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Reset Your Health: Stop Feeling Like Crap with Dr. Mark Hyman MD | The Mel Robbins Podcast

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them. — You have an appointment with one of the world’s leading #doctors in functional #medicine. Dr. Mark Hyman (@drmarkhyman has written an incredible 14 New York Times best sellers. He is the founder and director of The UltraWellness Center, and Head of Strategy and Innovation at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. An appointment like this would cost $$$ in person, but today, it’s free for you. Seriously, you will be floored by what you hear. No matter how old you are, you have more control over your health than you may think, and it’s never too early or too late to start making simple yet profound changes. In this episode, we are breaking everything down point by point so that you get the specific, actionable steps you need to start changing your life in real time. Get ready to take charge of your #health like never before. Xo Mel In this episode, you'll learn: 00:00 Intro 15:09 Food is not just food; here’s what it becomes once you eat it. 19:01 So what’s the connection between gut health and overall health? 21:28 What exactly is inflammation and what’s causing it? 23:28 Okay, so then what does a healthy gut look like? 27:41 Put these foods on your plate for 10 days and see what happens. 32:03 The 5 major things in your life that cause inflammation. 32:56 The big fat lie we’re being fed every day. 35:32 Can changing my gut heal my anxiety? 37:15 This simple tool will improve digestion and calm your nerves. 39:02 Phenomenal story of ADHD that was healed in two months. 42:28 The difference between two main types of allergies. 45:32 Holy sh*t! What Dr. Hyman said that reminded me of Oakley. 52:58 If we could cure this, we’d extend our lives by more than 7 years. 54:59 These are the supplements you and I should be taking. 58:34 Here’s what causes your body to dump too much magnesium. 59:30 Trouble with your hormones? You need to hear this. 1:06:05 Do this if you want a clear picture of your health. 1:13:16 What probiotics help reset your gut? 1:17:57 Simple tips to help you start sleeping better. #functionalmedicine #functionalhealth — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@melrobbins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com​ — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins​?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

Mel RobbinshostDonnaguestDr. Mark Hymanguest
Mar 23, 20231h 23mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

  1. 0:00 – 15:09

    Intro

    1. MR

      Boy, do I have an incredible gift for you today. You are getting world-class medical and research-backed simple tactics today to improve your health, to improve your energy, to improve your vitality. We are gonna do some healing today from the inside out. Who the hell am I talking about? Dr. Mark Hyman. Can you just hear Dr. Hyman winding up? He's about- I'm just winding up. (laughs) He is so excited. Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to a vibrant, phenomenal episode of the Mel Robbins Podcast. Let's do this thing. Okay, everybody. I am so excited. Boy, do I have an incredible gift for you today, and for those of you that are brand new to the Mel Robbins Podcast, let me welcome you. My name is Mel Robbins. I'm a New York Times best-selling author and one of the most respected experts on change and motivation in the world. And I have a treat for you today because I have arranged to get you an appointment at- (laughs) ... zero cost with one of the world's leading doctors and medical experts. I'm telling you, you are in for a treat, so I don't care what you're doing right now. You better pull that car over. You better sit your ass down. You better get a pen. You better bookmark this episode because you are getting world-class medical and research-backed simple tactics today to improve your health, to improve your energy, to improve your vitality. We are gonna do some healing today from the inside out. Who the hell am I talking about? Well, I'm talking about none other than Dr. Mark Hyman, 14 New York Times bestsellers, people. 14. He has a wellness clinic in Western Massachusetts in Lenox. He used to be the, uh, co-medical director at the, at Canyon Ranch. Mm-hmm. I mean, we could just be dropping- (laughs) ... all... And he's laugh- he's laughing at his own credentials, and that's something that I actually love about Dr. Hyman- (laughs) ... because he's relatable. And so we are gonna break down the world of functional medicine and the science behind how you can have more energy, how you can use things that are in your house and in your fridge to help you calm your anxiety, to help you gain focus- Mm-hmm. ... if you have ADHD. Mm-hmm. And more importantly, I don't care how old you are. I know we got a ton of college kids that listen to this. You should be thinking right now, no matter how young or old you are, about what you can do to make sure that as you age, you also have the energy- Mm-hmm. ... that you deserve. Right, Dr. Hyman? Absolutely. Welcome. Thank you. You're welcome. And one other thing I want to tell you guys. So about a year ago, I think you guys know this, I had this, like, tsunami casserole- (laughs) ... of a breakdown that was a combination of anxiety, grief over selling our house of 26 years, and crushing, uh, symptoms from menopause. Mm-hmm. Just nu- That's always fun. Oh, it was a hot mess. Literally. Literally. (laughs) And I texted Dr. Hyman and he texted me back immediately and I went to his wellness clinic in Lenox. And so I also want to say that I have firsthand experience working with his partners and his team and following his advice, and it has made a profound difference. Oh. And that's why I'm excited for you to be here. Amazing. And there's one other thing I want to tell you. So she's gonna kill me, and I'm telling you this, everybody, before we jump in, because I want you to understand that we're getting pitched like crazy to have people on this show because the show's been really successful, and I want to make sure that the people that we bring to you are going to give you value and tremendous value by the time of this podcast. And so Donna, who's one of the producers here at 143 Studios, she has something to tell you- Oh. ... Dr. Mark Hyman. Okay. A personal connection- Oh, wow. ... that I think, uh, you listening, you're gonna love this full-circle moment.

    2. DO

      Hi, Dr. Hyman. I am, um, really (laughs) excited to be here today, and, uh, this feels very much like a full-circle moment because, um, without you, there's a good chance that I actually would not be here today.

    3. MR

      Wow.

    4. DO

      About 12 to 14 years ago, I was living with excruciating back pain. I was on meds that are now illegal (laughs) -

    5. MR

      Yeah.

    6. DO

      ... 'cause they created heart issues. I had really horrible asthma, so even if I wanted to be active, I couldn't.

    7. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    8. DO

      I was wheezing terribly, and I was allergic to everything. I was diagnosed with 43 allergies when I was eight years old. So I was just sneezing and wheezing (laughs) and hunched over all the time. So quite miserable.

