WHAT DOESN'T KILL US MAKES US STRONGER
It seems sharing about the process of hormesis is coming up frequently in consultations recently
Have you heard of hormesis?
Hormesis is the process of stressing the body to a degree to strengthen or produce positive benefits.
Now you will have heard me frequently emphasise the deleterious effects of stress to our overall health. In fact I believe stress is the main contributor to much of our poor health today. However there are various types of stress and the one we want to try to limit is chronic stress often brought about by our thoughts, perceived danger and daily pressures of modern living that cause us distress.
A hormetic stressor promotes a positive adaptation. It’s designed to make us stronger and more resilient. It’s important that these stressors are no more than moderate in dose or intensity and intermittent as opposed to chronic or ongoing. Daily ceaseless stress of any form is not at all beneficial to the functioning and health of the human body.
These inputs to the human body have a beneficial effect in low doses and a detrimental effect in high doses. Hormetic stressors can be physical, nutritional, psychological or biochemical. The most common hormetic stressors are certain types of exercise - weight training and HIIT in particular and intermittent fasting. There’s also;
Endurance training
Cold therapy
Sun exposure
Food/caloric restriction
Nutrients
Infections
Altitude training
Red light therapy
Sauna
Breath work
These factors all induce a stress response that is strengthening to the body at a cellular level. As a result, it is posited, the body’s various protective systems are triggered, thus preventing or at least retarding, age-related chronic diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, etc.
While these hormetic stressors may be seen as uncomfortable, or even stressful, they all have incredible benefits on the body making it more resilient, improving health and longevity.
In a similar vein physician and chemist, Paracelsus some 500 years ago said:
DOSIS SOLA FACIT VENENUM
"All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison."
Often reduced to; The Dose Makes The Poison and I like to add ‘and your dose is different to mine’
This statement by Paracelsus is a foundational principle of toxicology.
Essentially, things are only harmful (poison) when a certain amount (dose) has been reached
OR
Everything is harmful (poison) when a certain amount (dose) has been reached
Examples include:
Water
Probiotics
Any food group or type of food including ‘superfoods’, holier than thou vegetables or fruit and common allergens like gluten and dairy
Oxygen
Coffee/Tea
Standing/Sitting
Alcohol
Sleep
As there are several factors involved in the poison level being reached, on the whole, the dose required for something to be harmful is different for everyone and can change for that person over time.
This is worth remembering in the food/diet/nutrition world of today where a certain food or way of eating is being extolled as healthy by one group of people and toxic/poisonous by another group of people.
And this is why this topic has been coming up regularly in consultations.
THERE IS NO ONE SIZE (DIET) FITS ALL!
In addition, a certain food or way of eating might suit you now and not in a few months/years. Possibly due to the bucket theory
We humans tend to think if a little is good, a lot must be better and vice versa thus eliminating inputs that might actually benefit us in small amounts.
Essentially something is good for YOU until it’s not.
And like a worn out all record I’ll conclude with;
It’s very individual so YOU must listen to YOUR own body for what works best for you…