Longevity at the Thanksgiving Table: How Eating Together Can Boost Healthspan

Thanksgiving is about spending time together as much as it is about the delicious food, and while we know that being near someone we love can make us feel good, a new study has found that sharing a meal with our closest ones, like during Thanksgiving, can also improve our healthspan by improving our blood glucose levels.

Shared Thanksgiving Meals and Blood Sugar

Managing blood sugar can help reduce the risk of complications like type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease, and while blood sugar does rise after eating, frequent spikes can be quite worrisome.

With that, researchers sought to examine which physiological responses are improved by social proximity, and so they had 108 people eat a little over 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of white bread in two different scenarios: alone and next to a close companion. They then tracked their blood sugar for two hours afterward.

Alongside this experiment, the researchers also featured 116 adults in a temperature experiment, 115 adults in an adult stress experiment, and 56 infants in an infant stress experiment, with participants completing the test in two conditions: either tested individually or with a close social partner – either a romantic partner or, in the infant’s case, their mother.

Do Shared Meals Improve Longevity?

According to the study’s findings, published in Science Advances, when participants ate with someone as opposed to eating alone, their blood sugar levels spiked less and returned to their baseline levels faster.

“Blood sugar regulation is not just about what we eat, but who we eat with. Our relationships have an active biological role in our physical wellbeing.” – Prof. Shir Atzil, lead researcher

Beyond blood sugar levels, the study found that participants who ate with a partner were able to regulate their body temperature better and had better nervous system regulation during a stress challenge in both adults and infants,

“Our findings show that human physiology is inherently social. Being close to someone you love lowers the physical energy your body spends on regulating itself. This gives us a direct metabolic benefit to being together and reveals a core evolutionary reason why humans form bonds in the first place: our bodies run better together.”

Why do shared meals improve health?

While this study didn’t explore the reasoning behind the findings, there are a few theories as to why.

For one, eating with a partner may make you eat more slowly, and you’re also doing it in a relaxed state.

In terms of the benefits of social connections, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory describes social connection as an important contributor to individual and population health, especially for combating the epidemic of loneliness and isolation. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that people with stronger social bonds have a 50% increased likelihood of survival compared to those with fewer social connections.

While the study examined the effects with romantic partners and mothers and kids, this suggests that the perks may extend to any healthy relationship; perhaps it may be time to start writing up your Thanksgiving guest list?

In addition, you can also improve your social relationships and build stronger connections by signing up for a class, be it cooking, book club, or a fitness session, and putting your phone down in a group so that you can be more present.

Want to know more?

With Thanksgiving comes sitting down for a large multi-course meal. But with large meals come large digestive responsibilities. The good news is you can enjoy a more health-conscious Thanksgiving dinner.

References

Masalha, M., Cohen, M., Aloni, M., Toledo, E., Stahl, E., Shachar, D., Eliav, O., Fuchs, S., & Atzil, S. (2026). Social Physiology: Human homeostasis is more efficient in social proximity. Science Advances. https://doi.org/aeg4937