Longevity Through Stress: Unlocking Your Body’s Survival Pathways | Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist

The Proof with Simon Hill

Simon Hill

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Education

4.9 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2025

⏱️ 111 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr. Sharon Bergquist joins me to explore a powerful reframe: stress isn’t always bad. In fact, certain types of stress, when dosed right, are essential for building resilience and longevity. We talk about “eustress,” hormesis, and how everyday tools like exercise, fasting, and even hot or cold exposure can activate the body’s repair systems at the cellular level. Sharon explains why recovery is just as critical as the stressor itself, and how aligning your lifestyle with your values may be one of the most impactful health moves of all. Overview of the Stress Paradox (00:00) Good Stress vs. Bad Stress: What’s the Difference? (01:55) Understanding Stress: Eustress, Distress & Sustress (04:04) How Stress Changes Your Body’s Baseline Permanently? (09:20) Why Discomfort Is Required for Long-Term Health (11:38) What Is Hormesis and How It Regenerates Your Body (17:00) 7 Repair Systems Activated by Good Stress (17:42) Recovery Matters: The Missing Piece in Stress Resilience (23:44) The Blood Markers That Show If Your Stress Routine Is Working (29:23) The Best Type of Stress for Improving Metabolic Health (33:59) Do Good Stressors Slow Aging (35:18) What Is Psychological Stress and Can It Be Good for You? (41:00) The 5 Good Stressors That Boost Resilience and Longevity (45:55) The Science Behind Phytochemicals and Stress Adaptation (46:22) What Are Phytochemicals? Nature’s Defence Compounds (54:55) Intermittent Fasting Explained: Finding Your Goldilocks Zone (01:00:42) Combining Fasting with Exercise: Best Practices for Balance (01:10:38) High-Intensity Training and Mitochondrial Health Benefits (01:15:18) Heat and Cold Therapy: Saunas, Ice Baths and Hormetic Effects (01:28:02) Psychological Stress and Cellular Health: The Mind-Body Link (01:36:32) Final Takeaways: Building a Resilient, Healthier You (01:43:24) If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by stress or tried to avoid it entirely, this conversation offers a new, empowering perspective. Share this episode with someone who’d benefit from rethinking their relationship with stress. This episode is brought to you by: 38TERA Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout. Function Health Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health provides a practical solution to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. For the first 1,000 listeners, new members get a $100 credit when signing up. Head to functionhealth.com/simonhill to claim your credit. Only available to those living in the United States. Momentous My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Get 20% off your first purchase by using the code LIVINGPROOF at checkout at livemomentous.com Eight Sleep Upgrade your sleep with the Pod 5 Ultra by Eight Sleep. Clinically validated to deliver up to 1 extra hour of quality sleep per night through temperature control and biometric tracking. Use code THEPROOF for $350 off at eightsleep.com/theproof. Try it risk-free for 30 days, with worldwide shipping. Eimele Eimele Essential 8 is a comprehensive multivitamin that is scientifically formulated to complement your plant-rich diet, increase and sustain your energy, and support the immune system, as well as heart and brain health. Follow this link for 20% off one-time purchases and subscriptions. Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons) • Creator of theproof.com • Host of The Proof with Simon Hill • Author of The Proof is in the Plants Subscribe & Connect: • YouTube • Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Instagram: @simonhill • Twitter: @theproof • Facebook: The Proof with Simon Hill Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Could more stress actually lead to better health? It sounds a little counterintuitive,
0:06.0	but according to Dr. Sharon Burquist, certain forms of stress, what she describes as good stress,
0:12.0	like fasting, high-intensity exercise, phytochemical consumption, thermotherapy, and even specific types of psychological stress,
0:20.0	can activate powerful survival pathways in the body.
0:23.3	In this episode, we break down her book The Stress Paradox and explore how to reframe stress
0:28.3	from something to fear into something we can strategically use to live longer, think clearer,
0:34.0	and feel better.
0:39.3	On the topic of stress, I have written and published a book of my own and we were just talking offline.
0:46.3	We worked with some of the same people who helped us get our book out there.
0:52.3	I remember the book writing process. I have mixed feelings
0:57.1	about it. There are a lot of very fond memories and there are some stressful moments as well,
1:03.6	of course. What was that writing process like for you? I would say the hardest thing I've ever
1:09.1	done in my 30 plus years in medicine and research.
1:13.8	So I thoroughly can relate to the challenges of writing.
1:18.6	But I would also say it's the most rewarding thing I've done throughout that time.
1:24.4	And for me, I focused on how it was good stress and the rewards from it, how fulfilling
1:32.6	it was to share what I had known and built upon throughout so much of my career. So I focused on
1:41.7	the good stress aspect of it. We became team good stress. And I think that helped us
1:47.8	through the rockier parts when you're under deadlines. And there's just a lot to do.
1:54.5	You say good stress there a few times. And I'm sure we're going to clarify the difference between
1:59.0	good stress and bad stress and help people
2:03.8	understand that not all stress is created equal in terms of how it affects us.
	...

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