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

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, they are leading the way when it comes to agriculture. Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy I’m joined by Danielle Nierenberg to talk about the foundational role women play in agriculture all over the world and how we can all become better food activists. Danielle co-founded the non-profit Food Tank in 2013 as an organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. To learn more about Food Tank, please visit https://foodtank.com/ and to find opportunities to get involved in your area, check out the Good Food Org Guide at https://goodfoodorgguide.com/.

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? In this mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Mark Hyman talks with Dr. Drew Ramsey, a writer, farmer, and psychiatrist who practices nutritional psychiatry, and Shawn Stevenson, author of the international best-selling book “Sleep Smarter,” to find out what to eat to support your mental health and get quality sleep. Listen to Dr. Hyman’s full length episode with Dr. Drew Ramsey: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DrDrewRamsey Listen to Dr. Hyman’s full length episode with Shawn Stevenson: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/ShawnStevenson

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 transformation into unified models. His book, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind was a New York Times bestseller and hit the coveted number one spot on Amazon five times in 2017. Vishen also founded A-Fest, the transformational festival described as the “TED meets Coachella” of the industry, which is actually where I met my wife Mia.

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, high blood pressure, cancer, and even dementia.  And your zip code is more important than your genetic code in determining your risk of disease and death. If you are African American you are 80% more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, over 4 times as likely to have kidney failure, and 3.5 times as likely to suffer amputations as whites. I’ve explored these topics with a number of my guests on this podcast. This mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy includes portions of my past conversations on this podcast with president of Black Lives Matter for the area of Greater New York, Hawk Newsome, Columbia Univer

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 plants grown on it and even the right animal inputs in order to be nutrient dense, too. On this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, I’m joined by mastermind chef and regenerative agriculture advocate Dan Barber. Dan is breaking the conventional ways we eat, cook, and think about food. He is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and the author of The Third Plate. He also co-founded Row 7 Seed Company, a seed company bringing together chefs and plant breeders in the development of new varieties of vegetables and grains. Dan has received multiple James Beard awards including Best Chef: New York City

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 takes practice and loyalty to our intentions to make our good mindset habitual. Your thoughts have real and measurable effects on your overall health and wellbeing. Feeling we have a purpose in life and sharing our unique gifts with the world allows us to tap into more joyful living. And a major part of pursuing a sense of purpose is identifying what makes you feel your best. I’ve explored this topic with a number of my guests on this podcast. This mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy includes portions of my past conversations on this podcast with Bulletproof founder and CEO, Dave Asprey and Reverend Michael Beckw

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 body. The balance of these microbes can make or break good health, and you won’t be surprised to learn the food we eat, and more specifically how it’s grown, is heavily correlated to our microbial composition. Today’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy is Daphne Miller, a doctor bridging the gap between medicine and farming. Dr. Miller is a practicing family physician, Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco, and Founder of the Health from the Soil Up Initiative. She is the author of two books: The Jungle Effect: Healthiest Diets from Around the World and Farmacology: Total Health from the Soil Up. A

The goal to age well and stay on top of my health led me to my guest on this episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. George Shapiro. Dr. Shapiro has been a practicing physician for 30 years, specializing in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and age management medicine. Dr. Shapiro was the recipient of the 10th Annual Alan P. Mintz, MD Award, for Clinical Excellence in Age Management Medicine, as he has become known nationwide as an expert in age management medicine, and leads one of the most prominent age management practices in the country as president of Cenegenics New York City. He has long been known as one of New York’s foremost cardiologists, specializing in regenerative medicine and improving longevity, including the genomics of cardiovascular disease and congestive heart failure. On today’s episode, Dr. Shapiro and I discuss the world of regenerative medicine and what the science says about healthy aging. One major issue of aging for many people is a decline in the endocrine system, altering hor

For so long, we’ve been told that memory loss and dementia are just a normal part of aging. Though we now know it doesn’t have to be that way, and that there are many measures we can proactively take to avoid cognitive decline with aging, there are still 6 million people in the US who have Alzheimer’s or pre-Alzheimer’s and that number is expected to rise to 15 million by 2060. But emerging research is helping us look at new ways to treat and even prevent devastating diseases like this, giving people a newfound sense of hope. Today’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Marwan Sabbagh, has spent the majority of his life pioneering this field. From the age of 8, he knew he wanted to be a doctor, and just ten years later at 18, he began researching Alzheimer’s. Dr. Sabbagh is a board-certified neurologist and considered one of the leading experts in Alzheimer’s and dementia. He is on the editorial board for the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and BMC Neurology and is now editor in chief of Neurology and Therapy an

