The Doctor's Farmacy With Mark Hyman, M.d.

A Functional Medicine Approach to Osteoporosis | This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox and Dr. Hyman’s Sleep Master Class We have been led to believe that drinking milk is the key to bone health. Unfortunately, the prevailing myth that drinking milk as children builds up a calcium bank that helps us avoid osteoporosis and fracture later in life is simply not true. Our bone health is determined by a number of things including what we eat, our stress and activity levels, our muscle mass, and other factors that contribute to the delicate balance between bone build-up and bone breakdown. Unfortunately, osteoporosis is a very common and life-threatening problem, it is also highly underdiagnosed. This is part of the reason why prevention is so important when it comes to osteoporosis.  In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. Todd LePine to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to osteoporosis. They get into how chronic inflammation acts as one of the main drivers of osteoporosis, why both bone density an

Why Small Stressors Can Actually Be Good For Us | This episode is sponsored by Uqora We know that chronic, long-term stress can wreak havoc on our health. However, short-term and/or mild stressors can have the exact opposite effect. For instance, when you practice resistance training by lifting heavy weights and inflicting damage on your muscles, your body responds by repairing the damaged fibers, thus creating bigger and stronger muscles. This is called hormesis, a phenomenon that demonstrates the beneficial effects of low-level stressors. A similar process called xenohormesis also occurs in plants, making them stronger and richer in phytochemicals that are good for us. Dr. Hyman recently spoke about these topics in his conversations with Ben Greenfield and Dr. Frank Lipman. Ben Greenfield is a human performance consultant, speaker, and New York Times bestselling author of 13 books, including the wildly popular titles, Beyond Training and Boundless. A former collegiate tennis, water polo, and volleyball play

How To Eat Smarter | This episode is brought to you by Thrive Market, Athletic Greens, and Simple Mills Our bodies are built and maintained by our food choices; we literally are what we eat. Unfortunately, that means the majority of our country is made of ultra-processed food-like substances that create disease. The good news, though, is that small dietary changes can have huge payoffs in a short amount of time.  My guest on today’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy has experienced the dramatic impacts of using food as medicine firsthand. At just 15, he broke his hip simply from running because his bones were so brittle from a diet void of nutrients. At 20, he was diagnosed with degenerative bone and disk disease. After just 9 months of revamping his diet to focus on whole foods, that diagnosis was completely reversed. Shawn Stevenson is here today to tell us how food affects our bodies on the deepest level and how we can eat smarter.   Shawn Stevenson is the author of the international bestselling book Sleep S

How To Treat Erectile Dysfunction Without The Little Blue Pill | This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox and Dr. Hyman’s Sleep Master Class Erectile dysfunction is a very common problem among men. In fact, 10% of men under the age of 40 have erectile dysfunction and 60% of men experience erectile dysfunction by the age of 70. When Viagra, commonly referred to as the little blue pill, hit the market in the late 1990s, it opened the door for a conversation about this prevalent issue. And while traditional medicine has focused on targeting erectile dysfunction as a local problem, Functional Medicine recognizes that it is actually a systemic issue, often brought about by our ultra-processed, high-starch and sugar diets. In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. George Papaicolaou to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to diagnosing and treating erectile dysfunction, and why it is so important to get to the root cause of this issue. George Papanicolaou is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopat

How To Reduce Stress And Improve Wellbeing | This episode is brought to you by Find My Formula Stress is almost synonymous with our modern lifestyles. We experience external stressors from our jobs, family responsibilities, financial worries, and many other places, then compound them with unhealthy lifestyle choices. The result is an epidemic of stress and increased risk for chronic diseases. Most of us know that things such as eating well, getting quality sleep, exercise, and mediation are all effective ways to reduce and manage stress, but the value of pursuing the things that make us happy and fulfilled is a less commonly cited way to reduce stress.  Late last year, Dr. Hyman sat down with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee to discuss how making time for the things that bring us joy gives us more resilience against stress and fatigue and an improved psychological outlook. They also share practical solutions and simple interventions to help you destress and reset your life, and how implementing small changes to your rou

