Mark Hyman, MD

For decades, the industrialized food system has replaced real nutrition with cheap, highly processed ingredients that disrupt metabolism, alter gut bacteria, and fuel chronic disease.

These aren’t just minor concerns—they’re fundamental drivers of obesity, insulin resistance, autoimmune conditions, and even cognitive decline.

Food is more than calories—it’s information that programs your biology.

Choose real, whole foods. Read labels like your health depends on it.

Arizona just set a new standard for school meals—and it’s about time.

With the passage of the Healthy Schools Act (HB2164), the state is banning ultra-processed food additives like Red 40, potassium bromate, and titanium dioxide—chemicals linked to hyperactivity, endocrine disruption, and cancer, yet still found in American school lunches.

This is what real food policy reform looks like. For too long, our food system has prioritized industry profits over public health. Ultra-processed foods dominate school meals, SNAP benefits, and hospital trays, fueling the epidemic of chronic disease that now costs the U.S. $3.8 trillion a year.

But change is happening. The Food Fix Campaign is working to shift federal policy—moving beyond outdated subsidies and nutrition guidelines to ensure food heals rather than harms.

We need more policies like Arizona’s. Public dollars should fund real, nourishing food—not the same chemical-laden products that are banned in other countries.

Public funds should nourish, not harm. It’s time to stop subsidizing disease and start investing in real, whole food.

This is just the beginning. Who’s next?

Well done, Pepsi. Removing artificial dyes is a commendable first step—and one that has the potential to spark real change across the industry.

Small changes like this do matter. In fact, they often serve as catalysts for broader systemic reform. When major companies take action to clean up their ingredients, it creates ripple effects—shifting supply chains, changing consumer expectations, and pressuring competitors to follow suit.

This is exactly the kind of move I called for in Food Fix: leveraging the power of big food companies to improve public health at scale.

Let’s keep going. A healthier food system is built one decision, one reformulation, one commitment at a time.

Will others rise to meet the moment?

America's healthcare system is at a critical juncture. We’re treating symptoms instead of addressing the root cause: the food that’s making us sick.

Luckily, a solution is just within reach: integrating nutrition into our healthcare approach.

The Challenge:
- Over 42% of U.S. adults and 20% of children are obese.
- Approximately 38 million Americans are affected by Type 2 diabetes.
- Medicare's annual healthcare expenditure exceeds $1 trillion, with one-quarter of its beneficiaries suffering from diabetes.

Alarmingly, only 3% of federal healthcare spending is allocated toward preventive measures.

Our modern food system is a significant contributor to this crisis. Ultra-processed foods—laden with sugar, refined starches, and artificial additives—constitute 60% of our daily caloric intake and dominate 73% of the U.S. food supply. This has led to 93% of Americans being metabolically unhealthy, overwhelming our healthcare system with preventable chronic conditions.

There is a promising solution: “Food as Medicine“ programs are emerging as effective interventions.

For instance, Medicare Advantage plans are now offering benefits that provide healthy meals to patients with chronic illnesses.

A study at the Cleveland Clinic demonstrated that after a six-month follow-up, there was a savings of $12,046 per patient for those who received medically tailored meals for three months. Scaling such programs could potentially save Medicare hundreds of billions of dollars.

As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, Rep. Vern Buchanan, alongside Rep. Gwen Moore, has established the Congressional Preventive Health and Wellness Caucus, focusing on nutrition-based solutions.

The Ways and Means Committee has also passed a bipartisan pilot program to provide medically tailored meals for patients transitioning out of hospital care.

The evidence is compelling: better nutrition leads to improved health outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, and enhanced quality of life. By prioritizing food as a fundamental component of healthcare, we can pave the way for a healthier and more sustainable future.

Many simple, inexpensive lifestyle practices help enhance our health and activate our longevity pathways.

Learning how to optimize exercise, stress reduction, and sleep is key to achieving a long and healthy life.

Exploring ways to find meaning and purpose can help you deepen your connection to yourself, your family, and your work and help you live longer!

Adding a few simple hormesis practices on a regular basis can help you keep your body young, strong, and healthy.

What are some lifestyle habits you practice regularly to feel like your best self?

Alcohol might feel like a way to unwind, but the truth is—it’s a neurotoxin with serious consequences for your brain and body.

Once consumed, alcohol is converted into acetaldehyde, a toxic compound that drives inflammation and oxidative stress, damaging key brain regions responsible for memory and decision making.

The occasional drink doesn’t have to derail your health, but the more mindful you are, the better your brain (and body) will be.

