Eating with a close partner may influence the body in a surprising way, new research suggests.While researchers say the effect varies from person to person, a recent study suggests that eating with a loved one impacts how the body regulates blood sugar after a meal.Participants in the study were given meals containing the same amount and type of carbohydrates, and researchers measured their blood glucose after eating.THIS AMOUNT OF DELI MEAT ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER DEMENTIA RISK IN COMPELLING NEW REVIEWWhen participants ate together, researchers observed a smaller rise in glucose and a quicker return toward baseline compared with when they ate alone.The findings, however, do not mean that everyone will experience the same effect.Shir Atzil, Ph.D., the study's co-author and a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, told Fox News Digital that researchers observed substantial individual differences.Research shows that people who eat with others may have lower blood sugar spikes than those who eat alone.(Getty)"While we observe the principle of social physiology at the population level, we have seen tremendous individual differences in how much individuals benefit or even actually lose from being together — so not everyone benefits the same amount," Atzil said."Some people gain a huge benefit from being with their partners," she said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS"Some people gain a small benefit — and some people actually regulate themselves better when they're alone."The research, published in the journal Science Advances in late September, was based on a concept known as social physiology, which examines how being near a close partner may affect physiological processes.There are many different factors that affect blood sugar, but eating alone could cause blood sugar to be higher after a meal, research suggests.
(iStock)Atzil described the theory as suggesting that "our most basic physiological processes, [our] bodily homeostasis, the proc...