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

It’s natural to have a lot of questions right now. COVID-19 has quickly changed the way we think about health and go about our daily lives. And though we still have a lot to learn about the novel coronavirus, there are also a lot of ways we can keep ourselves, our families, and our communities strong and healthy. I recently hosted a webinar, along with the doctors at The UltraWellness Center, to answer some of the most important questions about COVID-19. If you missed it, I am sharing it here as a special episode of my podcast, The Doctor’s Farmacy. Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnesses the power of nutrition every day in her practice and is committed to training other physicians to utilize nutrition in healing. Dr. Boham has contributed to many articles and wrote the latest chapter on Obesi

Numerous things can contribute to cancer development and cancer recurrence. Studies show diet, exercise, thoughts, feelings, and environmental toxins all influence the initiation, growth, and progression of cancer. And when it comes to treating cancer, we are good at cutting it, burning it, and poisoning it with surgery, radiation, and drugs, but many doctors fail to treat the root cause of the cancer. Functional Medicine empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working collaboratively to address the root causes of disease. For example, a Functional Medicine practitioner might say that yes, we still need radiation and other conventional approaches, but what else can we do?  In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Boham to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to cancer and cancer recurrence prevention. Dr. Boham shares patient cases as well as her own experience with a breast cancer diagnosis. Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who p

Only about 12% of Americans are considered “metabolically healthy.” That means the other 88% of us aren’t meeting basic medical guidelines for things like blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, and other markers of metabolic health. Which percentage do you fall into? When it comes to answering that question, one common factor is how many fast carbs you’re consuming. These are the carbohydrates that have been processed—yes, that includes sugar—but it also means starches like refined flours and other processed grains. Whole wheat bread is indeed a fast carb.  This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy I sat down with Dr. David Kessler to break down the differences between fast and slow carbs, how they affect our health, how our diet became so inundated with fast carbs and what we can do to regain metabolic strength. Dr. Kessler served as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He is the author of A Question of Intent and The End of Overeating, a New

For decades we were taught there was no stopping or reversing cognitive decline, now we know this simply is not true. The brain responds to all the same insults as the rest of the body — stress, poor diet, toxins, lack of exercise or sleep, nutritional deficiencies, high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and more. The term dementia is just a label or diagnosis we associate with a collection of symptoms, it doesn't get to why a person has those symptoms.  In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Boham to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to treating cognitive health and to review patient cases in which they treated individuals with dementia, memory loss, and cognitive decline. Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnesses the power of nutrition every day in her practice and is

Sometimes we need to get quiet to really find the answers we’re looking for. What better time to do that than during this down-time at home? Artists, creators, and dreamers have always been our best teachers on breaking free from the distractions of life and just “being” with ourselves. They take facts and turn them into stories from which we can gain new perspectives. We can all learn many different lessons through various mediums—one of my personal favorites is poetry.  This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy* I sat down for a deep talk with poet IN-Q. IN-Q is a National Poetry Slam champion, award-winning poet, and multi-platinum songwriter. His groundbreaking achievements include being named to Oprah's SuperSoul 100 list of the world's most influential thought leaders, being the first spoken word artist to perform with Cirque Du Soleil, and being featured on A&E, ESPN, and HBO's Def Poetry Jam. He's inspired audiences around the world through his live performances and storytelling workshops. Many of his recent

Today’s food labels are deliberately misleading and confusing, which serves the interests of Big Food, but not the rest of us. Most of us are completely oblivious to what we are eating and its impact on our health and our world. We are mostly unaware of the chemicals that are added to our foods; how the hormones, antibiotics, plastics, and toxins we eat in our everyday foods harm our bodies. There are over 10,000 additives in our food supply, yet only 43% of them are recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And the average American consumes three to five pounds of these additives every year. In this mini-episode, Dr. Mark Hyman talks about food labeling, food additives, and how the FDA is asleep at the wheel in protecting us. Learn more about these topics and the undeniable harm our food system is doing to human health and to the environment in Dr. Hyman’s new book, Food Fix. foodfixbook.com

Most of us (including most doctors) do not recognize or know that digestive problems wreak havoc in the entire body, leading to allergies, arthritis, autoimmune disease, rashes, acne, chronic fatigue, mood disorders, autism, dementia, cancer, and more. So having a healthy gut means more than simply being free of annoyances like bloating or heartburn. It is absolutely central to your health. It is connected to everything that happens in your body. That is why Functional Medicine almost always starts helping people treat chronic health problems by fixing their gut. In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Boham to review two patient cases focused on treating the gut. Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnesses the power of nutrition every day in her practice and is committed to tra