What if I told you there’s a powerful drug that can transform your health without a single side effect?

That drug is not in a pill—it’s in your kitchen.

Food isn’t just calories—it’s a molecular signal that programs your biology in real time. Every bite you take sends information to your cells, influencing everything from gene expression to hormone balance, brain chemistry, and immune function.

By making thoughtful food choices, you're leveraging one of the most powerful tools we have in medicine.

If you knew something had the ability to change your life, would you try it?

Did you know you have 37 trillion human cells, and every single one is powered by your daily choices?

Every cell in your body needs energy to do its job. That’s metabolism: the process of turning food into fuel. When it’s working, your body thrives. When it’s not, cells break down. Tissues fail. Organs struggle. And that’s when disease shows up.

88% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy. That means most people are living in some stage of metabolic dysfunction, whether it’s obvious yet or not.

What’s driving it?
• 152 lbs of sugar a year flooding the system.
• Glucose spikes and crashes that burn out insulin receptors.
• Poor sleep, chronic stress, and too little movement—wrecking mitochondria.

Not just heart disease and diabetes down the road, but brain fog, energy crashes, hormone imbalances, and that “food coma” after a big meal (spoiler: it’s your blood sugar whiplashing).

But here’s the good news: metabolic health is flexible. Your body is constantly responding to the inputs you give it. Every meal, every workout, every night of solid sleep: it all trains your cells to be more efficient, more resilient, and more powerful.

37 trillion cells.
All waiting for you to lead.

True health starts with you. Drop a YES below if you agree!

What’s one healthy food or habit you’ve been wanting to incorporate into your life?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments 👇

If a foreign nation was doing to our children what we’re doing here in America, we’d go to war to protect them.

Americans are consuming thousands of food chemicals every single day—petroleum-based dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5, synthetic preservatives, emulsifiers, and misleading “natural flavors.”

These ingredients have been linked to a rise in behavioral issues, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, endocrine disruption, obesity, and cancer.

This isn’t speculative. It’s backed by decades of data. And it’s happening at levels kids are exposed to every single day.

ADHD rates have risen over 1,000% since 1970. Ultra-processed food is now the leading cause of chronic illness.

I’ve spent decades pushing for better food policies—in the clinic, at the policy table, through my writing, and through countless public conversations.
The FDA and HHS finally taking action to phase out synthetic dyes is a significant win.

But we must keep going. Every chemical added to our food should be independently reviewed, clearly labeled, and held to science-backed safety standards.

Public health must come before corporate profits.

I’m proud to stand with every advocate, every parent, and every leader who helped bring us to this moment. Let’s keep going.

Have you ever thought about how you spend your time as you age?

Much of our adult life is spent with coworkers and, later, alone. While productivity and solitude have their place, we must not overlook one of the most critical aspects of our well-being: community.

Research shows that strong social connections are a key predictor of longevity and overall health. Spending quality time with loved ones, building meaningful relationships, and fostering a sense of belonging are just as essential to our health as diet and exercise.

Our health isn’t just shaped by what we eat or how we move—it's deeply influenced by who we spend our time with.

How are you prioritizing your relationships today?

Image credit: TJ Power // IG

The average American consumes 55 pounds of added sugar each year, which we know is a major contributor towards the diabesity epidemic. ⁣

In fact, poor diet is responsible for almost 700,000 deaths in the US each year, and 11 million worldwide! 
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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.⁣
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A few simple ways to eat healthy are:⁣ 
- Make sure your plate is 75% vegetables.⁣
- Eat an array of colorful veggies.⁣
- Include healthy fats in every meal.⁣
- Make sure to optimize protein.⁣
- Eat a low glycemic diet.⁣
- Avoid conventional dairy.⁣
- Reduce or cut out processed foods. ⁣

Which one will you implement first?

Believe it or not, I didn’t start strength training or doing HIIT until I was 59.

I told myself yoga was enough. I was intimidated by gyms and honestly, I didn’t know where to begin. But once I started building muscle, everything changed. My energy, my balance, even my brain felt sharper.

And this study backs it up. A two-year randomized controlled study found that high-intensity interval training in sedentary adults in their 50s reversed heart aging by 20 years. Not slowed it. Reversed it.

Not slowed. Reversed.

These weren’t lifelong athletes. They were people who had been inactive for decades. Their protocol was simple: two days of HIIT, two days of moderate cardio, one day of strength training. After two years, their heart and blood vessels functioned like they were two decades younger!

