Stress The Body for Health Benefits

By: Bradley Binversie

I am not a doctor, but this is my over simplified understanding of how we improve our health by introducing small elements of stress to the body. When we incorporate stress, the body will then respond to the stress, and grow back stronger. A few examples:

Exercise- When we do resistance training, the muscles become fatigued and tear slightly. But after recovery, the muscles come back stronger. With cardiovascular exercise this same logic can be applied to our heart and lungs. The heart becomes stronger at pumping blood and the lungs become more efficient at processing oxygen with training. Skeletal systems and bones become stronger as well when exposed to load.

Heat and Cold Exposure- When exposed to extreme cold (ice bath) or heat (sauna) the body becomes stressed and activates survival mechanisms that appear to be beneficial for health and longevity.

Fasting- The body becomes stressed without food, this activates other pathways in the body for survival such as ketosis, autophagy, and other pathways so the body can maintain a source of energy during the period without food. The research indicates some of these pathways can help with health and longevity.

Eating Vegetables and Fruits with strong colors- I’ve heard Dr. David Sinclair say that phytochemicals can be part of the plants defense mechanisms and when we consume the dark green leafy spinach or other vegetables rich in color it can activate defense mechanisms in our own bodies. My analogy is this, our bodies recognize the “micro-dose of chemicals” as introducing stress to the body and activating the body’s immune response. Green Tea behaves in this way, it’s common to associate Green Tea consumption with longevity and health.

This is not medical advice to anyone reading it. This just my own way of thinking about the body’s response to stressors. Please note that I stated SMALL elements of stress. If we overstress the body, it puts us at risk to sickness, injury, or even death, so please be smart with adapting new training or routines.