Mark Adam Hyman (born November 22, 1959)^[1] is an American physician and author.^[2][3][4] He is the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center.^[5] Hyman was a regular contributor to theKatie Couric Show until the show's cancellation in 2013.^[6] He hosts aneponymous podcast,The Dr. Hyman Show, which examines many topics related to human health. He is the author of several books on nutrition and longevity, of which 15 have becomeNew York Times bestsellers, includingFood Fix, Eat Fat, Get Thin, andYoung Forever.^[7]

Hyman is a proponent offunctional medicine,^[8] a controversial form ofalternative medicine.^[9][10] He is the board president of clinical affairs of the Institute for Functional Medicine and is the founder of and senior adviser to the Center for Function Medicine at theCleveland Clinic.^{[6][11][12][13]} Hyman promotes the pegan diet, which has been characterized as afad diet.^[14][15]

Hyman was born in New York^[16] toRuth Sidransky. He graduated fromCornell University with a bachelor's degree in Asian Studies.^[17] He received hisDoctor of Medicine degree from theUniversity of Ottawa and completed his training at the Community Hospital of Santa Rosa infamily medicine.^[18]

Hyman started his medical career as a family physician in ruralIdaho and later as an emergency department physician in Massachusetts.^[17][19][20] He was the co-medical director atCanyon Ranch inLenox, Massachusetts, from 1996 to 2004.^[17][21] He opened The UltraWellness Center in Lenox after leaving Canyon Ranch.^[22]

Hyman is one of the most prominent proponents offunctional medicine,^[8] a controversial form of alternative medicine;^[9][10] there is no definitive clinical evidence of its effectiveness.^[23] He is a contributing editor to the journalAlternative Therapies in Health and Medicine and was editor-in-chief until 2008.^[24][25]

In 2009, Hyman testified before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about integrative medical care.^[5][26] That same year, he won the Linus Pauling award from the Institute for Functional Medicine.^[27]

Hyman participated in aPartners In Health program to bring medical care toHaiti following the2010 Haiti earthquake.^[2][28] In 2011, Hyman presented atThe Nantucket Project on the root causes of disease.^[29]

In December 2013,The Daniel Plan, a book Hyman co-authored with PastorRick Warren andDaniel Amen, became number one on theNew York Times Best Seller list and was awarded Christian Book of the Year in 2013.^[30][31][32] Hyman is the author of several books on nutrition and health, such as10 Day Detox Diet.^[33] In 2014, Hyman founded Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.^[34][35] He appeared as a featured expert in the 2014 documentary filmFed Up.^[34][16] He was previously an unpaid contributing blogger forThe Huffington Post through their contributors program.^[36] The same year, Hyman spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos.^[37]

He collaborated withRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2014 bookThimerosal: Let the Science Speak, writing the preface in which he advocates for the removal ofthimerosal from vaccines as a precautionary measure.^[38] Hyman convinced Kennedy to remove controversial chapters incorrectly linkingthimerosal to autism.^[39][40] In 2016, Hyman joined environmentalists and civil rights leaders in calling for federal investigations intoU.S. fluoridation policy, writing that communities of color are at particular risk of adverse health impacts.^[41] In an episode ofThe Diary of a CEO podcast, Hyman claimed that autism could be caused by eating gluten or by childhood vaccines, contrary to widely accepted scientific evidence.^[42]

A 2014New York Times article described Hyman's relationship as a medical adviser toBill andHillary Clinton.^[16]

Quackwatch lists Hyman's 2003 bookUltraprevention: The 6-Week Plan That Will Make You Healthy for Life as one of their non-recommended books due to promoting misinformation and containing unsubstantiated advice.^[43]

In 2020, Hyman founded Food Fix Campaign, anonprofit organization addressing thefood system's impact on health and the environment through policy change.^[44][45] Hyman was director of the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic until some point in 2023, whencardiologist Dr. James E. Carter stepped into the position.^[46]

