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Today I’m joined by Dr. Sharon Bergquist—a Yale and Harvard-trained internal medicine physician and scientist, with nearly three decades of experience working at the forefront of preventive care, healthy aging and lifestyle medicine. Her new book, The Stress Paradox, completely changed the way I think about stress—and I can honestly say our conversation is one of the most eye-opening I’ve had on the show.

We often hear stress framed as the enemy. Yet Sharon’s research and decades of clinical experience reveal a different truth: the right kinds of stress, at the right times, with recovery — can be powerful tools for longevity, resilience, and even happiness.

In this episode, we dive into how “good stress” works in the body, why our modern comfort-driven lifestyle is making us sicker, and how five essential stressors—plant-based phytochemicals, intense exercise, heat and cold exposure, circadian fasting, and mental and emotional challenges—can help us thrive.

We also get practical—discussing how to tell the difference between healthy and harmful stress, how to get into a good stress mindset, and why adding in more plants can do far more for your health and lifespan than cutting things out.

I loved Sharon’s book and I loved this chat. Let’s get into it.

In this conversation we cover:
• When Sharon first began to see stress not as a threat, but as something vital to health and resilience.
• Key definitions to guide the conversation: hormetic stress, autophagy, and mitochondria.
• How our comfort-driven modern lifestyle and avoidance of discomfort are making us more vulnerable to disease.
• The science behind “good stress” and how it builds stress resilience.
• How daily lifestyle habits can activate the body’s innate regenerative capacity.
• The five key stressors proven to enhance longevity and health-span:

– Plant-based phytochemicals (why diversity matters and why most people eat only 30 plants a year out of 30,000 edible options)
– Intermittent intense exercise
– Thermal stress (heat and cold exposure)
– Circadian fasting
– Mental and emotional challenges

• Why each of these stressors was a natural part of ancestral life — and how to bring them back today.
• How to differentiate between beneficial mental/emotional stress and harmful chronic stress.
• The mindset shift: developing an internal locus of control and becoming the hero of your own health journey.
• The three pillars of good stress: right time, right intensity, right duration.
• Why recovery is as important as the stress itself.
• Surprising facts that may change how you think about food and health:

– More symptoms and chronic health issues arise from a shortage of plant-based nutrients than from excess processed foods.
– A diet deficient in phytochemical-rich plants is the single biggest dietary risk factor for mortality worldwide, accounting for 1 in 5 deaths.
– Adding a diversity of plant foods does far more for health and longevity than cutting out so-called “bad” foods—because plants turn on your stress-response genes.

After we wrapped this conversation, I asked Sharon more about circadian fasting—specifically, how her brain functions without food for hours after waking up. She told me she wrote The Stress Paradox between 4 and 6 am. each morning with nothing more than a cup of black coffee (which does not break the fast).

That was enough to convince me to give it a go. I’m proud to say I’m now 19 out of 20 days with a 12-hour fast. I genuinely feel better for it—like my body is getting the chance for that healing and housekeeping time it’s designed for.

As Sharon reminds us: the future of medicine is in empowering people with the exact information and tools they need to manage their own health. Her decades of experience have shown the powerful impact that lifestyle as medicine can have—and I think this episode is a beautiful example of that.

If you enjoyed this chat, I highly recommend picking up The Stress Paradox. It’s practical, empowering, and might just change the way you think about stress—and about health—for good.

Sharon’s Website: https://drsharonbergquist.com/
Purchase the Stress Paradox book: https://drsharonbergquist.com/the-stress-paradox
Sign up for Sharon’s newsletter: https://dr-sharon-bergquist.kit.com/newsletter
Connect with Sharon across the socials: Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

That’s it for this week in Healthification.

Plant Positive Journal Version 2 (printed and fillable PDF)
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With love and gratitude plant friends.

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