#94 – Mark Hyman, M.D.: The impact of the food system on our health and the environment

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

July 8, 2020

Duration

1h 50m

Channel

Peter Attia MD

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://bit.ly/4c602k2 Original release date: 2/24/20 In this episode, Mark Hyman, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and the author of Food Fix, discusses that if we can fix the food system, we can solve many big problems—namely the chronic disease/obesity epidemic, the rising costs of healthcare, as well as the big problems facing the environment. Mark first briefly lays out the health consequences of processed food with a focus on the gut microbiome. From there, Mark discusses the environmental consequences of industrial farming and lays out how we can affect change on the individual level, through policy and regulations, and perhaps most importantly through regenerative agriculture. Additionally, Mark talks about the potential health risks of consuming GMO foods, herbicides, and other chemicals used in industrial farming as well as the environmental consequences, such as the loss of soil, caused by those same fertilizers and methods of farming. We discuss: -The negative consequences of the existing food environment [3:25]; -What makes processed food so unhealthy? [9:00]; -The gut microbiome: Inflammation from gut permeability, and how to measure gut health [18:30]; -Steps to fixing a bad gut—The Five R’s [24:30]; -Some staggering health statistics, and which races might be more genetically susceptible [27:15]; -An argument for government regulations and policies to fight back against a massive food industry with unlimited resources (and what we can learn from the tobacco story) [29:00]; -Industrial farming and climate change: The degradation of soil and use of fertilizer [41:45]; -Regenerative agriculture: Could it be the answer to food waste, our health problems, and the environment? [51:45]; -Comparing the “Impossible Burger” to regeneratively raised beef [1:06:00]; -GMO and Roundup—The potential health risks of consuming GMO foods sprayed with Roundup (glyphosate) and other herbicides and pesticides [1:08:15]; -How the livelihood of farmers are being affected by big ag companies and the current industrial farming system [1:16:30]; -The loss of biodiversity in our food, and what “organic” really means [1:19:00]; -What can people do on the individual level to protect themselves as well as affect change to the toxic food system? [1:25:00]; -What role does the USDA play in this “toxic” food environment? And how do we fix it? [1:30:15]; -The top 3 changes Mark would make if he was “food czar” [1:35:15]; -Mark’s rebuttal against the argument that it’s best for the environment if stop farming animals and move to a fully plant-based diet (and his argument for “agriculture 2.0) [1:36:30]; -What is Mark’s overall mission with the work that he’s doing? [1:40:30]; -Bread in the US vs. Europe: Why does bread (and wheat products) taste different and potentially cause less health problems in Europe versus the US? [1:42:00]; and -More. Show notes page: https://peterattiamd.com/markhyman/ -------- About: The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 30 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more. Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life). Learn more: https://peterattiamd.com Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter Connect with Peter on: Facebook: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDTW Instagram: http://bit.ly/PeterAttiaMDIG Subscribe to The Drive: Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveApplePodcasts Overcast: http://bit.ly/TheDriveOvercast Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheDriveSpotify Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheDriveGoogle

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Peter Attia

  host

  Physician and host of The Drive Podcast, focused on longevity and health.

• Mark Hyman

  guest

  Physician and functional medicine practitioner, author of “Food Fix,” focused on nutrition and the food system’s health/environment impacts.

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Peter Attia MD, featuring Peter Attia and Mark Hyman, #94 – Mark Hyman, M.D.: The impact of the food system on our health and the environment explores mark Hyman Argues Fixing Food Systems Fixes Health, Climate, Economy Hyman argues that the food system drives chronic disease, healthcare costs, climate change, biodiversity loss and social problems, so fixing it at the root could address them together.

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