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As you probably know too well, real life can interfere with creating time for oneself or even the inclination to meditate, and for me, eventually, it fell by the wayside. Just thinking about the zillion tasks I juggle every day makes my head spin: Managing a Functional Medicine clinic at a major hospital, seeing patients at my own practice, writing books, and attending to tons of other work obligations. I balance these duties with regular exercise, eating healthy and oh yeah, sleeping 8 to 10 ho...
Dr. Hyman addresses the common question of whether probiotics effectively alleviate symptoms like bloating and IBS. He explains that gut health, governed by trillions of microorganisms, profoundly impacts numerous diseases beyond digestion. The discussion delves into the causes of gut imbalance and leaky gut, emphasizing the importance of diet, stress management, and avoiding harmful drugs. He provides guidance on selecting quality probiotic supplements, incorporating fermented foods, and highlights a holistic "weeding, seeding, and feeding" strategy for optimal gut health.
Imagine eating 12 pounds of food a day and staying thin and healthy. That is exactly what hunter-gatherer ate for millennia without any obesity or chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer or dementia.Today, I wouldn’t advise anyone to eat 12 pounds of food each day, because the food in our society lacks one major secret ingredient that our ancestors ate in nearly all their food – fiber! You might wonder how fiber can prevent obesity and all of the chronic diseases of aging. It’s act...
“Dr. Hyman, I have been so confused about saturated fat,” writes this week’s house call. “The government still says to limit saturated fat, yet I read in the news how maybe it’s not really connected to heart disease? Is butter really back?” I understand why there is so much confusion around butter and saturated fat. The diet debates have America spinning. Some advocate for putting dollops of butter in coffee, while others shun avocados and nuts as harmful, heart-disease-promoting and fattening f...
“Dr. Hyman, I’m about to start your Eat Fat, Get Thin Plan, which is completely different from the way my family normally eats,” writes this week’s house call. “I want my kids to eat good food, too. Can they eat the foods on this program? And do you have any tips for helping me trick them into eating healthy foods?” I can understand how change can become nerve-wracking for parents and kids. Just like you might feel nervous starting a new way of eating, your kids might feel nervous about missing ...
“Dr. Hyman, you often talk about superfoods and their benefits,” writes this week’s house call. “Can you share some of your favorites?” I realize “superfood” carries a certain hype, but some foods do earn that status. Food is medicine. And some foods are more powerful medicines than others! Food is the most powerful tool to create optimal health. Food is the first and most powerful drug in my arsenal to treat patients. I’ve discussed numerous superfoods and you how to get them into your diet in ...
“I’ve hit a stubborn weight-loss plateau,” writes this week’s house call, “even though I seem to be doing everything right, like eating the right foods and exercising. How can I overcome that obstacle?” I’ve discussed different reasons for weight-loss resistance in past blogs. Many obstacles have nothing to do with what you eat or how much you exercise. Instead, they involve things like nutritional imbalances, chronic inflammation, metabolic challenges, leaky gut, changes in your microbiome, env...
“Dr. Hyman, I’m ready to start a path toward my best health, but there are so many options out there,” writes this week’s house call. “I’m choosing among The Blood Sugar Solution, The 10-Day Detox Diet, and the Eat Fat, Get Thin plans, but I’m unsure which is the best one to serve my needs.” Ultimately, any plan that eliminates toxic foods and uses whole, real foods as medicine is the right step forward. Each of my programs starts with this foundation, which has the power to transform your healt...
“Dr. Hyman, I recently read how endocrine disruptors like environmental toxins can interfere with your hormones,” writes this week’s house call. “I’m really freaked out. I feel like my house is full of toxins. How can I minimize their impact?” Unfortunately, today we become exposed to a greater number of environmental toxins than ever before. Sadly, many experts fail to connect the dots between toxicity and diabesity, which has hit record numbers. Environmental toxins can feed cancer, interfere ...
“Dr. Hyman, I’m so confused about coffee,” writes this week’s house call. “One day I read that it’s so bad for me and the next it’s good for me. Why all the conflicting information?” Let’s face it: Americans love their coffee, which is the number one source of antioxidants in our diet – which actually makes me kind of sad! In a recent animal study, researchers saw improvements in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cholesterol when mice consumed coffee and fat together. (More on that c...
“Dr. Hyman, I’ve heard so much contradictory information about omega 3 fats,” writes this week’s house call. “Some studies show they help everything while others argue they don’t do much of anything. What’s the real story here?” As I often say, food is information, not just calories. Food influences gene function, hormones, your immune system and even your gut flora. Literally, food controls every function within your body. This is especially true with the omega-3 fatty acids found in foods like...
“Dr. Hyman, I’ve been suffering from seasonal allergies for years,” writes this week’s house call. “Is there anything that I can do to make these go away or am I doomed forever?” You are definitely not doomed; however, I do know how miserable seasonal allergies can be, especially in the spring and summer. Conventional medicine treats seasonal allergies with injections and pills, which unfortunately, create side effects and fail to address the root problem. If you don’t address the root cause, th...
Eventually, I discovered I suffered from mercury toxicity and was completely exhausted from overworking. My brain health suffered the most. I had terrible brain fog and couldn’t focus for long periods of time. Here I was, a physician with brain fog: Some days I couldn’t even remember my patients’ names. I knew things had to change. That’s when I discovered Functional Medicine. One huge benefit I experienced when I reversed chronic fatigue syndrome was how well my brain improved. Over the years, ...
Happy Father’s Day! In this week’s house call, I want to tell you about one of the best gifts I ever received. It was actually from my kids and it was for my birthday. The gift was a conversation with my kids – the most meaningful one I’ve ever had. I am sharing this with you on Father’s Day because I wish for every parent and every child the family relationships I now have as a result of this conversation. And, I want to tell you how I got here. When my life isn’t working, it spills over into a...
“Dr. Hyman, I’ve eliminated toxic foods, I exercise every day, and overall I live a healthy lifestyle, yet I haven’t been able to get anywhere near my goal weight,” writes this week’s house call. “What gives?” I understand how frustrating this can become, especially when you feel like you’ve tried everything. You made a conscious decision to live a healthier lifestyle. You’ve cut out toxic triggers, ditched sugar and you’re eating all the right types of foods. You’re doing everything correctly, ...
“No matter what I do, I can’t seem to lose weight,” writes this week’s house call, who is also an Eat Fat, Get Thin challenge participant. “I think I’m cursed with a slow metabolism.” I hear this often among patients, and the good news is that no, you’re not cursed and yes, you can fix your metabolism. It’s important to remember that you are unique: Everyone was born with a different biochemical make-up. You have trillions of little energy factories called mitochondria that provide the fuel to r...
“Ever since I started using coconut oil, my cholesterol has spiked,” writes this week’s house call. “I’m afraid coconut oil with all that saturated fat is creating more harm than good. Should I continue to use it?” Since I expressed my love for medium-chain triglyceride oil or MCT oil, I’ve received this question several times. I call MCTs (found in coconut oil) a super fuel for your cells because your body uses this kind of fat very efficiently. Your cells burn MCTs for energy while storing ver...
