 A whole new theory has arisen to explain the mystery as to why so many plant molecules interact with and modulate key regulators of our physiology in ways that are beneficial to our health. A theory called Xenohormesis. I touched on Hormesis in my liquid smoke video. Basically, it's the biological principle of no pain, no gain. Mild stresses like exercise can trigger a protective response that leads to strength and defenses in the short term. But instead of exposing ourselves to the stressor to trigger our body's defenses and shore up protection against future stressors, why not just let plants take the hit? Let the plants get stressed, because incredibly the stress response molecules in plants may activate the same protective responses in humans. Xenohormesis explains why environmentally stressed plants produce bioactive compounds that can confer stress resistance and survival benefits to animals that consume them. We can then piggyback off their sophisticated stress response. Indeed, the majority of known health beneficial effects of edible plants are attributable to the pharmacologically active substances of plants' stress response. Hormesis may be why dietary restriction can lead to lifespan extension. The mild stress placed upon the body by not eating enough may activate a wide variety of protective pathways within the body, a whole cascade ramping up anti-inflammatory and antioxidant defenses. Our body is preparing itself for the coming famine, and it thinks it's about to occur. So is there a way to exploit the benefits of dietary restriction to prevent chronic disease? Obviously, chronically restricting food intake is not a realistic health strategy for the majority of people. It's hard for most people to even cut food intake 10 or 20%, given the powerful evolutionary drive to eat. As a more feasible alternative, we may be able to activate dietary restriction and do stress response pathways by other means, in other words, zeno-hormesis. If you starve plants, they do the same thing, activate preservation pathways. So let's let the plant face the adversity to create the molecules that trigger cell stress resistance, ultimatabilism, and disease resistance, then just come along and appropriate them for the same uses in our own bodies. The reason phytonutrients like resveratol and grapes, or curcumin in the spice turmeric, or ECGC in green tea, are called dietary restriction mimetics, is that they mimic the physiological effects of dietary restriction. And this may be no coincidence, because that's why the plants produce these compounds in the first place, to save their own green butts from scarcity. So instead of having to walk around starving all the time, thanks to zeno-hormesis, we may be able to let plants bear the brunt and enable us to harness other species hardships as a means to promote our own health.