I had the honor recently to meet Dr. Rhonda Patrick in an online discussion about her upcoming guest appearance onstage at our franchise convention to be held in Scottsdale, AZ this August 1-3. During the meeting she spoke about hormesis and the role it plays in usage of infrared saunas. Her insights were enlightening to say the least.
What is hormesis?
“In the fields of biology and medicine hormesis is defined as an adaptive response of cells and organisms to a moderate (usually intermittent) stress. Examples include ischemic preconditioning, exercise, dietary energy restriction and exposures to low doses of certain phytochemicals.” (1)
Hormesis is the bodily response to hormetic stress. In other words, these hormetic stressors trigger hormesis. Hormesis conditions cells of the body to withstand even greater stress. One example that I am very familiar with is the use of an oxygen restrictive mask during Hot Cycle HIIT sessions in an infrared sauna. I used this method of stressors to condition my body to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and the result allowed me to scale a very high altitude on the quickest route with ease in a low oxygen environment.
Hormetic stress can make you physically and mentally stronger!
Evidence is mounting to suggest that hormetic stressors like HIIT training, intermittent fasting and exposure to infrared saunas may assist the body with adaptation to other “negative” stressors such as depression and anxiety through a process known as cross-adaptation.
The understanding of hormesis at the cellular and molecular level is leading to better methods for preventing disease. HOTWORX promotes intermittent stress by way of infrared sauna usage for workouts. HOTWORX also promotes the practice of intermittent fasting through the use of its proprietary Diet Trax software available for use by members on the HOTWORX BURN OFF APP with a membership upgrade.
The franchise is pleased to announce that world renowned scientist, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, an expert in the field of hormesis and co-founder of Found My Fitness Podcast, will participate in an onstage discussion and audience Q&A at this year’s annual HOTWORX franchise convention. Please note that Dr. Patrick is a convention guest and not an endorser of HOTWORX services or products. HOTWORX looks forward to her deep dive into the science of the benefits of exercise and sauna usage.
Her podcast includes discussions on the benefits of exposing the body to hormetic stressors such as cold, heat, fasting, and exercise. Her guests include scientists, authors, and other experts covering scientific and health related information.
“Dr. Rhonda Patrick has a gift for translating complex scientific topics into actionable insights in her videos, podcasts, and articles. She's dedicated to the pursuit of longevity and optimal health—and shares the latest research on nutrition, aging, and disease prevention with her growing audience.” (2)
Dr. Patrick is a published scientist and health educator based in San Diego. As stated before, she runs a popular website, podcast, and YouTube channel called FoundMyFitness which focuses on promoting strategies for increasing healthspan, well-being, cognitive and physical performance and includes interviews with many scientists at the forefront of the aging field.
Her areas of focus include micronutrient deficiencies and their role in aging, the role of genetics and epigenetics in health status, benefits of exposing the body to hormetic stressors, such as through sauna use or heat stress, various forms of cold exposure, exercise, fasting, or plant phytochemicals, and the importance of mindfulness, stress reduction, and sleep.
Her work has been published in the journals Experimental Gerontology, FASEB, Nature Cell Biology, and Trends in Cell Biology.
Among other relevant topics, at the HOTWORX convention she will discuss the role of hormesis as it relates to hot exercise.
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