That’s the power of hormesis, a little bit of the right kind of stress signals your body to grow stronger. Whether it’s HIIT, strength training, a cold plunge, or a hard bike ride in the woods, these are the practices that activate your body’s built-in longevity pathways.

If I can start at 59, it’s never too late for you.

PMID: 30387144

We went from eating about 10 pounds of sugar per person per year in 1800 to 152 pounds of sugar (and 146 pounds of flour) per person per year today. ⠀
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Think about it: On average, we eat about one pound of sugar daily!⠀
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Those sugar-loaded foods hijack our metabolism and make us fat and sick.⠀
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I have a simple yet radical proposal: Let’s send the trillion-dollar junk food industry a message and eat real food. That means foods nature-created that don’t come with barcodes, fake ingredients, or an ingredient list at all. ⠀
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To do that, we need to rewire our brains. ⠀
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A researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) told me that the real regulator of our weight and metabolism isn’t our stomachs but our brain chemistry. ⠀
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The right foods send a message to your brain to shut down hunger and cravings, so you burn fat and feel great. Sugary, processed foods send the opposite message.⠀
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Making the right choices to opt for natural, whole, unprocessed foods becomes crucial to ditching the junk food habit, as do your emotional triggers and health.⠀
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Whenever you get a strong desire for a chocolate chip cookie or other junk food, ask yourself two questions:⠀
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- What am I feeling?⠀
- What do I need? What we need does not involve stuffing your face, I can assure you of that. ⠀
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We have a chance today to stop and detox, not only from junk food but also from junk thoughts. We must de-clutter our bodies and our minds.⠀

The truth is, dementia is a very big problem that’s becoming bigger every day.

What’s the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes?

Well, new research shows insulin resistance, or what I call diabesity (from eating too many carbs and sugar and not enough fat) is one of the major factors that starts the brain-damage cascade, which robs the memory of over half the people in their 80s, leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Here’s the bad news/good news.

Eating sugar and refined carbs can cause pre-dementia and dementia. But cutting out the sugar and refined carbs and adding lots of fat can prevent, and even reverse, pre-dementia and early dementia. Sugar causes pre-diabetes and diabetes, which often leads to significant memory loss.

Chronic stress takes a toll on your body and brain. Stress shrinks the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. So, find your pause button every day and make time for some stress relief. Relaxation isn’t a luxury if you want to prevent or reverse dementia. Whether that involves deep breathing, meditation, or yoga, find something that helps you calm down.

Lack of sleep can cause impaired brain function, leading to CRAFT syndrome, which stands for “can’t remember a _____ thing.” Studies show poor sleep becomes a risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Aim for at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night.
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We now know that physical activity can prevent and even slow down the progression of cognitive decline and brain diseases like dementia. Even a 30-minute walk can help. More active readers might want to incorporate high-intensity interval training or weight lifting.

Your relationships matter more than you think. Loneliness has been shown to be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Read more about how community is medicine and one of the key pillars to healthy aging:

As a doctor, it is increasingly clear to me that the health of our citizens, the health of our society and our planet depends on disruptive innovations that decentralize and democratize food production and consumption, innovations that produce real food at scale, restores the health of soils, water, air and the biodiversity of our planet and that reverses climate change.⁣

You can learn more about this in my book, Food Fix. FoodFixBook.com

Exercise creates a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is basically Miracle Grow for your brain. When you exercise, your brain becomes more elastic. Exercise also helps to improve your mood, boost your energy, and reduce overall stress in your body and mind.⁣⁣
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One of my favorite benefits of exercise is that it improves insulin sensitivity, which is the biggest contributor to advance aging. Exercise actually makes your cells and muscles more sensitive to insulin so you don’t need as much. Less insulin means less dangerous visceral belly fat. ⁣⁣
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Daily movement also enhances detoxification by stimulating the colon and releasing toxins through your sweat. It boosts detoxification of environmental chemicals. Vigorous exercise will help you work up a sweat, but gentle exercise keeps your circulation going and flushes out all the toxic fluids that build up in your lymphatic system. Even just lying on your back and putting your legs straight up against the wall for 20 minutes can make a huge difference. ⁣⁣
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Clearly, daily movement has whole-body benefits. These are just a few of them. The question becomes, how do we incorporate movement daily? Here are three simple ways. ⁣⁣
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Make it a priority and think ahead. Every single day I schedule time in my calendar to work out. If I don’t schedule it, I won’t do it. Also, make it easy.
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Do it first thing in the morning. We all know how easily pushing exercise to the back burner and subsequently neglecting it can become. Do your daily exercise first thing in the morning to jump-start your metabolism and set your day on the right course.⁣⁣
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Make it fun. I encourage you to explore all the fun things you may enjoy and save exercise for those times when you just can’t find a way to play on your own or with someone else. Vary up your routine and above all, make it fun.
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Ever since I’ve made movement part of my life, I notice that I’m happier, calmer, stronger, and I just feel good. If you could put exercise into a pill, it would be a blockbuster drug. So I encourage you to get up today and move your body, even if it’s just for a few minutes.⁣⁣

