HORMESIS
(author: Unknown)
A fascinating article appearing in the journal Science (Oct 17, 2003, Vol 302)
touts the therapeutic potential of hormesis. “Sipping from a Poisoned Chalice”
explores the controversial concept that poisons can heal when given in low
doses.
For ages people have known that small doses of poisons can produce beneficial effects. Hormesis is the scientific theory that explains how chemicals can have opposite effects at high and low doses.
One explanation for hormesis is that small doses of some harmful substances stimulate a beneficial overreaction, causing the organism to function better under stress. Likely mechanisms for this healing effect include stimulated immune response, enzymes that repair damaged DNA, and apoptosis (which eliminates damaged cells that could become cancerous).
Hormesis flies in the face of conventional wisdom that toxicants are poison even at low levels. Homeopathic practitioners are certainly aware that low doses of many substances can have such a paradoxical effect. Many of the Cayce remedies also fit well into the hormesis paradigm. Wild ginger is a likely candidate for a hormesis effect (see our report on wild ginger in the July, 2003 issue). The radium pad (low dosage radiation) is another example of hormesis in the Cayce readings.