Our food system is completely broken. The foods that nourish us, elevate our health, and prevent chronic illness are more expensive for farmers to produce and for consumers to buy than those that have been proven to create disease. They’re also destroying our environment and causing climate change at the same time. Children are being fed nutrient-poor sugary, starchy foods at school and we wonder why so many of them can’t focus and why they’re always sick. They are being led on a difficult, lifelong path right from the start. And then there’s the national economic burden of disease, which is only increasing as rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity do the same. In fact, one in three Medicare dollars is spent on diabetes, and poor food choices kill 11 million people every year. Over the next 35 years, it's going to cost the US a whopping 95 trillion dollars to deal with diseases that can be prevented by lifestyle and dietary choices. These are grim statistics, but the truth is that we CAN do something to elicit

Years ago, I met a woman who changed my life. A mutual friend introduced us and we went to grab a cup of coffee; but I didn’t realize how life-changing that day would be. That woman was Lauren Zander, and though she’s now a best friend of mine, I was a bit scared in the beginning of our relationship. She saw right through my exterior persona and instantly challenged me to think about the things I didn’t want to address in my life—I was overworking, unhappy in my marriage, and worried so much about doing for everyone else that I wasn’t really being okay with myself. But those uncomfortable truths brought a lot of thought out in me, and months later Lauren finally convinced me to dive deeper into that darkness. Today, Lauren joins me on The Doctor’s Farmacy to talk about my own personal journey with life coaching—or what I call Functional Medicine for the soul—to discover happiness, success, and so much more. Lauren Handel Zander is the Co-Founder and Chairwoman of Handel Group, an international corporate consu

When it comes to medicine, many of us want immediate results. What if just one dose of medicine could dramatically shift your perception, decreasing anxiety, depression, fear of death, addictive tendencies, and so much more? It might sound too good to be true, but the therapeutic use of psychedelics is showing us it’s possible. Now, I’m not talking about taking magic mushrooms at a Grateful Dead concert. The medicine used in psychedelic trials is created in a lab, carefully dosed for the patient, and administered in a specific setting with a trained guide who is present throughout the entire process. This highly controlled process can yield some pretty amazing results and we will be seeing much more science emerge on the safe use of psychedelics for a variety of disorders. This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Anthony Bossis joins me to elaborate on using psychedelics to expand our sensory abilities and relax our experience with death and illness. Anthony P. Bossis, Ph.D. conducts FDA-approved clinical trial

These days, we hear a lot about fasting. Intermittent fasting, time-restricted eating, and water fasting are just some of the many terms being thrown around in support of better health. And we can’t forget about the high-fat, ketogenic, and low-carb approaches that are gaining in popularity as well. Which one is best? What does it all mean for our longevity, brain health, and overall wellness? My guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is here to sift through the terminology and confusion around fasting. Dr. Valter Longo is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of aging studies and related diseases. Known as a “Guru of Longevity,” Dr. Longo is currently Professor of Biogerontology and Biological Sciences and Director of the Institute of Longevity of the School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, as well as Director of the Oncology and Longevity Program at IFOM in Milan. He is also the Scientific Director of the Create Cures Foundation and the Valt

Every time we eat, we have a chance to boost our brain function. In medical school, we’re taught the brain is immutable, that we can’t grow new brain cells or change the brain once dysfunction or injury has occurred. Now, we know that’s just not true. The decisions we make each and every day, like what we eat, how much sleep we get, and how often we move are all steps that can dramatically shift the health of the brain for the better. And there’s so much more we can do, too. Dr. David Perlmutter joins me on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy to talk about an empowered approach to supporting the brain, starting with food first. Dr. Perlmutter is a board-certified neurologist and four-time New York Times best selling author. He serves on the Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition and as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. His books include the #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain, The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar,