In 2021, Hyman co-founded Function Health, amembership-based diagnostic health platform company that offers direct-to-consumer lab tests, including ones for organ health, hormone, nutrient, metabolic andcancer signal tests.^[47][48] Hyman co-founded the company to deal with "an overburdened health system" that he claimed led to increases inchronic illness andmisdiagnoses, and that the company "removed barriers around extensive lab testing."^[49]

Since its founding in 2021, Hyman has acted as thechief medical officer of the company.^[13] As of 2023, Function Health has completed more than 3 million lab tests; as of 2024, the company had at least 100,000 members.^[47][46] The company has raised $53 million inseed andseries A fundraising rounds fromAndreessen Horowitz, Wisdom.vc, Draft Ventures, K5 and G9 Ventures, among others.^[49][48] The company partnered withhealth clubEquinox Group to offer a personalized nutrition, sleep, and fitness coaching program.^[50]

In June 2024, Hyman launched a podcast called "Health Hacks."^[13] That same month, he signed withtalent agency WME, also known asEndeavor.^[13] In September 2024, Hyman testified before theHouse Ways and Means health subcommittee about the root causes of disease.^[51][52] As of January 2025, he is the board president of clinical affairs of theInstitute for Functional Medicine.^[6][11][12]

Hyman endorsed alow-carbohydrate high-fat diet in his booksEat Fat Get Thin andThe Eat Fat, Get Thin Cookbook, published in 2016. In these books, Hyman disputes commonly held ideas about consuming dietary fat.^[53] He says thatsaturated fat does not cause heart disease and obesity; processed carbohydrates do.^[53][54][55] Hyman recommends his readers transition to a pegan diet.^[53][54]

Hyman promoted the pegan diet, aplant-rich diet that combines principles of thepaleo andvegan diets.^[14][56] The pegan diet isgluten-free and encourages consumption of nonstarchy vegetables withgrass-fed organic meats andlow-mercury fish. The diet consists of 75% plant foods and limits fruits to low-glycemic berries.^[14] The pegan diet opposesrefined sugar and foods that can spike insulin production. The diet also opposes cow'smilk but is not dairy free. Hyman allows the occasional organicgoat orsheep milk, yogurt, kefir, grass-fed butter, ghee or cheese.^[14] Hyman has stated that the pegan diet can be defined by one simple rule: "If God made it, eat it; if man made it, leave it."^[14]

Hyman first wrote about the pegan diet in 2014 and outlined it in his bookFood: What the Heck Should I Eat?, published in 2018.^[57][58]

The pegan diet has been termed by some dietitians as afad diet.^[14][15] The diet's emphasis on vegetables and omega-3 fats is in accord to mainstream nutrition advice but has been criticized for limiting the consumption ofbeans andwhole grains, which are associated with multiple health benefits such as reducing cardiovascular disease and cancer risk and supporting weight management.^[14][59] The pegan diet has been called restrictive and it has been suggested that it may cause magnesium, iron or calcium deficiency.^[60]

A review inPublishers Weekly commented that "Pegan is a silly, paradoxical misnomer: no diet can be simultaneously paleo (meat, fats, and few vegetables/fruit) and vegan (with no animal products whatsoever). However, the diet’s recommendations are basically sound: fresh, locally sourced, preferably organic food; nothing refined or processed; and a focus on not raising blood sugar."^[61]

Dietitian Carrie Dennett has written that "while the pegan diet is more moderate - and potentially easier to follow - than either of its dietary parents, it does restrict many nutritious foods for reasons that aren't quite supported by science."^[14] A downside to the diet is that it can be costly for those with low incomes who cannot afford the expensive "grass-fed" and "pasture-raised"animal source foods that Hyman recommends.^[14] Aisling Pigott, a dietitian and spokesperson for theBritish Dietetic Association, has suggested that the pegan diet is too restrictive to maintain and although some of its principles such as eating more plant-based foods and fewerprocessed foods are recommended for good health, "labeling this as a 'diet' is unethical and potentially dangerous and difficult to follow."^[62]