Did you know dementia begins in the brain decades before symptoms start showing up? We can see changes in brain scans 30 or 40 years before forgetfulness and other disconcerting symptoms creep in. But I’ve seen so many patients overcome symptoms of brain dysfunction through the right diet and lifestyle changes. If our actions can have that much power to reverse some forms of brain illness, why aren’t we talking more about using them for prevention?  I’ve seen people with genetic predispositions avoid a diagnosis altogether by living a conscious life.  That’s exactly what my guest and good friend, Max Lugavere, and I get into on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy. Max lost his mom last year to a rare disease called Lewy body dementia, which comes along with the neurodegenerative and physical symptoms of both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Max is a filmmaker, health, and science journalist and the author of the New York Times bestselling book Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive Whi

We need to transform our food system and address one of the biggest threats to our well-being: our lack of a coordinated and comprehensive food policy. The outside influence that industrial food and agriculture lobbyists have on our policies encourages a food system that engenders disease. Lobbying power in Washington is rarely in the best interest of the public, supporting food and agriculture policies that undermine public health, harm the environment and increase private profits for Big Food. Big Food and Big Ag spend millions of dollars in Washington every year for the power to block policies that hurt their bottom lines and promote policies that make them money, whether or not it’s harmful to our society or the environment.  On this week’s mini-episode, Dr. Mark Hyman talks about the dirty politics of Big Food, how that influences our government food policies, and why we need to change it. Learn more about these topics and the undeniable harm our food system is doing to human health and to the environmen

The thyroid tends to be an underappreciated organ, but despite being a small gland it has massive implications for your health. While thyroid disease can occur in various forms, one of the most common is called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the thyroid gland and diminishes its ability to create precious hormones—ones that impact every cell of the body. Hashimoto’s is the leading cause of hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) in the US and roughly 14 million people in the US are struggling with this diagnosis, with women at much higher risk, being 7 to 8 times more likely than men to get it.  In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Boham to review patient cases in which thyroid issues were treated. Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnes

When I was growing up we had news sources we could trust. Under The Fairness Doctrine, news on the radio, TV, and in print was partial and fair. But in 1987 during the Reagan administration, this was repealed, leading to alternative media and more misinformation than ever before. And now with the internet, we are truly in the wild west of sharing information, collecting data, and trying to maintain privacy. Big companies take advantage of that from all angels with their marketing, which is now ultra-targeted (and often in ways you wouldn’t even be able to recognize).  Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I sit down with Andy Russell to talk about what data really means, who has yours, how they got it, and how they use it. Andy is a digital media, ad-tech, marketing-tech, and data science innovator and pioneer as well as a self-taught Behavioral Economist. He has invested in, incubated, or run over 50 technology companies, including Daily Candy, Thrillist, Tasting Table, Idealbite, PureWow, Zynga, Betaworks, Busines

It has been estimated that over the next 35 years, it's going to cost our society $95 trillion to address chronic disease. And not only is this affecting us economically, but our overall quality of life is decreasing. Imagine what we could do If we didn't have to spend as much money as we are currently spending on chronic disease. We would have enough money for other important things such as providing free education and healthcare. We could bring people up out of poverty, end social injustice, restore the environment, and help fund the reversal of climate change.  By addressing the overall dysfunctions in the food system, we can solve these problems. The solutions exist and they will call on a lot of us to fix it—multiple sectors and stakeholders from citizens and consumers to businesses and farmers, to policymakers in every level of government, including city and state to nonprofits, philanthropists, scientists. By coming together we can transform the food system.  Dr. Hyman speaks to all this and more in th

Research has shown that for every 10% of your diet that comes from ultra-processed food, your risk of death goes up by 14%. Yet 60% of American diets are made up of ultra-processed food. And though the government tells us to eat more fruits and vegetables, existing food policy subsidizes thousands of acres of corn, soy, and wheat that are turned into processed junk food, while only 2% of our farmland is used to grow fruits and vegetables. In fact, if everybody ate the government-recommended amounts of vegetables and fruits, there actually wouldn’t be enough to go around.  Part of what is driving these issues is that there is a major monopoly when it comes to seeds. Just a handful of companies control the majority of what and how crops are grown. We have to change our agricultural policies.  Dr. Hyman dives into these topics and more in this mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy. He also outlines the problems and the solutions in his new book, Food Fix. foodfixbook.com

Racism is still rampant in our country, and it might exist in places you didn’t expect it. For example, Black and Brown populations are at a higher risk of exposure to environmental toxins and have less access to high-quality medical care or clinical medical studies on their specific populations. This is a major problem that can’t be ignored. And it’s hugely impacting our economy and the success of future generations in multiple ways. 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.  Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy I sit down for an important conversation with Harriet Washington about these issues. Harriet has been the Shearing Fellow at the University of Nevada's Black Mountain Institute, a Research Fellow in Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School, a senior research scholar at the National Center for Bioethics at Tuskegee University, and a visiting scholar at DePaul University Coll