    9. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    10. DO

      Um, and then around that time, I found one of your books called, uh, The Five Forces of Wellness, I believe.

    11. MR

      That was actually a, uh, a-

    12. DO

      An audio.

    13. MR

      ... an audio book.

    14. DO

      Ser- (laughs) Yes. Yeah, so I, at that time, was divorced, and so I was a single mom and had my son in the backseat, and I would play those same four CDs (laughs) -

    15. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    16. DO

      ... over and over again, and I really needed to hear what you were sharing about how the body is impacted by food. I had never heard any of this before. I didn't realize that I was supposed to be eating-

    17. MR

      Who knew, right? (laughs)

    18. DO

      Right? (laughs) I didn't realize I was supposed to be eating greens, and I wasn't supposed to be eating all the sugar I was, and, and all the soda (laughs) I was drinking.

    19. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    20. DO

      And so I changed my lifestyle because of you, and I started to go to the gym and...... here I am now, 14 years later, and I have no more back pain.

    21. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    22. DO

      Uh, I'm not on meds anymore. I don't carry an inhaler because my asthma-

    23. MH

      Wow.

    24. DO

      ... is now in remission. And, um, no more allergies. I'm not sneezing. We have dogs here today, and there's no way I could be in this place, uh, with dogs around. So, (clears throat) I just want to thank you because I've now run 27 5Ks- (laughs)

    25. MH

      Amazing.

    26. DO

      ... and I've climbed Mount Washington twice, and I've biked 75 miles in a weekend four times, and I just could not have done that without you. So thank you so much for-

    27. MH

      Mm, that's such a great story.

    28. DO

      ... for all that you do.

    29. MH

      You know, I think, I think it's an amazing story because what you experienced is not impossible to achieve for most people if they know what to do. And sadly, our healthcare system and their medical paradigm doesn't actually know how to get you from there to here. And it's all about activating your body's own innate intelligent healing systems, which is really all I do. I don't really treat disease, I just help the body do what it's supposed to do by getting rid of the bad stuff and putting in the good stuff. So the body is really an amazing organism. It's a self-healing, self-repairing, self-renewing system if you know what to do. And I mean, who's listening out there that got an owner's manual strapped to their leg when they were born? Probably not too many of you (laughs) . You know how to use your iPhone and computer more than you know how to regulate and use your body, and that's really what this is all about.

    30. MR

      Wow. Donna, first of all, I freaking love you because that, what just happened here is the mission of this show.

  2. 15:09 – 19:01

    Food is not just food; here’s what it becomes once you eat it.

    1. MH

      food is fuel.

    2. MR

      Yeah.

    3. MH

      It's energy, right?

    4. MR

      Yeah.

    5. MH

      You need it to, you know, run your body.

    6. MR

      Yep.

    7. MH

      But there's this, all this other stuff in food that we've ignored besides calories, and it's the informational molecules in s- in food. 'Cause food is not just calories. It's information, it's instructions, it's code that upregulates your biology or downregulates it every single bite.

    8. MR

      Wow.

    9. MH

      It changes your gene expression, your hormones, your brain chemistry, your immune system, your microbiome. Literally, everything you're, is changed in real time by what you're eating. And, and it's the informational molecules, the medicinal molecules in food that are speaking to us and changing everything about how we feel. Like, most people don't connect their food and their mood.

    10. MR

      No.

    11. MH

      Or their food and their asthma, or their food and their irritable bowel, or their food and their migraines, or their food and their depression.

    12. MR

      Or food and anxiety.

    13. MH

      Or anxiety and depression.

    14. MR

      Or food and depression.

    15. MH

      I have, I have a great story of a, of a, of a patient (laughs) who was having horrible panic attacks.

    16. MR

      Yes.

    17. MH

      And, uh, this was a guy who, you know, was l- kind of chubby, had a big belly. So, I knew right away he was insulin-resistant prediabetic, and probably had big swings of blood sugar insulin.

    18. MR

      Okay, stop.

    19. MH

      (laughs)

    20. MR

      So, are you talking about that, like, pregnant belly, the dude's gut?

    21. MH

      Yeah, yeah. Yeah. (laughs)

    22. MR

      Okay. So, when I see a dude with a big solid basketball-

    23. MH

      Yeah.

    24. MR

      ... I'm like-

    25. MH

      Yeah.

    26. MR

      ... beer gut. But what do you see?

    27. MH

      Well, it's beer 'cause it's sugar.

    28. MR

      Yep.

    29. MH

      Or it could be sugar, or bread, or pasta, or potatoes, or rice, or anything that's starchy and sugary will cause that belly fat.

    30. MR

      So, is that kind of like, you know how when you put yeast in bread and it ferments and it starts to rise?

  3. 19:01 – 21:28

    So what’s the connection between gut health and overall health?

    1. MR

      can you explain the connection between your gut and your gut health and your overall health? And then we're gonna get into specific mental health issues that people struggle with and the gut.

    2. MH

      Absolutely. You know, um, what was really amazing to me, Mel, is I began to practice functional medicine and began to, you know, treat people's guts. I would help their immune system get better, I'd get them on anti-inflammatory diets, I'd... And, and, and as a side effect, they, they would report to me that, "My ADD's better, my depression's gone, my panic attacks are gone, my mood is better, I'm this, uh, sleeping bet-" All these things, I'm like, "Really?" (laughs) What's going on here? And I began to really inquire about this, this process of how everything below the neck is influencing everything above the neck.

    3. MR

      Yes.

    4. MH

      So, the subtitle of the UltraMind Solution is How to Fix Your Broken Brain by Fixing Your Body First.

    5. MR

      Hmm.

    6. MH

      Right? And what's really amazing is the microbiome is this new frontier, in addition to the understanding of the gut-brain and the gut-nervous system and the brain-nervous system and how they're connected, and, and, and that's a real thing.

    7. MR

      Yep.

    8. MH

      There's constant communication.

    9. MR

      Yep.