The Functional Medicine Approach To Treating COVID-19 And Post-COVID Syndrome | This episode is sponsored by Bioptimizers, Paleovalley, and Cozy Earth COVID has taught us a lot over the last year, and continues to do so every day that we battle this pandemic. We’ve seen what an overburdened medical system looks like and been faced with the reality of social distancing for many months now. Perhaps one of the most important lessons we have learned, though, is that a body that’s already suffering from chronic disease has far greater risks of COVID severity and even death. In the US, where the majority of people are metabolically unhealthy, we’ve seen our population faring much worse than other countries against this virus. Here, there are 500 COVID deaths per million people (at the time of this episode recording). In China, that number is 3 per million. Look at that alongside the 42% obesity rate here and the 2.6% rate there. COVID has shown us just how out of balance we are as a nation and how our baseline of d

Getting Rid Of Cold Sores And Canker Sores | This episode is sponsored by Thrive Market and Apeel While there is a difference between cold sores and canker sores, they are similar in that common occurrence of either is an indication that something is out of balance in the body. Most of us have had canker sores at one time or another. They usually occur at the side of your mouth, by your cheek, inside of your cheek, or underneath your tongue, and they can be quite painful. As opposed to cold sores, canker sores are not infections. Cold sores, however, are contagious, often forming inside your mouth, near your teeth, or on the lips; they result from herpes simplex virus.  In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Boham to discuss what frequent recurrence of cold sore or canker sores might be indicating, and how they treat patients experiencing these issues. Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practi

How Your Emotional Vocabulary Can Affect Your Health | This episode is sponsored by Starseed Having a greater grasp on emotional understanding correlates to increased happiness and satisfaction, along with better management of stress, while a lack of emotional balance has been linked to poorer outcomes with physical health issues. But how can we achieve emotional balance when we don’t fully understand what our emotions are telling us? Earlier this year, Dr. Hyman spoke to Susan David about how accurately labeling our emotions with a great degree of granularity can help us better understand our emotions, and know what to do about them. He also spoke with Jay Shetty about how expanding our emotional vocabulary can improve our relationship with ourselves and others. Susan David, Ph.D. is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and an award-winning Harvard Medical School psychologist. Her new #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Emotional Agility, describes the psychological skills critical to thriving

Why The US Dietary Guidelines Don’t Apply to 90% Of Americans And How They Can | This episode is brought to you by Tushy, Essentia, and Four Sigmatic The dietary guidelines laid out by the government are conflicting with good health in so many ways. For one, they are recommendations that would only work for someone who is already healthy, yet close to 90% of our population in the US is metabolically unhealthy. They also don’t take ethnicity and socioeconomic status into account, among many other factors. This is a big issue. Clearly, we should be providing Americans with guidelines that will actually serve their health. And research shows that whether we like it or not, as a society we’ve followed the guidelines over several decades and suffered the consequences of worsening health.  Today’s guest has been a huge inspiration to me, as she’s challenged the conventional wisdom on nutrition and continues to expose the truth behind our guidelines and the food industry. Nina Teicholz is a science journalist and au

The Functional Medicine Approach To Ending Migraine | This episode is sponsored by Simple Mills and Apeel Migraines are a big problem for many people. These severe, nearly disabling headaches can occur anywhere from once a year to three to four times a week. They can last from hours to days. They are often associated with an aura, light sensitivity, nausea, vomiting, and severe throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head. And migraines can be caused by many different factors. This is where Functional Medicine comes in. Functional Medicine is medicine by cause; not by symptom. It helps us discover the underlying triggers of disease. And the root cause of your migraine may not be in your head at all. In fact, migraines can be caused by things ranging from food sensitivities and allergies to hormonal imbalances, vitamin deficiencies, and more. In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. Todd LePine to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to ending migraines. They explore how to identify and eliminate w

