The Stress Paradox - by Sharon Horesh Bergquist (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A paradigm-shifting approach to wellness that reveals how the right levels of stress are actually good for you and how stress can help you unlock the body's natural ability to stave off aging, prevent disease, and improve metabolic health.

What if we've gotten stress wrong?

There's a breakthrough happening in the study of wellness and longevity. We know that excessive stress can be toxic, but emerging new research reveals that too little stress is just as bad for you as too much.

Dr. Sharon Bergquist, a pioneering physician and leading stress researcher, is at the forefront of this movement. In The Stress Paradox, she explains that our bodies are designed to heal and repair themselves, but we need the right amount and type of stress to rejuvenate at a cellular level.

Many modern comforts have inadvertently increased our risk of mental and physical illness by causing us to underutilize our inherited response to challenges. Our need for stress is so deeply embedded in our genes that you can't achieve good health without it! Dr. Bergquist reveals how to optimize five key stressors to maximize mental, emotional, and physical resilience and reap a host of health benefits, from staving off dementia to increasing the years of your life. These simple lifestyle changes can keep your mind sharp, improve your mood, increase energy and metabolism, support a healthy gut, maintain a healthy weight, and decrease your risk of serious diseases like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's.

Eating more plant "toxins" in foods like vegetables, dark chocolate, and spicesExercising with intermittent bursts of intense movementEngaging in heat and cold therapy to awaken your body's ancient healing pathwaysFasting most effectively for your circadian biologyChallenging yourself mentally and emotionally while managing unhealthy stress levels

Rooted in cutting-edge science and complete with customizable protocols, workouts, and recipe templates, The Stress Paradox is an accessible life-changing roadmap to dramatically increase health, happiness, and longevity.

Review Quotes

"Blending science with practical protocols, The Stress Paradox beautifully shows how our marvelously complex bodies need good stress. It is an essential guide for anyone seeking to realign their lifestyle with how we're naturally hardwired for resilience." -- Dan Buettner, Blue Zones Founder and 5x New York Times Bestselling Author

"In The Stress Paradox, Dr. Sharon Bergquist is changing the game and redefining our relationship with stress, showing us how we can use good stress to regenerate our cells, enhance resilience, and even nurture a healthier gut microbiome. This is a must-read for vibrant health and longevity." -- Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, New York Times bestselling author of Fiber Fueled

"One of the most important books of our time, The Stress Paradox equips us with the essential tools to thrive in an increasingly toxic world. From harnessing the power of phytochemicals in food, to understanding how good stress influences your gut microbiome, this is powerful medicine!" -- Dr. Robynne Chutkan, gastroenterologist and author of Gutbliss, The Microbiome Solution, The Bloat Cure, The Anti-Viral Gut and host of The Gutbliss Podcast

"The Stress Paradox will forever shift your perception of stress while guiding you on a path towards health, happiness, and longevity. Dr. Sharon Bergquist brilliantly navigates readers through the surprising truths about stress and how it can be harnessed for our overall well-being. Actionable and thoroughly researched, this book is a complete game-changer." -- Dr. Heather Sandison, ND New York Times bestselling author of Reversing Alzheimers

"Dr. Sharon Bergquist expertly explains the counterintuitive benefits of stress, offering practical insights that can enhance our well-being and long-term health. This thought-provoking book challenges conventional wisdom and provides a fresh perspective on how we can best thrive." -- Dr. Amy Shah, author of I'm So Effing Tired and I'm So Effing Hungry

"After her medical training at Harvard and a decade of practicing high-quality but standard medicine, Dr. Bergquist embarked on a journey to learn how to switch from sick care to exploiting science to help patients live long and healthy. This excellent book focuses on the power of the human body to turn on coordinated stress responses that can be more powerful than drugs." -- Dr. Valter Longo, Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and author of The Longevity Diet