The Dr. Hyman Show

Food impacts everything, which is why changing the way we eat and working towards a new food system can be so powerful and far-reaching. Cooking at home used to be the norm but it’s become the exception. Food marketing has convinced us our kitchens are holding us hostage and that true freedom is convenience, found in packaged and fast foods. In fact, 50% of meals are now eaten away from home.  Tha...

Epigenetics suggests that our behavior can influence which of our genes are turned on or off. This has been one of the biggest breakthroughs in medicine. Predisposition is not pre-destiny and a familial history of disease does not render you powerless. In this mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, we revisit two recent interviews in which Dr. Hyman and his guests discuss epigenetics and how things...

When it comes to aging well, we all have to set our own standards and goals. That might mean playing with your grandkids on the floor, carrying groceries up several flights of stairs, or being able to be present emotionally and mentally for your spouse. Thinking of these detailed goals helps us reverse engineer our lives to achieve the quality and longevity in life we truly desire. It just takes a...

Lack of community and strong social connection can have a disastrous outcome on your health, which is why taking the time to strengthen existing relationships and build your personal community is an integral part of any wellness plan. In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman talks to Radha Agrawal about the importance of fostering a loving community, starting with going inward and acknowledging our own val...

I often talk about the importance of high-quality restful sleep and getting the right amount when it comes to creating great health. But what about the role of dreaming? You might be surprised to learn that the way we dream can have a multitude of benefits on our waking life—specifically through lucid dreaming, or the act of knowing we are dreaming while we are, in fact, completely asleep. To dig...

A few decades ago, most people didn’t know anything about gluten. Today there is an unmistakable trend of people going gluten-free in the hopes of solving all of their gut woes. Why is this? In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman explores this question with the world’s top gluten expert, Dr. Alessio Fasano. Dr. Fasano founded the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine...

Climate change is not moving as slowly as we’d like to think. In fact, half of all the damage done through burning fossil fuels has been just over the last 30 years. Unfortunately, every year is now more damaging than the last. The good news is that we are not at a point of no return. While we will never have the same climate we had before industrialization, we can make a positive impact on the fu...

For so long we were told that having low LDL cholesterol is the key to preventing heart disease, which led to doctors overprescribing statins to keep LDL low. Many people still believe that eating cholesterol and fat, especially saturated fat, causes heart attacks and that taking statin drugs provides a powerful way to reduce your risk of heart attacks. But is this really true? In this mini-episod...

Many of us are in the middle of an identity crisis when it comes to what we eat. We’re pulled one way or another about macronutrients and labels, all the while missing the most important concept of all: food is medicine. We can align our foods to feed our health and get incredible flavor and variety all at once. We can cook our way out of illness and overcome the fear and overwhelm of dietary choi...

Our children are being bombarded by powerful marketing messages from the food industry promoting unhealthy processed food-like substances. In fact, the food industry spends billions of dollars on marketing junk food to our kids every year. The average child in the United States sees over 6,000 ads for junk food and soda on TV and even more through social media. And poor and minority children are t...

These days, we hear a lot about carbs versus fats. But what about protein? It’s become the forgotten macronutrient. The diet-wars have been tough on protein, as strict vegans and believers in Paleo strongly disagree on the best forms of it to consume. But protein plays an essential role in good health. So despite the emotional response it elicits in many, it’s about time we pay it more attention....

Emerging research is giving us a more comprehensive picture than ever before about the way our mind can impact our health. While science continues to reveal the dramatic impacts of stress on the immune system, more and more clinical research is also emerging around topics such as the immunology of joy and the immunology of gratitude. In this mini-episode, Dr. Mark Hyman speaks to Dr. Leonard Calab...

As we see the amount of information and technology we have access to growing, we also gain a stronger view of universal human tendencies that are overarching in time and culture. One of those that is particularly fascinating is our desire to change consciousness, to alter our brain and our mood, whether it’s with drugs, food, or even activities like meditation and breathwork.  That’s one of the ma...

Ketogenic diets have gained significant popularity in the mainstream. However, ketogenic diets have actually been around in medicine for a long time. For example, they are used for treating intractable epilepsy when medications fail. Yes, that’s right, when meds fail we use food! Now mounting research has also found them to be effective in reversing type 2 diabetes, a disease previously thought to...

We don’t have any control over the cards we’re dealt, but we do have control over how we play them. Part of playing those cards right is believing we can have everything we want and figuring out exactly what it takes to get there. This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, Jon and Missy Butcher sit down with me to talk about their program Lifebook, that helps others do just that. And it really works! I’ve...

Many of us were taught that eating dietary fat makes us fat and leads to heart disease. This assumption has been catastrophic for our health. In fact, fats are essential for optimal health, and saturated fat, specifically, is not the boogeyman we once thought. We know now that there is no monolithic saturated fat. There are many saturated fats, each with its own effects. The saturated fat in cocon...

Stem cells are a major player in the future of medicine. They have the potential to become many other types of tissue—they are essentially like a smart-bomb that we can use to target a specific problem. But the magic doesn’t stop there. Not only can stem cells home in on damaged cells and tissues, they then send signals to those damaged cells or tissues encouraging them to heal. As someone who is...

We are living in a stressed-out, super-busy, hyper-caffeinated world, often pushing aside what matters most to us when things get hectic. And technology is everywhere—in our pockets, on desks, our nightstands, and even on our wrists. Yet, most of us have never given its role in our lives a second thought. In this mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Hyman talks to Marie Forleo and Cal Newport...

What if we could lift 150 million people out of hunger? By empowering women farmers with education, money, and other resources we could increase crop yields by 20 to 30% and do just that. And if you’re wondering why I’m specifically talking about women, it’s because on a global scale women do not have the same accessibility to own land, receive loans, and other essential components of farming. Yet...

We know that a diet comprised of foods from our industrial diet—one high in processed sugar, starch, refined fat, and low in whole foods, fruits, and vegetables—can wreak havoc on your physical health. But what does that same diet do to your mental health and quality of sleep? Are there specific foods and nutrients that are especially effective in combating depression and promoting better sleep? I...

We are all human first, after all, and connection can help us create the right systemic shifts. This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I was joined by visionary Vishen Lakhiani to talk about the role of education in creating transformation. Vishen is the founder of Mindvalley University, a former computer engineer, and is noted for his ability to integrate information across the field of human transfo...

We know all too well the visible forms of racism in our society. Less visible, however, is how our food system acts as the deadliest weapon used against the poor and minorities— keeping them poor, sick and fat, hijacking their brains and biology. The science is clear—our processed, sugary, starchy diet is the single biggest cause of disease and death—type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke...

I’m a big believer in the farm to table movement, but with one major caveat: you can’t skim the cream! What I’m saying is that we can’t cherry pick when it comes to our crops, growing the same ones over and over (even if they're grown organically), and assume that it is a sound ecological practice. Just like humans need a diversity of foods to get the right nutrients, soil needs a diversity of pla...

Our internal dialogue is intimately connected to our physical body, and our mitochondria are always eavesdropping on our thoughts. In fact, our mindset can be one of our strongest guiding forces. The overwhelming stresses in today’s world can create enormous strain on our nervous system, leading to burnout and breakdown. Through working on our mindset, we can lessen our reactions to stress. But it...

In college, I read a book called The Soil and Health by Albert Howard. Little did I know, that book would forever change the way I viewed the relationship between dirt, food, bacteria, and human health. Emerging research continues to reveal the powerful influence of the microbiome on our health. Our microbiome is comprised of the trillions of bacteria, fungi, and even viruses present within the bo...