What Is Hormesis & How It Works? – Dr.Berg

I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of this word, hormesis, but I want to define it, okay?Hormesis is a condition where you’re adding some stress or some toxicity in a small amount,and it’s very beneficial to you. As compared to in a larger amount, it becomes toxic or harmful.Let me explain. Let’s say, for example, you added a little bit of exercise,and then it kicks in repair enzymes to help repair. When it repairs, it becomes a little

stronger. So exercise makes you more fit over time. But of course, if you’re 50 or 60 years old,not in shape, and you haven’t worked out, and you do CrossFit for like two hours,you’re going to have a toxic effect of that. It’s going to create a lot of damage.Also, regular exercise over a period of time allows you to build up your antioxidant networksso your body becomes stronger and it can fight off oxidation, which is kind of compared to

something rusting out the inside of your body. Fasting. Fasting is very beneficialin a certain amount. Let’s say you’re fasting for 16, 18 hours. Your body goes in repair mode,you become stronger, you get less oxidative stress. But the problem is if you fast for too long,your body will start using up the muscles and the organs as fuel, and you’ll end up havinga toxic effect, right? Phytonutrients, okay, that’s the plant-based chemicals.

There’s lectins, there’s oxalates, there’s a lot of different chemicals in plants that act asinsecticides, pesticides, things like that. But if you consume them in a small amount,your body will resist them and you become stronger. But if you have a concentratedamount of these foods, this could be very, very damaging to your body. For example,if you’re sensitive to oxalates and you consume a ton of spinach, for example, or almonds,

you can get arthritis. Same thing with lectins. Heat and cold. A little bit of heat is verybeneficial like the sauna, but if you’re going in boiling water, that might be an issue. Samething with cold. Taking a cold shower, very beneficial. Jumping in Lake Michigan in themiddle of winter for over an hour, not so good. Alcohol. In 2012, researchers from UCLA found thatgiving tiny amounts of ethanol, alcohol, doubled the lifespan of a roundworm, okay? Now, the data

from that study was a bit exaggerated, and people took that as, wow, I can drink alcohol and I’llextend my life. But if you compare the amount of alcohol given to the worm compared to the amountthat you give a human, it would be about a little less than a half of a glass, okay, or half of acup, very small amounts, 10 grams. Who is going to consume only a half a cup of alcohol? Now,of course, I’m not recommending alcohol. I don’t drink alcohol. I think it’s going to knock you

out of ketosis. All I’m saying is a small amount of alcohol could actually benefit certain partsof your body. Okay, let’s take UV light, sunshine, right? A little bit is great. Too much is bad.You’re going to get burned. UV is giving you a type of radiation. So a little bit of radiationwill help you resist radiation. Anything in large amounts can be very harmful. Estrogen and too muchcan actually give you cancer. Cortisol, you can actually get belly fat from that. You can get

cortisol resistance and start developing all sorts of issues like the condition called Cushingsyndrome. And too much growth hormone can give you all sorts of side effects. Talk to any bodybuilderthat used that and they will tell you. Too much thyroid hormone can give you a hyperthyroidcondition. Too much insulin will create a whole series of issues. And too much of a certainnutrient can be a problem too. Like if you have the synthetic versions of vitamin A, that’s very

toxic in large amounts, or too much selenium is dangerous, or even too much zinc, and especiallytoo much iron can be very toxic. So I hope this gave you a little more understanding of what thisword actually means. Thanks for watching. Hey, if you’re liking this content, please subscribe now,and I will actually keep you updated on future videos.