    10. MH

      There's more neurotransmitters in your gut than your brain. But what's now happening is the understanding of this sea of bacteria in there that are all speaking to you every minute, and I just had talked to a scientist who was researching a particular microbe in the gut, and it's a big word, it's called Akkermansia. Don't worry about it, it's just one of the bacteria that lives in there.

    11. MR

      I already forgot it.

    12. MH

      Okay. And, (laughs) and what's amazing is as they were fermenting this, growing this bacteria to put in a probiotic, which is very powerful for many things, for regulating metabolism and mood and sh- blood sugar and everything, they discovered that this, this vat of the byproducts of this bacteria was something called GABA. Now, GABA is a calming neurotransmitter.

    13. MR

      Oh.

    14. MH

      When people take Valium, that's what it's doing, it's activating the GABA receptors in the brain to calm you down and relax you. So, when you think, if you have the right bacteria in your gut, you're producing compounds and neurotransmitters that are going to your brain and making you either relaxed and calm or depressed. There's a woman at Harvard, Uma Nadu, who's, who's studying very actively the microbiome and depression as a way to treat mental illness, fix the gut.

    15. MR

      Wow. Okay. I wanna, I wanna have you define a few things for us.

    16. MH

      Hmm.

    17. MR

      So, you've

  4. 21:28 – 23:28

    What exactly is inflammation and what’s causing it?

    1. MR

      used the word inflammation-

    2. MH

      Hmm.

    3. MR

      ... a lot.

    4. MH

      Yeah.

    5. MR

      What the hell does that mean?

    6. MH

      Well, everybody knows, you know, you-

    7. MR

      No, everybody does not know.

    8. MH

      ... you cut your- You cut your- You got a sore throat, that's inflammation. You cut your finger, it gets red and pussy, that's inflammation.

    9. MR

      Oh.

    10. MH

      Right?

    11. MR

      No.

    12. MH

      (laughs)

    13. MR

      I've never thought about it that way.

    14. MH

      You sprain your knee, it swells up, that's inflammation.

    15. MR

      Well, that I know.

    16. MH

      (laughs) That's inflammation.

    17. MR

      But, but when you-

    18. MH

      But-

    19. MR

      But when you functional medicine doctors-

    20. MH

      Yes, we have- We talk, yes.

    21. MR

      ... throw around the world, word inflammation-

    22. MH

      Yes, yes.

    23. MR

      ... inflammation here, inflam- I'm, I don't even know what you're talking about.

    24. MH

      Yeah. I, I, so we know that inflammation on the outside, what it looks like.

    25. MR

      Yes.

    26. MH

      Right? That's what I was just referring to.

    27. MR

      Yes.

    28. MH

      But there's inflammation on the inside.

    29. MR

      Oh.

    30. MH

      And, uh, and it's silent inflammation. You know, if your brain's inflamed, it, it, it doesn't get red and swollen, but you get depressed and you have ADD and you have personality issues and you can't sleep and you're anxious, right?

  5. 23:28 – 27:41

    Okay, so then what does a healthy gut look like?

    1. MR

      about how your gut is supposed to function.

    2. MH

      Yeah.

    3. MR

      So, when it's functioning in the correct way, 'cause I only learned about leaky gut-

    4. MH

      Hmm.

    5. MR

      ... because we had a daughter that struggled with disordered eating.

    6. MH

      Yeah.

    7. MR

      And she was constantly talking about how she felt fat, and I thought, "Oh, my God, we have not only this issue with restriction and her not eating, but we now have body dysmorphia." And we went to see a nutritionist that was a functional, holistic nutritionist.

    8. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    9. MR

      And she came back and said, "Through the disordered eating, your daughter has destroyed-"

    10. MH

      Her gut.

    11. MR

      "... her gut."

    12. MH

      Yeah.

    13. MR

      "There are, there are no positive bacteria strains."

    14. MH

      Yeah.

    15. MR

      So, the food hits her gut-

    16. MH

      Yeah.

    17. MR

      ... and without positive bacteria strains, the food doesn't break down.

    18. MH

      Yeah.

    19. MR

      And so she does feel bloated.

    20. MH

      Bloating and bloated and distended, yeah.

    21. MR

      And, and, and then, like, all of this acidic crap, because the food is not digesting properly 'cause there's no positive bacteria, all this acidic crap leaks through the wall of the gut and then goes through the nervous system, and the anxiety spikes.

    22. MH

      That's right. That's right.

    23. MR

      And so this was brand new to me.

    24. MH

      Yeah.

    25. MR

      So, can you just explain to everybody, when your gut is in balance-... how is it functioning properly? 'Cause I think that'll give everybody the ability to then understand-

    26. MH

      Yeah.

    27. MR

      ... the impact of it not functioning properly.

    28. MH

      Well, I mean, you p- pretty much shouldn't know it's there. It should do its job, right? (laughs) You shouldn't be bloated-

    29. MR

      That's true.

    30. MH

      ... or distended, you shouldn't have heartburn, you shou- you shouldn't have gas, you should feel fine, it should really-

  6. 27:41 – 32:03

    Put these foods on your plate for 10 days and see what happens.

    1. MH

      change your diet and see what happens. Not for a year or 10 years, (laughs) but 10 days. Anybody can do anything for 10 days. And when you do that, you literally take away all the potential inflammatory foods, all the foods that are causing you to have issues, which is typically gluten, dairy, sugar, processed foods-

    2. MR

      So what is the 10-day... Like-

    3. MH

      It's-

    4. MR

      ... well, give, just give us simple rules that you want everybody listening to try. This is a dare.

    5. MH

      Let's just, let's go through a sample menu for a day.

    6. MR

      Okay.

    7. MH

      But it's basically protein and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and berries. And so you bas-

    8. MR

      Okay, hold on. You said that very fast.

    9. MH

      (laughs)

    10. MR

      Protein-

    11. MH

      Vegetables.

    12. MR

      ... vegetables-

    13. MH

      Nuts and seeds and berries.

    14. MR

      Nuts and seeds and berries.

    15. MH

      And lots of good fats. Olive oil, avocados.

    16. MR

      Okay.