Kids today spend at least six hours a day at school, where they eat breakfast, lunch, and multiple snacks. Removing thinly disguised Franken-foods from their school menus would have a huge impact on their health.

One group of researchers looked at what happened when California instituted strict new rules to limit junk foods and sugary drinks in school cafeterias in 2005. Published in JAMA Pediatrics, the study looked at childhood obesity rates in the state before and after the rules—among the strictest in the nation—took effect. It found that the prevalence of overweight and obese fifth graders in California climbed in the four years before the rules were implemented and then suddenly trended downward in the years after the rules took effect. Such school nutrition policies, the authors concluded, “may be crucial interventions to prevent child obesity.”

The authors found that the steepest declines in obesity occurred among kids who attended schools in neighborhoods with the highest income and education levels. The reason is that schools in wealthier areas enforced the strictest nutrition standards. Schools in poorer areas are often under more financial pressure.

To make up for budget shortfalls, they are more likely to sign lucrative “pouring rights” contracts with soda companies and more likely to allow junk food advertising to their students. Studies show that 70 percent of elementary and middle school students in America see ads for fast food, candy and soft drinks at their schools—and those ads have a direct impact, leading children to consume more junk-food-laden diets.

We can take back our kids' health with these steps, and much more. You can find more information in my book, Food Fix. FoodFixBook.com

Food is medicine for humans. And food, grown in restorative and regenerative ways, is medicine for the planet.

Regenerative agriculture is a topic I’m super passionate about and one of the key topics in my book Food Fix.

There are many issues with conventional agriculture; one is a reliance on nonrenewable resources, and another is the waste and pollution created.

And then there is the fact that farmers are encouraged to grow more, faster, which leads to an overproduction of subsidized crops like wheat, corn, and soy that are turned into processed, unhealthy foods that make us fat and sick, and a depletion of nutrients and other important compounds in the soil, like beneficial bacteria that cross-talk with our own microbiome.

The varieties of seeds favored for mass production are another aspect of our declining soil quality; comparisons of the nutrient content of 43 different crops between 1950 and 1999 revealed consistent declines in protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B2, and vitamin C.

This boils down to a lack of organic matter in the soil, which then prevents plants from being able to access nutrients, so they provide us with less of them.

Even when choosing to eat health-promoting foods like vegetables, we may not be getting the full scope of nutrients we should be. And a lack of balanced bacteria in our soil impacts our own bacterial composition.

Using regenerative practices like no-till farming, cover crops, and a broader and more traditional seed selection are ways to support that organic matter and produce healthier soils.

As many of you know, I have a non-profit organization called Food Fix where I work with politicians to change our food system.

Today at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing, Health Subcommittee Chairman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) highlighted the importance of prevention in healthcare. He's pushing for more actions to help people steer clear of health issues like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes through diet and lifestyle choices.

Buchanan stressed the need for better public education on prevention and critiqued the prevalence of highly processed junk food in our diets. Secretary Becerra of Health and Human Services echoed this sentiment, encouraging the shift towards “Food is Medicine” and using fresh, whole foods as a first line of defense.

I can’t tell you how many patients I have seen who seem to be doing everything right such as eating the right foods, taking the right supplements, and moving, yet, they can’t seem to get better. ⁣⁣
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As a college student, I became passionate about meditation and Buddhism, and I used what I learned to deepen my connection to myself and strengthen my spirit. And then I entered medical school and residency, and real life got in the way, and I let go of the daily practices that kept me grounded.⁣⁣
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I became very sick, and not just physically; I became spiritually bankrupt too. ⁣
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Chances are the same thing has happened to you at one time or another. ⁣⁣
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The good news is that there are simple ways to get back in touch with your authentic self, that childlike part of you, that spark:⁣⁣
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1) Take time every day to check in with yourself. How are you feeling? Are you spending time doing things you want to do, or things you feel obligated to do? Do you feel fulfilled? This seemingly basic step is vital for identifying what brings you joy, where your passions lie, and how you can get more of them in your life. ⁣⁣
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2) Journaling is a great way to talk to yourself on paper, it allows you to have an uninhibited discussion with yourself, oftentimes leading to an “aha” moment that was hiding under the surface all along. Studies have shown that journaling focused on gratitude can even reduce inflammation and improve mental wellbeing.⁣⁣
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3) It’s completely okay to realize your current path is not making you happy and change directions—give yourself permission! ⁣⁣
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4) Clear the clutter. A more organized and simplified space will help you focus on more meaningful and non-material aspects of life, helping your spirit shine brighter. ⁣⁣
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5) Meditate. This has been an essential step in rekindling my spirit and regaining the spiritual vitality that I had, at one point, lost.

