“Whisk, Hug, Repeat: The Underrated Recipe of Physical Touch”

Hey Skinny readers! I trust you're all doing well and staying blessed. Jeez has it not been chilly lately? Hopefully, winter is finally on its way out. Fun fact: August is National Black Business Month in the U.S. a time to celebrate and recognize Black-owned businesses.

But in true Skinny style, let’s shine the spotlight on our very own homegrown Mzansi Black-owned businesses! Support their fashion, creative content, film productions (yes, keep binging that local Netflix), and most importantly their food.

Now let’s face it in a world obsessed with kale smoothies, step counts, and intermittent fasting apps—we sometimes forget the simplest wellness ingredient of all: physical touch.

Today, we’re diving into the science behind why a hug a day may actually keep the doctor away. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a kombucha, and let’s explore why a little skin-to-skin contact might be just what your skinny soul needs! Haha!

It’s More Than Skin Deep

Researchers at the University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute found that regular physical contact think hugs, massages, or holding hands reduces cortisol (that pesky stress hormone) and boosts oxytocin, a.k.a. the "cuddle hormone."

Skinny Chef Hack: Oxytocin = the avocado toast of your endocrine system. It’s trendy, nourishing, and just a little extra.

Touch Boosts Your Immune System

Touch doesn’t just melt hearts it activates the vagus nerve, lowering your heart rate and strengthening immune function. A 2015 study published in Psychological Science even found that people who receive more hugs are less likely to catch a cold.

Skinny Chef Hack: Hugs = probiotic yoghurt for your soul.

Touch Improves Sleep

Forget melatonin gummies, Skinny readers. Touch increases serotonin, the feel-good hormone that’s also a precursor to melatonin, the sleep hormone. In other words, cuddle time might just beat chamomile tea and blackout curtains.

Food + Touch Connection (Yes, Skinnies, This Is a Thing!)

Finger Foods: The OG Intimacy

Eating with your hands from Ethiopian injera to Indian thalis isn’t just tactile bliss. Touching your food heightens sensory awareness and enhances pleasure.So next time you side-eye someone for licking their fingers don’t. They’re just in touch with their feelings, literally.

Baking Therapy: Knead to Feel

Studies show that baking or cooking boosts mindfulness and reduces anxiety.Skinny Hack: Kneading dough can be oddly therapeutic that’s your brain bathing in dopamine.Bonus points if you hug someone while the dough rises.

Chocolate Hugs (Yes, Skinnies, This Is Also a Thing)

Chocolate releases oxytocin, just like hugs do. A small square of dark chocolate or a cozy embrace ideally both.They go together like oatmeal & espresso.

Skinny Readers, Big Feels: Why This Matters for You

Wellness isn’t just about what you eat.Being healthy isn’t only about calories, macros, or macros in your feelings.Emotional nourishment counts too.A no-sugar diet might give you abs but a hug can give you peace of mind.

Digital Touch vs. Real Touch

You can’t spoon your phone.Heart emojis and TikTok likes are cute, but they don’t trigger oxytocin.

Skinny Hack: Real skin contact = real mood boost.Go touch some grass or a consenting human! Haha!

Salad Can’t Hug You Back

Your kale doesn’t cuddle. But your friends, your partner, your dog, your mom they do.Lean into those connections.

How to Add More Touch to Your Life (Without Being Weird)

Here are five easy go-to moves:

1. Hug more (consensually!)Science says a 20-second hug lowers blood pressure. That’s less time than it takes to make a matcha.

2. Self-massage or foam rollingYup it counts! Your fascia will thank you.

3. Cuddle a petDogs, cats… even emotional support chickens (yes, that’s a thing!) deliver that oxytocin hit.

4. Book a massageIt’s not just indulgent it’s therapeutic.

5. Hold handsEven briefly with friends, partners, kids. It truly matters.

Wrapping It Up: The Secret Sauce Is Connection

In a world of foodies and fitness trackers, we sometimes forget the original wellness hack: being seen, held, and loved.

So while you’re blending your smoothies and tracking your macros, remember. A well-timed hug might do more for your gut, heart, and soul than another celery juice ever could.

Thank you for tuning in, Skinny readers.Stay blessed. Stay healthy. And most importantly—stay skinny.Same time, same place!

Creative Director : Shadre Leonard