    17. MH

      So it's basically, breakfast could be, for example, uh, a couple of eggs with sliced tomatoes and avocado with olive oil on top. Lunch could be a big salad with lots of different veggies, tomatoes. I could throw a can of wild salmon on there.

    18. MR

      Yep.

    19. MH

      Put in, uh, some pumpkin seeds. You know, just lots of good plant food.

    20. MR

      Very colorful.

    21. MH

      Very colorful. And dinner might be, you know, some, uh, a big piece of fish or chicken or, or some, a, a nice small piece of meat with, three-quarters of your plate should be vegetables. So-

    22. MR

      Three-quarters of your plate every day?

    23. MH

      Yeah. So, like, I'll have... Like the other night, I had, like, a, a purple sweet potato, I had some roasted mushrooms, I had, um, you know, uh, I can totally have, like, a roasted eggplant. Whatever, whatever you kind of get excited about. Broccolini. I make cruciferous vegetables every day. These are the broccoli family.

    24. MR

      What did you say?

    25. MH

      Cruciferous vegetables.

    26. MR

      What the hell were cruciferous?

    27. MH

      It's broc- broccoli. Broccoli, basically. The broccoli family.

    28. MR

      Wait, what does cruciferous mean?

    29. MH

      It means broccoli, basic... Broccoli, collard-

    30. MR

      (laughs)

  7. 32:03 – 32:56

    The 5 major things in your life that cause inflammation.

    1. MH

      just like, peanuts are good for people, but if somebody wanted-

    2. MR

      Well, what's the universal one? It's no gluten.

    3. MH

      No gluten, no sugar, no dairy, no alcohol, no processed food.

    4. MR

      Do you have any fun?

    5. MH

      Absolutely.

    6. MR

      (laughs)

    7. MH

      I have so much fun. I have so much fun every day.

    8. MR

      I'm just kidding.

    9. MH

      My whole life is fun, and I don't feel restricted, I don't starve myself. And the thing is, these foods are addictive, Mel. So people think, "I gotta have, I gotta have wa- ah, sugar. Well, can I have artificial?" I know what people are listening, thinking about. They're thinking, "Oh, Dr. Hyman, can I have, uh, artificial sweeteners or can I have, you know-"

    10. MR

      Yes.

    11. MH

      "... Stevia?"

    12. MR

      Stevia.

    13. MH

      "Or can I have- "

    14. MR

      Well, is Stevia okay?

    15. MH

      Like every- everybody's going through their head.

    16. MR

      Yes.

    17. MH

      And if you are having this inner dialogue right now, I guarantee you, you have biological addiction to sugar because you're trying to find a way out.

    18. MR

      Hmm.

    19. MH

      You know, "I'm gonna stop smoking, but I'm gonna vape or I'm gonna chew Nicorette gum." Well, that's not getting rid of your addiction.

    20. MR

      Yes.

    21. MH

      Right? And I think i- it's not your fault. And this is a- probably, uh, one of the biggest problems I have with the narrative in America, that

  8. 32:56 – 35:32

    The big fat lie we’re being fed every day.

    1. MH

      we are blaming the person who's overweight for their problem. "It's your fault that you're eating too much and not exercising enough 'cause that's the solution to weight loss. It's all about calories in, calories out. It's all about moderation and if you can't do it, there's something wrong with you."

    2. MR

      Yeah.

    3. MH

      That's just a big fat lie. And that keeps people feeling ashamed about themselves.

    4. MR

      Yep.

    5. MH

      It keeps them from being empowered to know what to do. It keeps the food industry free of responsibility and it's, uh, one of the most unfortunate narratives that we have. And then, we get this whole body positive movement, and I think it's important people feel good about themselves.

    6. MR

      Yes.

    7. MH

      But the whole idea of healthy at any weight, there are some, for sure, that are healthy when they're, when they're a bigger size. But the truth is, when you look at the biology of it, only 6.8% of Americans are metabolically healthy. Meaning, that means they, do they have normal blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, they're not overweight, and they don't have heart disease. Like, that's 6.8% of us. That means 93% of us are somewhere in the spectrum from normal to pre-diabetes to diabetes.

    8. MR

      And, and, and what you're here to say is it's not your fault-

    9. MH

      No.

    10. MR

      ... because the way that food is manufactured, it is addictive.

    11. MH

      Yeah.

    12. MR

      And it is screwing up your body chemistry and it is causing, like, a whole litany of things-

    13. MH

      Yeah, I mean l-

    14. MR

      ... that you aren't even thinking, that the, my diet and the way that processed food is getting metabolized is causing this inflammation that makes my brain not work right, that impacts focus and energy and mood and sleep and all of these things. And all of your work points to the fact that one of the places that all of us can start is by just doing an experiment for 10 days where you stop the dairy, stop the gluten, stop the sugar, and you eat a colorful meal of whole foods and vegetables.

    15. MH

      Yeah.

    16. MR

      3/4 of the plate is vegetables and have a protein. There is your homework for 10 days and report back, everybody. Because you've seen over and over and over again that in that few, that small of a window, people have remarkable results.

    17. MH

      Yeah. I mean, that's the key 'cause if you, if people go, "You know, this is a long slog and it'll take me years," or... You, you're not gonna want to do it.

    18. MR

      Right.

    19. MH

      But if you, if you, for a short time, reset, it's like, you know when your computer's just going-

    20. MR

      Yeah.

    21. MH

      ... and some programs hung up and that-

    22. MR

      Yeah.

    23. MH

      ... crazy rainbow ball-

    24. MR

      Yeah.

    25. MH

      ... that you wanna kill is spinning around, (laughs) you know?

    26. MR

      Yeah.

    27. MH

      You just restart your computer and then, oh, it suddenly works.

    28. MR

      Yes.

    29. MH

      So, this is like the restart and, and has en- enormous benefits because for the first time, people understand what they're doing impacts how they feel.

    30. MR

      Yeah. I almost feel like this is like an oil change.

  9. 35:32 – 37:15

    Can changing my gut heal my anxiety?

    1. MR

      Can we talk about the impact of the gut with anxiety?