Thank you to all of you who have helped support the Food Fix Campaign mission! Your support is why I’m able to go to Washington, D.C. to educate our country’s leading decision makers and advocate for real change to our broken food system. The Food Fix Campaign is driving the conversation in D.C. for the imperative need for transformative change. Help us continue driving the conversation so that reforming America’s food system for the better can become a reality. Visit www.foodfix.org.

Your thoughts have real and measurable effects on your body and brain. Your immune cells know your deepest feelings.⁣

Your stem cells are wired to your brain and help you repair and regenerate. But they only turn on and make new brain cells when you relax. And I don't mean sipping a glass of Chardonnay while watching TV or practicing retail therapy. ⁣
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In school, we all learned how to read and write, but we never learned how to use our minds to help us with the most important survival skills of all: staying happy and healthy! Research has shown over and over again that learning to relax is one of the most important keys to long-term health and vitality.

To engage the powerful forces of the mind on the body, you must DO something. Learn how to ACTIVELY relax. ⁣
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Whether you practice deep breathing or take a simple leisurely walk, find an active relaxation that works for you and do it. Here are a few more ideas on how to push your pause button:⁣
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1) Make choices that make your life balanced — practice saying “NO” to others and “YES” to yourself.⁣

2) Try yoga or meditation.

3) Get enough sleep.⁣

4) Eat whole foods that decrease the stress response.

I often hear patients say a good workout relieves excess stress. That’s because exercise reduces cortisol – the stress hormone.

Too much cortisol and you become insulin resistant and store belly fat. Too much cortisol also makes you crave sugar and carbs and seek comfort food.

Let’s consider some of the other reasons why exercise is important:

BETTER INSULIN SENSITIVITY: Exercise makes your cells and muscles more sensitive to insulin so you don’t need as much. Less insulin means less belly fat.

STRESS REDUCTION: I often hear patients say a good workout relieves excess stress. That’s because exercise reduces cortisol – the stress hormone. Too much cortisol and you become insulin resistant and store belly fat. Too much cortisol also makes you crave sugar and carbs and seek comfort food.

BETTER BRAIN HEALTH: Your brain on exercise performs so much better. Exercise improves memory, learning, and concentration. Vigorous exercise is a better antidepressant than Prozac. Exercise creates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDMF), which is basically miracle grow for your brain. When you exercise, your brain becomes more elastic. Exercise also helps to improve your mood, boost your energy, and reduce overall stress in your body and mind.

REDUCED RISK FOR CHRONIC DISEASE: Exercise does this through several mechanisms. It protects your heart and reduces your risk of heart attack and stroke. It reduces inflammation (the cause of almost every disease of aging). And it balances hormones, therefore reducing breast and other common cancers.

ENHANCED DETOXIFICATION: Besides stimulating the colon, intense exercise allows your body to release toxins through your skin. It boosts detoxification of environmental chemicals. Vigorous exercise will help you work up a sweat, but gentle exercise keeps your circulation going and flushes out all the toxic fluids that build up in your lymphatic system. If your daily exercise routine doesn’t cause you to sweat profusely, take a steam or infrared sauna, if possible.

IMPROVED SEXUAL FUNCTION: Increased circulation and more energy are two of many reasons that consistent exercise can spark up your sex life.

What would you rather eat?

I promise you that focusing on quality more than quantity will change your relationship to food, and your health will thank you. I’ve seen it change the lives of many of my patients.

Think of it like code that programs your software. Your hardware is your genes. Your software is how those genes are turned on or off. ⁣

Food can create or stop inflammation, enhance or hurt your immune system. It provides the raw materials for your muscles, bones, brain, and every other part of your body. ⁣
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Food regulates not only your genes but also your hormones, like insulin, testosterone, estrogen, and thyroid. It alters your brain chemistry, producing happy chemicals—we all want more of those!