How To Break Your Sugar Addiction And Improve Your Overall Health | This episode is sponsored by Starseed Sugar is the core ingredient used by the food industry to make bad ingredients (processed flour and chemicals) taste good. It is also the root cause of why so many of us are sick. We become stuck in a vicious cycle of cravings; eating sugary foods that spike our blood sugar, thereby lighting up our brain’s pleasure center. This triggers more cravings, and we become powerless against our brain’s hardwired response to seek pleasure. It’s no wonder so many people feel trapped! In this mini-episode, we revisit Dr. Hyman’s conversation with actors Keegan Allen and Tom Hopper in which they discuss how they broke free from sugar addiction by becoming their own advocates, reading food labels, and choosing real, whole foods. Keegan Allen is an American actor, musician, photographer, and author. He’s known for his main role as Toby Cavanaugh on the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars.  Tom Hopper is an English acto

How Is Ozone Therapy Being Used To Treat COVID-19 in Europe? | This episode is brought to you by Simple Mills, Paleovalley, and Apeel When we read the local headlines and stick to our own quarantine routines, it might be easy to forget that this virus is affecting the entire world. And as scary as that is, it also means we can collaborate with other countries to gain the best possible understanding of how to treat COVID-19. Since the spring, I’ve been reaching out to different doctors across the world to learn about their various COVID protocols. One of the most valuable contacts I’ve had, Dr. Paolo Tordiglione, has been seeing amazing results with ozone therapy and he is my guest on this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy.  Dr. Tordiglione is a Senior Consultant in Neuroanesthesia in the Neuro-ICU at Policlinico Umberto I University of Rome Sapienza, Italy. He is a specialist in pain medicine and an expert in ozone therapy. He is the former President of Doctors of the World Italy, founder of Physicians for Huma

Fungus Among Us: Diagnosing And Treating Yeast Problem | This episode is sponsored by ButcherBox and Athletic Greens Yeast overgrowth, including but not limited to candida, is quite common and can be triggered by a number of things. These include a high-sugar diet; impaired immunity; use of drugs, like antibiotics, birth control pills, estrogen, and steroids; and psychological stress. The symptoms of yeast overgrowth vary from person to person and some people may require aggressive treatment, while others many need only simple changes to make a significant difference in their health. In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. George Papaicolaou to discuss the functional medicine approach to diagnosing and treating yeast imbalance. They also share specific cases in which they have treated patients for candida and other fungal problems. George Papanicolaou is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and is Board Certified in Family Medicine from Abington Memorial Hospital. He is also an

How Lead And Other Environmental Toxins Are Affecting Us | This episode is brought to you by Simple Mills Eighty thousand toxic chemicals have been released into our environment since the dawn of the industrial revolution, yet very few have been tested for their long-term impact on human health. This has both major health and economic consequences. Every year we spend 50 billion dollars and lose 23 million IQ points to lead toxicity alone, which affects people of color the most, regardless of social class and income level. And you may be surprised to learn that there are many government policies and even sanctioned decisions to dump toxins that end up poisoning communities of color and stealing children’s cognition and health. Dr. Hyman sat down with Harriet Washington to discuss how we are ignoring this massive health crisis and what can be done to fix it.  Harriet A. Washington has been the Shearing Fellow at the University of Nevada’s Black Mountain Institute, a Research Fellow in Medical Ethics at Harvard

Is Cancer Caused By Sugar? | This episode is brought to you by Bioptimizers, Thrive Market, and Apeel If you or someone you know has had cancer, this episode is going to matter to you. And since the odds are now that 1 in 3 adults in the US will get cancer, this really is a topic that matters to all of us.  The school of thought around cancer used to be focused only on the genetic component. But we now know that our environment—the air we breathe, the food we eat, even our relationships—have an enormous cellular impact on our ability to prevent and treat cancer.  I’m excited to sit down with Dr. Jason Fung on this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy to talk about his amazing work in the field of cancer research and why this environmental component should give us all hope.  Dr. Fung is a physician, author, and researcher. His groundbreaking science-based books about diabetes and obesity, The Diabetes Code, The Obesity Code, and The Complete Guide to Fasting have sold over one million copies and challenged the conv