    2. MH

      Yeah.

    3. MR

      And what's your recommendation? If somebody struggles with anxiety, what do they need to do to heal their gut and how will that impact anxiety?

    4. MH

      Well, anxiety can be caused from many things, right? From, you know, life stresses, from trauma, from, uh, environmental toxins, from your microbiome, from eating too much sugar. I mean, there's a whole list.

    5. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    6. MH

      So, functional medicine is about getting to the root cause.

    7. MR

      Yep.

    8. MH

      And anxiety is a symptom. It's like saying you have a headache, right? Uh, well, did someone hit you in the head with a hammer or do you have a migraine? Are you eating gluten? Did you not sleep enough? Did you have a hangover? Do you now have, you know, a brain tumor? You know? (laughs)

    9. MR

      Right.

    10. MH

      Do you have an aneurysm? Like, why do you have a headache? (laughs)

    11. MR

      Right.

    12. MH

      So, anxiety is just like saying I have a headache, or depression is like saying I have a headache.

    13. MR

      Okay.

    14. MH

      It doesn't mean anything other than what your symptoms are.

    15. MR

      Oh.

    16. MH

      The question is, what's the cause? And that is what functional medicine is so good about. And so, the gut plays a big role. So, but I really just start with the simple lifestyle practices. Do a 10-day reset. You know, do some simple movement, take a walk, do some simple mindful practice. Just do your take five or hit, what do you do, high five. (laughs)

    17. MR

      Yeah.

    18. MH

      I do take five, which is five breaths five times a day. You know, it's simple. Like, before you eat every time, before you go to bed, take five breaths in slowly in and out for five seconds.

    19. MR

      How the hell does that help?

    20. MH

      ... it resets your nervous system, because every time you breathe, you, uh, move your diaphragm. And your diaphragm is this place where the vagus nerve goes through.

    21. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    22. MH

      The vagus nerve is your relaxation nerve.

    23. MR

      Yeah.

    24. MH

      So how do you, how do you turn on the automatic parts of your nervous system that you don't usually think about, right? You don't go, "I'm gonna make my heart beat at 62 beats a minute," or, "I'm gonna make sure I have 14 breaths a minute." Or... (laughs) Your body just knows what to do.

    25. MR

      Right.

    26. MH

      That's your nervous system. And-

    27. MR

      You just need to find the switch and flip it.

    28. MH

      And this is... Yeah, that's the beautiful thing. So you

  10. 37:15 – 39:02

    This simple tool will improve digestion and calm your nerves.

    1. MH

      can actually use your breath to reset your nervous system and to calm everything down and lower adrenaline, lower cortisol, lower all the stress hormones and, and reset your system, but it doesn't take a lot.

    2. MR

      I wanna, I wanna just come back to something you said in the very beginning.

    3. MH

      Hmm.

    4. MR

      Over and over and over again, you're proving simple ways that your body is designed to heal itself.

    5. MH

      Yeah.

    6. MR

      So five breaths, deep breaths.

    7. MH

      (inhales and exhales through mouth)

    8. MR

      Well, walk us through how you do the five breaths.

    9. MH

      You just, just go, like, take a deep breath in to five through your nose (inhales through nose) and five out (exhales through mouth) . Do that five times. It's not that hard. (laughs)

    10. MR

      Yeah, but n- nobody does it.

    11. MH

      I just did it once and I feel already better.

    12. MR

      I, I feel better, too.

    13. MH

      (laughs)

    14. MR

      I... And, and again, it's proof that if you do the right input-

    15. MH

      Hmm.

    16. MR

      ... your body responds.

    17. MH

      Yeah, we're just looking out there for a solution. And I, and I think it's like Dorothy and her ruby red slippers. She was running around Oz trying to find a way to get back to Kansas, and the truth is, she had her ruby red slippers the whole time and all she had to do is click her heels three times and get home. You know, I think it... We all are like Dorothy. We have ruby red slippers. We just don't know we have them and we don't know how to click them. And this is really what my work is about, it's what my book, Young Forever, is focused on, how do we activate our healing systems? Whether you're 25 or 75, you can activate these systems and feel better now and put, um, yourself on the track for a longer, healthier life.

    18. MR

      Wow. Um, let's talk about ADHD and-

    19. MH

      What'd you say?

    20. MR

      ADHD.

    21. MH

      What? (laughs)

    22. MR

      Oh, okay. We... (laughs) I even fell for that. That was good.

    23. MH

      (laughs)

    24. MR

      Let's talk about ADHD.

    25. MH

      What were we talking about? (laughs)

    26. MR

      Yeah, exactly. Let's talk about ADHD and the gut-

    27. MH

      Yeah.

    28. MR

      ... how it is healing your gut-

    29. MH

      Oh, God, I got to-

    30. MR

      ... helping with ADHD.

  11. 39:02 – 42:28

    Phenomenal story of ADHD that was healed in two months.

    1. MH

      books, um, that I wrote, Young... Uh, The UltraMind Solution that had this kid's story in it, and it was what really got me on this track of thinking about writing this book. It was a 12-year-old kid who had severe ADHD when he was younger, was in kindergarten on Adderall, and kicked out of kindergarten. I mean, who gets kicked out of kindergarten?

    2. MR

      Wow.

    3. MH

      And just struggling at 12 years old, his mother was at her wits' end, um, and, you know, become behavior problems, and just struggling. Um, and the mother brought him in and I did a full evaluation, 'cause I don't just say, "Tell me about your ADHD." I said, "Tell me about your bowel movements, tell me about what's happening with this, and that, and the other thing." It turned out he had asthma, he had irritable bowel syndrome, he had headaches at night, he had muscle cramps, he had anal itching, which is a clue about something.

    4. MR

      Oh, okay.

    5. MH

      (laughs) It's often a sign of yeast issues or...

    6. MR

      Oh.

    7. MH

      Yeah. So, uh, he, he had all these problems and, and he was on seven different medications from multiple different doctors.

    8. MR

      That's shocking.

