Fig. 3
From: A scheme for a flexible classification of dietary and health biomarkers
Balance and stress in a biological system. Any biological system including human individuals may experience periods of balance (a1, b1 and c1) and periods of increased stress (a2, b2 and c2). Systems with different susceptibility have different risk of developing disease when exposed to the same stress. For a system with normal (moderate or low) susceptibility (a1), an increased stress may be tolerated (a2) making the system come closer to disease risk but without causing disease. For a system with high general susceptibility (b1) or specific susceptibility (c1), an increased environmental challenge may overstep the system tolerance leading to imbalance and heightened risk of disease (b2 and c2)