Is Gluten-Free A Fad Or Is Gluten A Real Threat To Our Health? | This episode is sponsored by Bioptimizers and Dr. Hyman’s Sleep Master Class We are all aware that “gluten-free” has become a major buzz term. Supermarket aisles are now lined with gluten-free foods and restaurants are now catering to gluten-free diners. So how did gluten come to receive so much attention? Are people with celiac disease the only ones who should be on a gluten-free diet? And how do you know if gluten is making you sick? In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Maggie Ward to discuss why gluten sensitivity exists on a spectrum and how to determine if it is a threat to your health. They also share specific patient cases they have treated related to gluten sensitivity. Maggie Ward, MS, RD, LDN, is the Nutrition Director at The UltraWellness Center. Maggie holds a master’s degree in Nutrition from Bastyr University which focuses on using whole foods for holistic Nutrition Therapy. In addition, she completed her requirements to becom

What Does Food Have To Do With COVID-19? | This episode is brought to you by Four Sigmatic If we as a population were healthier (think less obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, etc.), the evidence supports that we’d be faring much better throughout this pandemic.  Unfortunately, in the United States, only 12% of us in the US are metabolically healthy, putting us at higher risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19. Of course, a major driver of chronic diseases and the risks they create is our food system. We can’t expect to be a resilient population if we aren’t feeding our bodies real food with real nutrients we can use to function optimally.  In this mini-episode, we revisit two conversations Dr. Hyman had with his colleagues Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian and Dr. Elizabeth Boham at the beginning of the pandemic about how food and nutrition are inextricably linked to COVID-19. Dr. Boham also shares how to use food as medicine for immune support. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, Jean Mayer

Can Regenerative Agriculture Really Heal Humans And The Planet? | This episode is brought to you by Essentia, Athletic Greens, and ButcherBox The argument that is often made against organic farming is that it can’t feed the world. Opponents say it can’t be scaled to the level we need to feed our current and growing population, but the real data actually says otherwise. The Rodale Institute is leading the way when it comes to research in the area of regenerative agriculture. Their work over the last 40 years shows organic agriculture leads to equal or better yields than conventional (sometimes over 30% better) with less energy use and three to six times more profits for the farmer. And they’re not the only ones who’ve found this to be true—it’s been repeated in five different studies from various universities and the USDA.  Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I’m thrilled to sit down with Jeff Tkach to talk about the amazing work the Rodale Institute has done and is continuing to do to further the cause of regenera

Getting To The Root Of And Getting Rid Of Heartburn And Reflux | This episode is brought to you by Paleovalley Most of us have experienced heartburn at one time or another, but for millions of people it is a chronic and painful condition. As a result, acid-blocking medications are among the top-selling drugs in America today. However, taking an acid blocker does nothing to address whatever is causing the heartburn and these drugs can have all sorts of negative side effects. Additionally, while acid blocking drugs block acid that can cause symptoms of heartburn and reflux, your body actually needs stomach acid to stay healthy. So, the key isn’t taking the drug. It’s finding the cause.  In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. Todd LePine to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to treating heartburn and reflux. Together they discuss how to find the real causes of reflux and heartburn, get rid of them, and use the right foods, nutrients, and lifestyle therapies to heal the problem. Dr. LePine graduated

Why Health Coaches Are Behavior Change Ninjas | This episode is brought to you by Swanwick Most health plans, whether they’re about losing weight, exercising more, or quitting bad habits, aren’t designed to last. This is because they’re based on an incorrect assumption that all you need is willpower and motivation. In truth, we all need a support system to help guide us toward sustainable behavior and lifestyle change. And the reality is that the majority of healthcare actually happens outside of the doctor’s office. In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman speaks with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and Chris Kresser about why behavior change recommendations from healthcare providers are largely ineffective, and why having the support of a health coach can make all the difference in achieving your health goals. Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is regarded as one of the most influential medical doctors in the UK and hosts the most listened to health podcast in the UK and Europe, ‘Feel Better, Live More’. His first three books have all bee