    9. MH

      On asthma medications, on... He got medications on... ADD medications, on, you know, mood medic- I mean, he was just... It was a mess. And his mother brought his handwriting in to, to show me before, and we can post this on your show notes, before and, and, and I started treating him, and then two months later after.

    10. MR

      Okay.

    11. MH

      And all we, all we did was clean up his diet, 'cause he was, kid was living on junk food, never ate a vegetable in his life, massively nutritionally deficient. He was deficient in magnesium, which caused muscle cramps. He was deficient in zinc because he didn't ever eat any pumpkin seeds or vegetables. He had, uh... And his immune system was dysregulated. He had also B vitamin deficiencies. He was having gut issues with bad bacteria, gluten sensitivity. He had yeast overgrowth. He had a little bit of lead in his system.

    12. MR

      Wow.

    13. MH

      I mean, all this stuff. It was really easy to treat. All I did was basically take out the bad food, put in a, a whole foods diet, a little bit of elimination diet we talked about. I gave him basic multivitamins, some fish oil, magnesium, and vitamin D, some probiotics, kind of reset his gut. And the mother brings him back two months later and she says not only is his ADD gone, but all of his other symptoms are gone. His migraines, his, his irritable bowel, his asthma, his skin issues, his anal itching, it was all gone. Congestion, sinus issues, all gone. And his handwriting went from totally illegible, you know, these kids with really bad penmanship-

    14. MR

      Yeah.

    15. MH

      ... to perfectly legible, perfect penmanship. And I didn't send him to a handwriting school. All I did was fix his brain by fixing his body, by fixing his gut.

    16. MR

      I, I, I'm, I'm processing this.

    17. MH

      Yeah, it's a lot. (laughs)

    18. MR

      No, no, no, no. I'm processing this because I have a visual to share-

    19. MH

      Hmm.

    20. MR

      ... with, um, you listening to us. And then I wanna tell a quick story-

    21. MH

      Hmm.

    22. MR

      ... because I'm starting to feel like ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding with our own son.

    23. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    24. MR

      So, um, the visual I wanna give everybody, 'cause it just hit me, is, you know when somebody has an allergic reaction-

    25. MH

      Hmm.

    26. MR

      ... like they get stung by a bee-

    27. MH

      Hmm.

    28. MR

      ... or they eat something-

    29. MH

      Hmm.

    30. MR

      ... that they're allergic to and their face turns bright red or, you know, something swells on their body? That inflammation that you're seeing on the outside is the body reacting to something that it can't process, correct?

  12. 42:28 – 45:32

    The difference between two main types of allergies.

    1. MR

      reaction-

    2. MH

      Yeah.

    3. MR

      ... you have allergies?

    4. MH

      Yeah. I mean, there's, there's really two main kind of allergies.

    5. MR

      Okay.

    6. MH

      One is a true allergy. So if you eat peanuts-

    7. MR

      Right.

    8. MH

      ... your tongue swells up, your lungs shut down, you can't breathe, and you can die.

    9. MR

      Correct.

    10. MH

      That's... You get anaphylaxis.

    11. MR

      Yeah.

    12. MH

      That's a life-threatening emergency.

    13. MR

      Yeah.

    14. MH

      A bee sting allergy, that's a certain hype- type we call type one-

    15. MR

      Okay.

    16. MH

      ... allergy, which is super fast, super quick, and you can die from it. And then-

    17. MR

      EpiPen people.

    18. MH

      Yes.

    19. MR

      EpiPen.

    20. MH

      EpiPen people, right? Then there's the delayed sensitivity. It's not a true allergy-

    21. MR

      Yeah.

    22. MH

      ... but it can create sort of low-grade, long-term symptoms.

    23. MR

      Okay.

    24. MH

      So if you eat bread, you might have brain fog. Is that a true allergy? No.... but is it sensitivity? Yes.

    25. MR

      Yes.

    26. MH

      Right? And I think people don't have, I mean, I know for example, I, if I eat dairy that's from a regular feedlot cow, I will get congestion and snotty immediately-

    27. MR

      Yep.

    28. MH

      ... and I'll probably get pimples the next day.

    29. MR

      Yep.

    30. MH

      But if I have, for example, sheep or goat products that are from regenerative co-, uh, sheep that have A2 casein, which is noninflammatory-

  13. 45:32 – 52:58

    Holy sh*t! What Dr. Hyman said that reminded me of Oakley.

    1. MR

      fuck, this is crazy." 'Cause our son, exactly what you're talking about, Oakley, in fourth grade was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. The kid could not read. He was so, like, "Blahbity, blahbity, blah," that he literally snowed everybody for about a year.

    2. MH

      (laughs)

    3. MR

      And then they got to the point where you can't just raise your hand first to make something up-

    4. MH

      Yeah.

    5. MR

      ... and that makes people think that you read it. And the math problems were getting harder, so you can't... So the gig was up, cannot read. It looked, honest to God, like he was writing with his feet.

    6. MH

      Yeah.

    7. MR

      His, his-

    8. MH

      Yeah.

    9. MR

      ... dysgraphia was so bad.

    10. MH

      Yeah, exactly.

    11. MR

      He could not sit still.

    12. MH

      That's right.

    13. MR

      So we pull him out of public school, we put him in the Carroll School-

    14. MH

      Yeah.

    15. MR

      ... outside of Boston, fortunate enough to get him in there only about language-based learning.

    16. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    17. MR

      And they immediately medicate him for ADHD.

    18. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    19. MR

      He hated the meds-

    20. MH

      Yeah.

    21. MR

      ... but it was the only way he could sit still in class.

    22. MH

      Yeah.

    23. MR

      Fast-forward to about eighth grade, he starts advocating for himself, "I'm not eating meds. I'm not taking these meds. I'm not taking these meds. I'm not taking these meds." We're like, "Fine, but if we get a report from school that you are bouncing around the classroom and you can't sit still, we're gonna have to find a different solution." This school happened to have a cafeteria where all the kids ate, and it had a whole, like, food pro-

    24. MH

      Healthy options, yeah.

    25. MR

      ... healthy options. Like, there were no unhealthy options. There was the salad bar, there was the homemade soup-

    26. MH

      Yeah, yeah.