Dietitian Alyssa Pike has disputed Hyman's claim that gluten should be avoided by people without agluten allergy or intolerance and concluded that "the concept of this diet, combined with its number of restrictive rules, will likely make it hard to follow long-term and add to confusion about what to eat and why."^[63]

OncologistAdil Akhtar has commented that "the pegan diet has taken good things from the vegan diet and attached it to some of the good things from the paleo diet. Both of them emphasize eating whole, natural foods, and avoiding eating anything processed or anything artificial. If you look at the pegan diet, it's about 75% vegan. The only difference is the source of protein in the vegan diet. Vegans get protein from beans and legumes. On the pegan diet, you're allowed to tap into grass-fed, healthy animal meat".^[64] Akhtar has noted that the pegan diet "looks quite close to theMediterranean diet" and may be helpful to those who want to reduce their risk of developing cancer.^[64]

• — (2005).Ultraprevention: The 6-Week Plan that Will Make You Healthy for Life. New York: Atria Books.ISBN 978-0-7434-4883-3.OCLC 57448242.
• — (2007).The Ultrametabolism Cookbook: 200 Delicious Recipes that Will Turn on Your Fat-Burning DNA. New York: Scribner.ISBN 978-1-4165-4959-8.OCLC 156902321.
• — (2008).The UltraMind Solution: Fix Your Broken Brain by Healing Your Body First: The Simple Way to Defeat Depression, Overcome Anxiety and Sharpen Your Mind. New York: Scribner.ISBN 978-1-4165-4971-0.OCLC 297439691.
• — (2008).Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss: Awakening the Fat-Burning DNA Hidden in Your Body. New York: Atria Books.ISBN 978-0-7432-7256-8.OCLC 213354732.
• — (2009).The Ultrasimple Diet: Kick-Start Your Metabolism and Safely Lose Up to 10 Pounds in 7 Days. New York: Pocket Books.ISBN 978-1-4391-7131-8.OCLC 351316362.
• — (2012).The Blood Sugar Solution: The Ultrahealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Feeling Great Now. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Co.ISBN 978-0-316-12737-0.OCLC 639167583.
• — (February 26, 2013).The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook: More Than 175 Ultra-Tasty Recipes for Total Health and Weight Loss.Little, Brown.ISBN 9780316248174.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
• — (2014).The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet: Activate Your Body's Natural Ability to Burn Fat and Lose Weight Fast. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN 978-0-316-23002-5.OCLC 843858725.
• — (2015).The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet Cookbook: More Than 150 Recipes to Help You Lose Weight and Stay Healthy for Life.Little, Brown.ISBN 9780316338806.
• — (2016).Eat Fat, Get Thin: Why the Fat We Eat is the Key to Sustained Weight Loss and Vibrant Health. New York: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN 978-0-316-33883-7.OCLC 911070119.
• — (2017).The Eat Fat, Get Thin Cookbook: More Than 175 Delicious Recipes for Sustained Weight Loss and Vibrant Health.Little, Brown.ISBN 9780316317498.
• — (2018).Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? The No-nonsense Guide to Achieving Optimal Weight and Lifelong Health. New York: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN 978-0-316-33886-8.
• — (2019).Food: What the Heck Should I Cook?. New York: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN 978-0-316-45313-4.
• — (2020).Food Fix: How to Save our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet - One Bite at a Time. New York: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN 978-0-316-45317-2.OCLC 1105151559.
• — (2023).Young Forever. New York: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN 978-0316453189.
• — (2024).The Young Forever Cookbook. New York: Little, Brown Spark.ISBN 978-0316571623.

• Gorski, David (April 14, 2014)."Bill and Hillary Clinton go woo with Dr. Mark Hyman and 'functional medicine'".Science-Based Medicine.

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