At its most basic, hormesis is a biological phenomenon in which low-dose exposure to an environmental agent (called a “hormetic stressor”) produces a beneficial effect, while a higher-dose exposure produces a toxic effect. The layman’s explanation for this odd duality is often summarized by the famous Friedrich Nietzsche quote: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” In theory, it can apply to nearly any activity, but for our purposes we are focused on the good kind of stressors, which are natural and acute. The ones that happen quickly and then pass, which create a hormetic response that
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