The Best Recipe for Health? Be Positive

If you're feeling angry, depressed, or upset at this moment, then you need to do some rethinking - literally.

Changing our thoughts from negative to positive appears to have health benefits for women.

Research from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev indicates that "a general feeling of happiness and optimism can play a protective role" against breast cancer. On the other hand, "experiencing more than one severe and/or mild to moderate life event is a risk factor for breast cancer among young women." Examples of stressful life events include "the loss of a parent or close relative, divorce or the loss of a spouse."

This research describes the effects of recent traumas. But chronic stress and its resultant negative outlook harms one's health as well, putting women at risk for high blood pressure and heart disease.

A clean bill of health includes one's mental health.

Insurance companies are getting the message, too. We will finally have mental health parity starting in 2010. From then on, we will be eligible for equal benefits for psychological/psychiatric office visits and medical ones.