically shown to fight breast cancer, and a few that may increase your risk. For the foods that fight! Fish, cruciferous vegetables (Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are good choices), berries, and whole grains (the article says to shoot for 25 grams per day). For the items to avoid, this article says overeating read meat, and two alcoholic drinks a day. Get all the details here.

Coming Clean With Your Partner

Ruth Hayden, author of "For Richer, Not Poorer: The Money Book for Couples" says that couples should always divulge their financial information to their partner, because the truth of the matter will always rear its head at the wrong time. In the book she reminds couples that, "You're more than money-there are so many more facets to a relationship. Plus, everyone has some kind of a downside. And money baggage is easier to deal with than others." For more click here

Spouses Are Copycats

Do you have poor health habits? Well, it's very likely that your spouse does too. The same goes if you decide to start dieting and exercising. You see, new research suggests that spouses are copycats. Researchers examined more than 6,000 individuals who participated in the Health and Retirement Study, which has followed the health of 20,000 Americans over the age of 50 since 1992. The researchers found that smokers were five times more likely to give up cigarettes if their spouse had quit, the same applied to drinking.

What do you think? Do you and your spouse have the same health habits? Read the full article here.

Tips Before Tying the Knot

At the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Services, couples are taking steps to try and bolster healthy unions. The two day, six hour course titled "Before You Tie The Knot" looks to raise awareness of why some marriages last and some don't. The research-based program applies to all people of all backgrounds, which has been a problem in the past with other programs that are religion-based. What are your feelings on this? We'd like to know if you and your spouse have ever participated in something like this. Did it work? Do you wish you had participated? Discuss this and more on the message board here in our "Just Married" section.

The Truth, The Whole Truth

Remember that Census data that came out a few weeks back? Newspapers around the country quickly snatched it up and ran with it proclaiming the doom and gloom realities of marriage. Fortunately, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, Op-Ed writers for the NY Times decided to dig a little deeper into the numbers and found some interesting misconceptions. In the article they clarify:

The Census Bureau reported that slightly more than half of all marriages occurring between 1975 and 1979 had not made it to their 25th anniversary. This breakup rate is not only alarmingly high, but also represents a rise of about 8 percent when compared with those marriages occurring in the preceding five-year period.

But here's the rub: The census data come from a survey conducted in mid-2004, and at that time, it had not yet been 25 years since the wedding day of around 1 in 10 of those whose marriages they surveyed. And if your wedding was in late 1979, it was simply impossible to have celebrated a 25th anniversary when asked about your marriage in mid-2004.

Man, how numbers can dance. The great news is that marriage, while declining in number according to the data is as strong as ever. Marriages lasting past 10 years in the 90s were at a greater rate than in the 80s, and subsequently were greater than in the 70s.

Honey, You're Killing Me

Couples will joke around how their spouse will talk them to death. Well, a new study that's written about in the NY Times (registration required) suggests that the way a couple argues could substantially damage their health. Two factors played a role in health. The first is bottling up feelings to avoid an argument. According to the study, this seemed to only affect women. The second major factor was the manner in which a couple argues. By watching video, researchers were able to tell who was more likely to have heart disease based on the style of arguing. For women, their health was affected based on how warm or hostile an argument was. For men, the tone didn't matter, what affected them was if the argument was a control issue.

What's really amazing about this study was that the style of argument was as much of a factor for heart disease as smoking or high cholesterol according to Timothy W. Smith, a psychology professor at the University of Utah, who presented the study last year to the American Psychosomatic Society. The lesson here: be nice to each other and don't bottle things up.

Young Marriage Worked For GOP Hopeful

It's not too often when a couple gets married in their teens that it will have any chance of lasting; attitudes, goals, ambitions and a slew of other individual feelings set in, ultimately breaking the couple apart as they enter adulthood. But not for GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson. He married his then pregnant girlfriend Sarah Lindsey at 17. It's was reported that Thompson was not a very serious student during his high school days, but when his girlfriend told him she was pregnant, Thompson stepped up to the plate, working three jobs and eventually becoming a lawyer representing Tennessee in the U.S. Senate. For more on this amazing story of young love, visit United Press International here

Message In a Bottle

On August 18 of this year, Melody Kloska and Matt Behrs were married on a Lake Michigan beach. To seal their vows, they wrote them, stuck them in a bottle and tossed the bottle into Lake Michigan. A few weeks later, the bottle was discovered on the other side of the lake sticking out of the sand. Lynnette Dubendorf of Mears, Mich. found the bottle while picking up litter off the beach. She opened it, read the vows and realized an amazing coincidence. Her and her husband Fred, were also married on a beach at Lake Michigan and on the exact same day 28 years prior. Lynnette first thought about ignoring the letter, afraid others would toss items into the late and pollute it, but then decided the newly married couple would like to know. Read the full article on Yahoo! here.

DVR Could Save Your Favorite Show

Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the audience size and composition of television programming, has begun to include into their stats shows that have been recorded on a persons Digital Video Recorder (DVR) up to three days after the original airing of the show. A true blessing for some of you I'm sure considering you might like a show, but it doesn't quite fit into your spouses TV-watching schedule. Naturally, it will also give more popular shows a boost as well. Studio execs will now be able to take into account those viewers who playback their shows, giving them the power to order, keep or cut a show. click here