    27. MR

      ... there was a protein. He gets into ninth grade. When I tell you this kid is a totally different person.

    28. MH

      Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah.

    29. MR

      His handwriting is different.

    30. MH

      Yeah.

  14. 52:58 – 54:59

    If we could cure this, we’d extend our lives by more than 7 years.

    1. MR

    2. MH

      If we cured loneliness and developed connection and meaning and purpose, we'd extend our life by seven years or more.

    3. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    4. MH

      So, wait a minute. Basically, having meaning and purpose and connection in your life is more powerful than curing cancer and heart disease in terms of longevity. So, we, we... And I know from my travel, the Blue Zones, that was a big part of the medicine they had, was community as medicine.

    5. MR

      Right.

    6. MH

      Connection as medicine.

    7. MR

      Yeah.

    8. MH

      And most-

    9. MR

      Yeah, and I'm sure you're seeing it as a, uh, epidemic of loneliness, especially coming out of the pandemic.

    10. MH

      Totally, totally. So, tho- those are the ingredients for health that we need to provide, and everybody needs different ones. For example, some, some people might need more vitamin D. Some people might need more sleep. Some people need meat, different kind of exercise. So, it's really personalized, but those are the basic ingredients. So, that's the-

    11. MR

      It's sort of personalized, right?

    12. MH

      Yeah.

    13. MR

      Because like, just talking to the broad audience that's listening, you, you've mentioned a number of supplements, and it's the same ones over and over. So, for anybody listening that's like, "Okay, I got it. I have to do something," we've already talked about diet-

    14. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    15. MR

      ... and changing your diet, and even just noticing that if you were to remove the things we've talked about and add in this very simple, clean, healthy, vegetable-forward and pro- clean protein diet, in 6 to 10 days, you're gonna feel like a different person.

    16. MH

      Yeah.

    17. MR

      Just try it. But what, what-

    18. MH

      Try it and, and then you can decide what you want to do after that, right?

    19. MR

      Yes.

    20. MH

      "I'm gonna, I'm gonna keep eating my donuts." Okay, fine. Then you're gonna feel like crap, and you, if you want to feel like crap, it's your prerogative, right? (laughs)

    21. MR

      Well, I'll tell you something. I am now on, it's like, I don't know, day 30-something of not drinking. It's life-changing.

    22. MH

      Yeah, totally.

    23. MR

      It's totally life-changing, and I cannot believe how much clearer I am.

    24. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    25. MR

      I cannot believe how much more present I am.

    26. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    27. MR

      I cannot believe that I don't really miss it.

    28. MH

      Yeah.

    29. MR

      And I'd committed to doing this for almost three months, and I don't know how I'll incorporate it back, if ever.

    30. MH

      Hmm.

  15. 54:59 – 58:34

    These are the supplements you and I should be taking.

    1. MR

      if you're not currently taking a high-quality multivitamin or other supplements, what are the non-negotiables where everybody should start?

    2. MH

      You know, for probably less than a dollar a day, you can get what you need, which is a multivitamin.

    3. MR

      Yep.

    4. MH

      And I would say a, a good one that's cleanly produced, it doesn't have fillers, additives, dyes.

    5. MR

      How do you tell if it's a good one?

    6. MH

      I have curated ones that are high grade.

    7. MR

      Okay.

    8. MH

      In other words, the ones that, uh, are manufactured in good manufacturing practices, that don't have c-... fillers, chemicals and additives. There are bioavailable forms of nutrients. And so, if you stick with certain brands, they, you can kind of guarantee you're gonna get that.

    9. MR

      Okay.

    10. MH

      Um, then, then, uh, I think a vitamin D for most everybody, even in the summer. People are like, "Oh, I'm taking, you know, vitamin D in the summer, I don't need it." You do. Most people, unless they're out there running around half-naked between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM every day all year long, you're gonna be vitamin D deficient.

    11. MR

      That's only you.

    12. MH

      (laughs)

    13. MR

      I've seen you in your before and after photos that we're gonna link.

    14. MH

      (laughs)

    15. MR

      The dude is tan with a six-pack.

    16. MH

      (laughs)

    17. MR

      You're running around getting the vitamin D. He's embarrassed and laughing. We know it's true.

    18. MH

      (laughs)

    19. MR

      Now, is there different forms of D? Like D3?

    20. MH

      Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3.

    21. MR

      And do you have to take it with-

    22. MH

      Yeah.

    23. MR

      ... something else to be absorbed?

    24. MH

      Uh, with fat. You need with fat. Uh, so with food basically.

    25. MR

      Okay.

    26. MH

      Uh, so maybe between 1,000 to 5,000. The government guidelines say up to 4,000 is safe.

    27. MR

      Okay.

    28. MH

      So there's no downside to that. And then fish oil for most people, because 90-plus percent of us are deficient in omega-3 fats 'cause we don't eat wild food that much anymore. And-

    29. MR

      What does the fat do?

    30. MH

      It, these omega-3 fats are, are fats that we need in small amounts that are what our brains are made up of.

  16. 58:34 – 59:30

    Here’s what causes your body to dump too much magnesium.

    1. MR

      your magnesium to go down?

    2. MH

      So we should, we should have a lot of magnesium 'cause it's in all foods, nuts and seeds and a lot of plant foods, but we do so much to make our bodies dump magnesium in our urine. We drink too much soda. We have too much caffeine, too much alcohol, and too much stress, all of which cause us to lose magnesium in our urine.

    3. MR

      How does it make you lose magnesium if you drink a soda?

    4. MH

      Well, it's got something called phosphoric acid in it.

    5. MR

      Uh-huh.

    6. MH

      Which is, uh, m- in the dark colored colas, and that causes you to leach magnesium out, and-

    7. MR

      Wow.

    8. MH

      Yeah.

    9. MR

      And what about seltzer versus water?

    10. MH

      Like bubbly, bub-

    11. MR

      Like is it, like is, is, uh, I'm, I'm really curious about whether or not drinking seltzer...

