Whats Happening: Hormesis

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…if you can overcompensate, at least. That’s the theory behind hormesis, the idea that some stressors (like exercise, cold showers, and even radiation) are actually beneficial in small doses because humans are so resilient that we “bounce back” stronger than before. This week, Todd Becker at Getting Stronger wrote an extensive review of a new book called Antifragile, by author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, explaining several fascinating aspects of hormetic stress and adaptation. Both men will be speaking at the Ancestral Health Symposium 2013 conference in August, so check out the post for a preview and some suggestions for using hormetic stress to improve your own health.

More interesting tidbits from around the internet this week include:

• Meat, Organs, Bones, and Skin: Chris Masterjohn’s new post on the Weston A. Price Foundation’s blog explores the potential consequences of a vegetarian diet for mental health, and how nutrient-dense animal foods can help.

• Ask a Food Lawyer: What does “Natural” Mean on Food Labels: a new feature from Eat Drink Politics takes on some of the legalese that frustrates people’s attempts to eat what’s good for them. Unfortunately, in this case, the short answer says it all: “Next to nothing.”

• Effects of Sleep Restriction on Weight Gain, Caloric Intake, and Meal Timing: a new study from the journal Sleep reveals what all of us could have guessed, that sleep-deprived people eat more, especially more junk food, and gain weight faster than their well-rested counterparts.

• Surviving the Night Shift: In an encouraging counterpoint to the news on sleep and weight gain, Michelle Tam at Nom Nom Paleo details how she stays healthy even working the graveyard shift.

• The Evidence Continues to Mount Against Chronic Cardio: a few weeks ago, our What’s Happening post featured a defense of cardio; this week, a new post from Mark Sisson elaborates on the other side of the debate. The lesson? There are no easy answers.

• Perfect Health Diet Review: a new interview with Paul Jaminet asks some new and interesting questions, especially about diet and mental health.

• 5 Uncommon Uses for Probiotics: As it turns out, coconut oil isn’t the only kitchen staple that can multitask! Chris Kresser details 5 uses for probiotics that aren’t about your gut flora.

• Eating on the Wild Side: A Field guide to Nutritious Food: have you ever wondered what you might be missing out on by eating vegetables selectively bred for thousands of years for taste and yield, rather than nutrition? Or what kinds of vegetables you might have been able to actually get in the Paleolithic? Jo Robinson did, and then decided to not only find out, but also write a book about it – this week, NPR interviewed her about her findings and recommendations.

Have you ever used hormetic stress to improve your health? How did you do it and what were the results? Let us know on Facebook or Google+!