Our food and healthcare systems are broken; they are not serving public health and are even putting certain communities at a disproportionate risk. We are up against social, economic, environmental, and political dysfunctions that contribute to chronic disease. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are the leading causes of death, and premature death at that, in the US. These diseases all have several risk factors in common, like smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet, which policy often views simply as personal choices. But you can’t make healthy choices if you don’t have healthy choices available. There are social and cultural inputs at play and many reasons we need to begin looking at health beyond the individual and on a community and population-based level. Today’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy is the perfect person to weigh-in on these issues. Dr. Sonia Angell is a Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), overseeing the Division of Prevention and Primary

A new study published in the medical journal JAMA says, ‘Eggs are bad,’ but are they really? In this episode, we take a look at the specifics of the study. This particular study is an observational study; it does not prove cause and effect. An ideal nutritional study would take 10,000 people and have them eat eggs for 20 years, then take another 10,000 people, and for the same time period, keep them from eating eggs to see what happens. Of course, this would be incredibly difficult and very expensive to do. This recent study surveyed 30,000 people over a 17 year time period, with each person completed one questionnaire about what they’ve been eating. During the time this study was conducted, eggs were considered bad. We were told not to eat eggs; to avoid cholesterol. So people who were eating eggs were likely people who weren’t otherwise health conscious. It doesn’t mean the eggs caused the heart disease.

I never get tired of saying it: real food heals. Food has the power to prevent and reverse disease, and the more we know about it, the more power we have to curate a targeted diet to help us reach our health goals. The catch is that we have to choose the right foods, the ones that elevate us, and simultaneously ditch the poor-quality ones that harm us. There are powerful compounds in foods—like curcumin, genistein, catechins, lycopene, resveratrol, quercetin—that have medicinal impacts on the body. That’s why I call the grocery store the drug store; we can literally eat our medicine at every meal. My guest this week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. William Li, is here to tell us all about eating to beat disease and making the idea that food is medicine second nature. You may also be surprised to find out that angiogenesis, or how the body forms blood vessels, is a common denominator in creating optimal health. William Li, MD, is a world-renowned physician, scientist, speaker, and author of Eat to Beat Disease: Th

Think about walking into a room full of people who are giving off good energy. They are smiling, kind, welcoming—you can feel what they are putting out into the world and want to be a part of it. Alternately, think about a room full of people who are scowling, complaining, angry, etc. The energy in that room does not feel good and you are going to want to get away from it as soon as possible. This is a small glimpse into the powerful energy fields within all of us at work. My guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, medical anthropologist and psychologist Alberto Villoldo, is here to expand on that notion and what it means to support your luminous body. He is a longtime friend and colleague of mine who has spent decades traveling the world to learn ancient shamanic wisdom. Alberto has made it his mission to learn from the people who sense the spaces between things and perceive the luminous strands that animate all life. Alberto is founder of the world-renowned Four Winds Society and of the Light

As my friend Ocean Robbins says, “When you eat the Standard American Diet you get the standard American diseases.” In fact, poor diet is responsible for almost 700,000 deaths in the US each year, and 11 million worldwide! And the average American consumes 55 pounds of added sugar each year, which we know is a major contributor towards the diabesity epidemic. The good news is that each step towards real, wholesome, delicious foods reduces your risk for chronic disease and increases your ability to feel great. This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I sit down with Ocean to talk about the current state of our food system and what we can do to be part of the revolution to create a healthier and happier future for everyone. Ocean is the author of 31-Day Food Revolution: Heal Your Body, Feel Great, & Transform Your World. He serves as CEO and co-founder of the Food Revolution Network—one of the largest communities of healthy eating advocates on the planet, with more than 500,000 members.

The immune system: we hear about it all the time, especially this time of year as cold and flu season is in full swing. But there’s a lot more to it than just your susceptibility to a runny nose. 50 million people suffer from immunologic diseases, ranging from an overactive immune system (autoimmunity) to an underactive one (immunodeficiency), and many stages in between. The field of immunology is much more expansive than you might think, spreading into neurology, gastroenterology, epigenetics, psychosocial health, and even mindfulness and gratitude. My guest on this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Leonard Calabrese, is an expert in immunology and rheumatology. In fact, he is a Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and Vice Chair of the Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases. Dr. Calabrese is the director of the RJ Fasenmyer Center for Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic and holds joint appointments in the Depa