For a Better Marriage, Mind Your Blood Sugar

"If couples have a sensitive topic to discuss, it would be really smart to do it over dinner or better yet after dinner," say researchers who have linked low blood sugar to marital hostility. "They should definitely not do it on an empty stomach." Researchers tracked the blood sugar levels—and, using voodoo dolls, the aggression levels—of 107 married couples and found that those with the lowest nighttime blood sugar were the most likely to stick pins in the doll representing their partner, CNN reports.

In laboratory tests, people with low blood sugar were also the most willing to blast their partner with a loud, obnoxious noise in what they were told was a game, USA Today reports. The results were similar no matter how strong a couple said their marriage was. Low blood sugar can trigger hormones that cause people to become aggressive and irritable, a professor of medicine explains to Bloomberg. "Probably more regular and healthy meals could improve the dynamics of a relationship," he says, adding that counseling should be considered when diabetes is involved. (More marriage stories.)