In honor of Dr. Hyman's newly released book, Food Fix (foodfixbook.com), we are sharing a recent interview he did on Revolution Health Radio with Chris Kresser. *** RHR: Fixing Our Broken Food System, with Dr. Mark Hyman I’ve often said that health is not just an individual endeavor—a multitude of other factors contribute to it, including our food system. In this episode of Revolution Health Radio, I talk with Dr. Mark Hyman about his upcoming book Food Fix, which delves deeply into the problems in our food system and discusses how they can worsen global crises like the chronic disease epidemic, climate change, poverty, and more. In this episode, we discuss: What’s wrong with our food system How our food system affects our children The role regulation can play in our health Access to healthy food in underserved populations The damage that our industrial food system causes Hyman’s Food Fix Campaign Show notes: Mark Hyman The UltraWellness Center Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Co

Eleven million people die every year from a bad diet. In America, six out of ten Americans have a chronic disease; four out of ten have two or more chronic diseases. And this is not just an American problem. Eighty percent of the world's chronic disease and obesity is in the developing world. We know that food is driving the majority of this death and disease but no one is really talking about it.  In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman explores the global chronic disease crisis being driven by food and the food system. He also breaks down the principles of his “Pegan” diet, a middle ground between vegan and Paleo, focused on whole-foods; primarily colorful, high-fiber vegetables like kale, cauliflower, peppers, and radishes; healthy fats like extra-virgin olive oil and avocados; some low-glycemic fruits like blueberries and blackberries; free-range meats and eggs, used more like condiments than as the star of the plate; anti-inflammatory nuts and seeds, and flavorful herbs and spices.  Learn more about these all of

In honor of Dr. Hyman’s newly released book, Food Fix (foodfixbook.com), we are sharing a recent interview he did on The Drive with Peter Attia MD. *** Mark Hyman, M.D.: The impact of the food system on our health and the environment In this episode, Mark Hyman, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and the author of Food Fix, discusses that if we can fix the food system, we can solve many big problems—namely the chronic disease/obesity epidemic, the rising costs of healthcare, as well as the big problems facing the environment. Mark first briefly lays out the health consequences of processed food with a focus on the gut microbiome. From there, Mark discusses the environmental consequences of industrial farming and lays out how we can affect change on the individual level, through policy and regulations, and perhaps most importantly through regenerative agriculture. Additionally, Mark talks about the potential health risks of consuming GMO foods, herbicides, and other chemicals

How can we reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages?  There are efforts globally around the world looking at soda taxes as a solution for bringing down the consumption of foods that we know cause obesity and chronic disease. When those taxes are paired with incentives for eating healthy food, it's a win-win for everybody. Consuming more healthy food and less soda creates more productivity, lower healthcare costs, and less chronic disease. Yet we see organizations such as the American Beverage Association spending millions of dollars fighting soda taxes. It’s obvious that they wouldn't spend that kind of money if they didn't think they would lose profits from a soda tax. Dr. Hyman talks about all this and more in this mini-episode.  Learn more about these topics and the actions we can take for more transparency from the government and corporations in Dr. Hyman's new book, Food Fix. FoodFixBook.com

In honor of Dr. Hyman’s upcoming book, Food Fix (foodfixbook.com), out on February 25th we are sharing a recent interview he did on The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes. *** Build Your Health to Build Your Wealth with Dr. Mark Hyman Wealth without health isn't wealth at all.  Let's say you're the richest person in the world. You have anything and everything you could ever want. You've started companies, written books, gone on tours—you name it. But your body isn't in the best shape. You've put it second to your career goals. And now, it's starting to show. Your health is a different kind of wealth. Taking care of your finances is important, but so is taking care of your body. If you neglect your body, your body will neglect you. As you age, this only gets harder. You won't be able to enjoy life because you'll feel tired, sick, or miserable. Of course, exercise is vital to maintaining good health, but so are the foods that you eat. The food we eat has an impact on our brain chemistry, our physical health,

In honor of Dr. Hyman’s upcoming book, Food Fix (foodfixbook.com), out on February 25th we are sharing a recent interview he did on Feel Better, Live More with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee. *** Why We Need To Fix Our Food System with Mark Hyman Is it possible to create a food system that promotes health, not disease? One that regenerates ecosystems, reverses climate change and ensures no one, least of all the poorest in society, is endangered? My guest on this week’s podcast believes it is. He is functional medicine doctor and New York Times bestselling author, Dr Mark Hyman. Mark and I talk about everything from how processed food is addictive by design, to the powerful role good nutrition, from real food, could have in hospitals, schools and prisons. We discuss why soil depletion from intensive farming is one of the biggest drivers of climate change – and why that vegan burger may not be the environmentally friendly option. Despite the serious subject matter of this conversation, I’m sure you’ll come away feeling