Don't live in fear of ruining your health - a little bit of bad can actually be good.
Toxic is relative – don’t assume everything you hear is bad for your health is actually as scary as it seems.
Happy Wednesday, health heroes.
Today’s newsletter is a day late, but I think you’ll find it worth the wait. We’re talking about one of my favorite concepts: a little bit of bad can actually be good for you.
Let’s get into it!
Extreme thinking can be dangerous.
One example is the anti-toxic movement. From the chemicals we use to clean our houses to the sheets we sleep in, we are constantly being warned. Some of what we are cautioned to consider is helpful — even wonderful— information. But taken to the extreme, it can be debilitating.
Take the idea, for example, that stress is harmful. This idea creates a false expectation that we should always be stress-free. Yet living in this way is impossible and can even lead to more stress.
But what if I told you that a little bit of stress might actually be beneficial? Being stressed can actually help us respond through adaptive mechanisms that raise our level of tolerance to stress, and this is also true for many toxins.
In fact, science tells us that the human body is not as fragile as we might think. A concept called hormesis teaches us that small doses of what we consider harmful can actually trigger the body to adapt, making us stronger and more resistant over time.
This natural process happens in response to various stressors, including exercise, low doses of toxins, and even calorie restriction. Many people use this as a “biohack” to increase health, such as those who use ice baths to “shock” the system to respond or people who use red wine to reduce heart disease risk.
Hormesis works because our body’s defense mechanisms are designed to be activated by challenges.
When exposed to a small amount of stress, our systems respond with protective responses that repair damage, induce the immune response, and activate cellular metabolic function. It’s this adaptive process that strengthens us, both physically and mentally. By embracing mild stress, we can increase our tolerance not only to future stress but also to disease and aging.
Take my clients who are advancing in years and losing their balance, for example. These clients are concerned about being prone to falling due to their loss of balance. I introduce them to a foam plank to walk on and have them practice balancing on the balance beam—a little imbalance introduced in a safe way. They “fall” off the foam safely but then get back on and keep trying.
Slowly, their balance begins to improve. Safely introducing balance challenges improves their balance. The same adaptive response happens on a cellular level, too.
Caution vs. Resilience: The Double-Edged Sword of California’s Proposition 65
California’s desire to protect its population is an interesting study in balancing protection within reason. California is known for leading the charge on environmental protection and health awareness, and one of its landmark efforts is Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.
On the surface, it sounds like a good idea: businesses are required to provide warnings if their products contain chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. You’ve probably seen the familiar warning label: “This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.”
Proposition 65 is part of a broader movement to raise awareness about the environmental factors that could harm our health. From pollutants in the air to chemicals in our food and products, it’s a law aimed at helping consumers make informed decisions.
This sounds like a powerful tool for public health—and in many ways, it is. But there’s another side to this story, one that can lead people astray.
The Risks of Over-Caution
The good intentions of Proposition 65 come with unintended consequences. While it’s designed to protect consumers from harmful chemicals, the sheer number of warnings can create confusion. Virtually everything—from coffee to electronics to furniture—carries a Proposition 65 warning, leading people to question the real danger behind these products. When warnings are everywhere, it’s easy to become desensitized, anxious, or worse—fearful that every product we touch is toxic.
The problem is that Proposition 65 does not distinguish between meaningful risk and mere trace exposures. Many of the chemicals listed under the law can indeed cause harm, but usually only in doses far beyond what we’re exposed to in everyday life. For example, even products that contain safe, negligible amounts of a listed chemical may still require a warning label. This blanket approach can skew our perception of risk and leave us feeling like the world around us is more dangerous than it really is.
Resilience: Our Body’s Built-In Defenses
While it’s true that some chemicals are harmful, we’re not as fragile as these constant warnings might lead us to believe. Humans are resilient beings, equipped with robust defense mechanisms designed to help us withstand various environmental stressors. Our bodies aren’t defenseless; we have systems in place to detoxify, repair damage, and adapt to low levels of exposure to toxins.
So, let’s return to the concept of hormesis: the idea that low doses of what might be harmful at high levels can actually be beneficial, stimulating the body’s natural defenses and making us stronger.
In small amounts, stressors like certain chemicals, radiation, and even exercise can activate the body’s repair mechanisms and help build resistance to greater challenges. In fact, our health often improves when we’re exposed to these mild stressors because it forces our systems to adapt and become more robust.
Not Everything is Toxic: Rethinking Risk
It’s a mistake to assume that everything in our environment is toxic simply because it contains a potentially harmful substance. Toxicity is a matter of dose—the amount and intensity of exposure are critical factors. The reality is that we encounter countless potential toxins in daily life, from sunlight to compounds in our food. But our bodies have evolved to handle these exposures and even thrive under certain conditions. But in extreme exposure, they can be harmful.
Radon in Wyoming: an example of a real risk we shouldn’t ignore.