    12. MH

      It's okay to drink bubbly water. I think you should mix it up. But if you only drink bubbly water, probably not totally great for you. But if you, you know, have water and sparkling water, if you like that. I, I love sparkling water so none of the-

    13. MR

      Okay. All right. Well, thank you, doctor. Um, can we talk about hormone imbalance?

  17. 59:30 – 1:06:05

    Trouble with your hormones? You need to hear this.

    1. MH

      Yes, we can.

    2. MR

      How do you know if your hormones are out of whack?

    3. MH

      Well-

    4. MR

      And, and what role do hormones play in your gut?

    5. MH

      Yeah.

    6. MR

      And, and I would love to selfishly focus on women, if that's possible.

    7. MH

      Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, um, you know, listen, you said that you had a chance to go down to the UltraWellness Center-

    8. MR

      Mm-hmm.

    9. MH

      ... and see our docs. And not everybody can come see us.

    10. MR

      Yes.

    11. MH

      So this is why I write book after book after book to be how-to m- manuals to help you identify where your problems are and what to do about them. And in Young Forever, I have a whole series of quizzes that aren't fancy tests. They're literally just questions you answer and you get a score.

    12. MR

      Yeah.

    13. MH

      And you go, "Oh, wow, my hormones are out of whack."

    14. MR

      Yep.

    15. MH

      Or, "My detox system is not good," or, "I'm way inflamed," or, "I have magnesium deficiency," like those questions I just rolled off about-

    16. MR

      Yep.

    17. MH

      ... what your symptoms would be. So it's pretty easy to identify what's your, what's going on. Now, d- women in particular have way more complex hormonal history than men.

    18. MR

      Yep.

    19. MH

      Uh, men go through andropause, and they're, they kind of lower their testosterone as they age.

    20. MR

      That sounds weird. Andropause?

    21. MH

      (laughs) Yeah. It's male menopause basically. (laughs)

    22. MR

      And what happens when dudes go through male menopause?

    23. MH

      Uh, you know, they get low libido, sex drive, trouble having erections, lose their muscle mass, get a little more soft and round. You know, basically that's what happens. (laughs)

    24. MR

      And I... And grumpy-

    25. MH

      And grumpy.

    26. MR

      ... because of those things.

    27. MH

      Low motivation, you know, little depressed, yeah. But, but with women, they go through, you know, puberty and then they have, you know, their teenage cycles and they have their 20s cycles and their 30 cycles and their 40 cycles and then 50s. So it changes. Every decade, women are having changing hormones, and everything happens from PMS to irregular cycles to heavy bleeding to PCOS-

    28. MR

      To PCOS. Yeah.

    29. MH

      Yeah, to PCOS, to pre- perimenopause, to menopause. And so, you know, there's no one prescription for all of it. But essentially what we do know is that, just like everything else we talked about, the things that cause imbalance in our body that we listed off, right? The food, stress, toxins, et cetera, and the ingredients for health are also influencing our hormones.

    30. MR

      Mm-hmm.

  18. 1:06:05 – 1:13:16

    Do this if you want a clear picture of your health.

    1. MR

      lot of, like one of the things, I agree with you. I agree with you that our medical approach and the medical system is about treating illness versus-

    2. MH

      Yeah, for sure.

    3. MR

      ... keeping you healthy and whole. I agree that we treat symptoms, but we'd never... We have a hard time getting to the root cause.

    4. MH

      I agree. I agree. So the-

    5. MR

      But so I just wanna, like 'cause I know that what's gonna happen with this conversation, Dr. Hyman, is that we are going to activate anyone listening to absolutely take the next 10 days of your life and see what happens when you reset your diet-

    6. MH

      Mm-hmm.

    7. MR

      ... and you remove a few things. Absolutely add in those simple supplements that cost you less than a dollar a day and you are worth that investment in yourself and see what happens. Absolutely take the steps to lower your stress and tap into your body's ability to reset, like even just the five deep breaths a day-

    8. MH

      Yeah.

    9. MR

      ... that activate the vag and tone the vagus nerve. But if somebody's going, "I wanna learn more-"

    10. MH

      Yeah, yeah.

    11. MR

      "... what is the next right step?"

    12. MH

      Uh, that's a great question. And, and, uh, you know, one of the, the challenges I've always had with medicine is it's kind of a secret guild and doctors hold the reins. They can order the tests or they can't. They will give you the results or they won't. They'll help you interpret them or they won't. And so you're at the sort of whim and mercy of whoever you're seeing. And, and most doctors do a good job and want to help people, but they kinda, it kinda kept in a guild. So, uh, in the book, Young Forever, I do have really extensive questionnaires that allow you to figure out almost m- 80% of what's going on.

    13. MR

      Yup.

    14. MH

      And then a-... depending on what you find in those, you can kind of follow up with different kinds of testing. But I, but because of this problem, exactly that you're talking about, I, I decided to co-found a company with a good friend called Function Health, which allows you, without a doctor's order, to go to any Quest lab in the country, and there's thousands of them-

    15. MR

      Oh.

    16. MH

      ... get a blood draw of a hu-, over a hundred biomarkers that normally cost $15,000 for 500 bucks.

    17. MR

      Wow.

    18. MH

      And it comes with a whole interpretive map and framework and dashboard that's filtered through the lens of functional medicine that I wrote (laughs) that allows people to not have to go see the doctor and still do 80% of what we're used to-

    19. MR

      Why the hell did I go to your clinic then if I could've just done this, Dr. Hyman?

    20. MH

      Well... (laughs)

    21. MR

      Bearing the lead. No, I'm just kidding. I am just kidding, everybody. I do wanna say something, that I was able to go to the medical center-

    22. MH

      Yeah.

    23. MR

      ... right here in this tiny town of Manchester, Vermont-

    24. MH

      Yeah.

    25. MR

      ... and have blood drawn-

    26. MH

      Yeah.

    27. MR

      ... for those tests.

    28. MH

      Yeah, right, totally.

    29. MR

      And so you don't have to go to your primary care. You don't have to go, all of the, the minute clinics that are popping up-

    30. MH

      Right.

Episode duration: 1:23:08

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