I live in Wyoming, so I’m going to bring it home to you with a real-life example in my life. In Wyoming, we face a dangerous issue—high levels of radon in our homes. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can seep into homes through the ground, and long-term exposure to high levels of radon is a known cause of lung cancer. In Wyoming, about 65% of homes in the state have levels above the EPA’s recommended action threshold of 4.0 pCi/L. In Wyoming, lung cancer rates are notably high, and radon exposure is a significant contributor to this issue. Many people remain unaware of the serious risk that radon poses simply by living in a high-radon area like ours.
The problem with radon is that it’s invisible, odorless, and tasteless, so it’s easy to ignore. Yet, the health risks are real. Unlike some of the trace toxins that get a lot of attention in the media, radon is a significant health hazard—especially in Wyoming, where many homes are in areas with elevated radon levels, including mine.
Why Focus on the Real Threats?
While it’s important to be mindful of the products we bring into our homes and foods that may contain pesticides, we should also recognize the difference between true toxins and perceived toxins. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by warnings about small, trace amounts of chemicals in everyday items—like a bathroom rug labeled with a cancer warning. But we need to ask ourselves: Is this really something to fear, or is it something our bodies can easily overcome?
Then we need to do our homework.
The real concern comes when we’re exposed to toxins that we can’t easily avoid, that accumulate over time, like radon in our homes, or that we are constantly exposed to. This isn’t about being alarmist, but about focusing on the risks that truly matter for our long-term health. Testing for radon is simple, and if high levels are detected, there are effective mitigation strategies to lower the radon levels in your home. Buying organic milk becomes important if you drink a lot of milk.
Understanding Risk: True Toxins vs. Perceived Threats
We live in a world where we’re surrounded by potential toxins, but not all are created equal. Some, like radon, pose a serious threat because of the dose and exposure levels. Others, like trace chemicals found in consumer products, are present in such small amounts that our bodies’ natural defenses can handle them without harm. Organic lotion, for example, makes me laugh.
Most ingredients in lotion are chemicals! But even if there were toxins in something we expose ourselves to, we will probably be fine (if we are in good health condition) and if we are not over- exposing ourselves to a constant barrage of toxins. In moderate or small amounts, hormesis comes into play—small exposures to certain stressors can actually help our bodies become stronger and more resilient.
To be clear, radon doesn’t fall into this category. It’s not something we can tolerate at high levels over time. This is why understanding the difference between true toxins, like radon, and perceived toxins, like trace amounts of chemicals in products, is so important. We can’t afford to become distracted by minor risks while ignoring the more serious ones that could impact our health in the long run.
How to Take Action
We need to develop a more nuanced understanding of the risks we face. We should be cautious, yes—but not fearful of every warning label we see. Instead, let’s focus our energy on addressing the risks that truly matter, like radon, while also trusting our bodies’ ability to manage small exposures to less significant threats.
So how should we approach toxicity? Rather than fearing every chemical or warning label, it’s better to adopt a mindset of caution without paranoia. Awareness is key, but we also need to trust that our bodies are designed to handle moderate amounts of stress (if we are relatively healthy- I want to make this clear. The healthier we are, the more toxins we can withstand.) It’s about finding balance: we can be mindful of our environment and the substances we interact with while also remembering that not every exposure is harmful; in some cases, it can even be beneficial.
And for taking action against radon, if that’s a problem in your area? The good news is, it’s relatively straightforward. The first step is testing your home for radon, which can be done with an inexpensive test kit. If high levels are detected, there are radon mitigation systems that can reduce the radon concentration in your home, protecting everyone in your house from this invisible but real threat.
Moving Forward: Embracing Caution, Not Fear
Proposition 65 and other health warnings have an important role to play—they help us understand what’s in our products and encourage us to think about the impact of our environment on our health. Read the labels – they were put there to give you information. But we shouldn’t let these warnings push us into a state of fear or extreme avoidance. Our bodies are resilient, and we can strengthen them by embracing moderate challenges rather than retreating from every perceived threat. A little bit of bad can indeed be good—and can set the stage for a life of enhanced vitality, disease resistance, and mental toughness.
The key is balance: being informed and cautious, but also recognizing our body’s capacity for resilience. Hormesis teaches us that small, controlled exposure to stressors can make us stronger, healthier, and more adaptable. So, the next time you see a Proposition 65 warning, take a moment to reflect—not just on the potential risks but also on your body’s remarkable ability to cope, adapt, and thrive in the face of challenges. And then look around – what are the real risks in your sphere that you can control?
Note: I want to thank my college advisor some twenty years ago, Dr. Joan Smith Sonneborn, Professor at the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming, for introducing the concept of hormesis and opening my eyes to our body’s remarkable resiliency and adaptability. One of her landmark articles is Memetics of Hormetic Agents: Stress-Resistance Triggers.
That’s all for today’s letter! I was behind by a day on this week’s Tuesday letter, but you’ll be getting your regularly scheduled Thursday post tomorrow as well. Stay tuned!
If you’re new here, thank you so much for joining the conversation and journey to better, faster health and wellbeing. I’m so happy you’re here!
See you all Thursday,
Dr. Alice
A little more about Dr. Alice Burron and The Health Navigator Group:
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