The Doctor's Farmacy with Mark Hyman, M.D.

People have never been more curious about strengthening the immune system than they are right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has got us all thinking seriously about our health and what it means to have immune strength, now and in the future. To get the most out of this trying time, we need to be open to looking at our health in ways we haven’t before. My guest today on The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Jeffrey Bland, is a pro at that, and for this reason and so many others he is considered the father of Functional Medicine. Dr. Bland has been an internationally recognized leader in the nutritional medicine field for over 35 years. He’s authored five books on nutritional medicine for the healthcare professional and six books on nutrition and health. With his wife, Susan, Dr. Bland founded The Institute for Functional Medicine in 1991, a nonprofit organization focused on educating healthcare practitioners on effective approaches to treating and preventing chronic disease by getting to the root cause. Dr. Bland has always been a major inspiration for me. I was thrilled to have a video-call with him to discuss new ways of looking at optimal health and immunity in the face of this pandemic. In trying to better understand COVID-19, Dr. Bland went back to the basics of the immune system. He breaks down the processes at work, explains what the now often-heard phrase “cytokine storm” means, and talks about using food as medicine to promote immuno-rejuvenation. That means we’re not just supporting the current state of our immune system, we’re reviving it from the ground up. We talk about this and so much more on this week’s valuable episode. Here are more of the details from our interview: Acknowledging the psycho-physical effects of COVID-19 and the three zones of learning the disease offers (4:35)Dr. Bland’s article, Reflections on the COVID-19 Pandemic (8:17)The flexibility and adaptability of our immune system (12:21)Research from the HIV/AIDS epidemic showing dramatic effects of giving African women a simple multi-vitamin (16:35)Immuno-rejuvenation and why our focus should not be on supporting our immune system but rejuvenating it (19:31)How phytochemicals in plants impact human immune systems (24:03)Himalayan tartary buckwheat and its immunopotentiating compounds (28:06)How food influences the function of our immune system (40:30)My COVID-19 blog, A Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19, and what we should be eating now to protect ourselves (48:31)Five significant changes Dr. Bland predicts in how we will see healthcare globally post-COVID-19 (50:59)The interrelatedness of our immune and nervous systems, and our control over the function of these systems (1:00:43)Find information on Dr. Bland online at jeffreybland.com, http://plminstitute.org/, and https://bigboldhealth.com/Follow Dr. Bland on Facebook @jeffreyblandphd, on Instagram @drjeffreybland, and on Twitter @jeffreyblandphd For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy

We’ve all heard the fiendishly simple and completely untrue colloquialism that to lose weight you just have to eat less and exercise more. Or that it’s all about willpower and that it’s the individual’s fault if they are fat. Not only are these ideas completely unsupported by the scientific literature, but they also lead to a blame-the-victim mentality that tells people who are struggling with their weight, in a not-so-subtle way, that if they only tried harder they would lose weight. There is only one problem with this point of view: It’s just not true.What makes us thin, fat, or somewhere in between does indeed have something to do with how much we eat and exercise. But the oversimplification stops there. Complex forces that govern our survival control our weight and metabolism. In fact, there is no one simple reason why an individual may have trouble with his or her weight.In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Boham to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to weight gain and weight loss.Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnesses the power of nutrition every day in her practice and is committed to training other physicians to utilize nutrition in healing. Dr. Boham has contributed to many articles and wrote the latest chapter on Obesity for the Rankel Textbook of Family Medicine. She is part of the faculty of the Institute for Functional Medicine and has been featured on the Dr. Oz show and in a variety of publications and media including Huffington Post, The Chalkboard Magazine, and Experience Life. Her DVD Breast Wellness: Tools to Prevent and Heal from Breast Cancer explores the functional medicine approach to keeping your breasts and whole body well. In this episode, Dr. Hyman and Dr. Boham discuss:Common factors that contribute to weight gain such as blood sugar and insulin levels, environmental toxins, hormonal imbalances, mitochondrial Issues, and more.The value in getting a detailed personal history from patients, and how weight loss is often a side effect of a personalized medicine approach.The connection between the gut, food sensitivities, and weight.The relationship between inflammation and weight.What someone’s waist to hip ratio tells us.Time-restricted eating and intermittent fasting.Why when you eat matters.How sleep issues and sleep apnea can lead to weight gain.For more information visit drhyman.com/uwcAdditional Resources:Dr. Hyman’s 10 Day Reset free resource guide getfarmacy.com/free“A Functional Medicine Approach to Obesity: 10 Ways to Lose Weight & Keep It Off”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2018/04/03/a-functional-medicine-approach-to-obesity-10-ways-to-lose-weight-keep-it-off/“How Toxins Make You Fat: 4 Steps to Get Rid of Toxic Weight”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2012/02/20/how-toxins-make-you-fat-4-steps-to-get-rid-of-toxic-weight/“Top 5 Tips for Weight Loss”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2018/07/11/top-5-tips-for-weight-loss/“Three Hidden Ways Wheat Makes You Fat”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2012/02/13/three-hidden-ways-wheat-makes-you-fat/“Is Intermittent Fasting Right for You?”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2019/03/27/is-intermittent-fasting-right-for-you/“Ketogenic Diets: Sorting Through the Pros and Cons”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2018/01/06/ketogenic-diets-sorting-pros-cons/“8 Ways Nutrient Deficiencies Cause Weight Loss Resistance”https://drhyman.com/blog/2016/06/02/8-ways-nutrient-deficiencies-cause-weight-loss-resistance/“Why Can’t I Lose Weight?”https://drhyman.com/blog/2017/08/10/cant-lose-weight/“Why Can’t I Lose Weight? (Part II)”https://drhyman.com/blog/2017/08/16/cant-lose-weight-part-ii/“UltraMetabolism™ Myth #1: Eat Less + Exercise More = Weight Loss”https://drhyman.com/blog/2016/10/26/ultrametabolism/“Why Diet and Exercise Are Not the Key to Weight Loss and Health”https://drhyman.com/blog/2014/06/09/diet-exercise-key-weight-loss-health/“Three Days, Real Food, No More Insulin”https://drhyman.com/blog/2019/05/20/three-days-real-food-no-more-insulin/“The 7 Ways to Fix a Slow Metabolism”https://drhyman.com/blog/2016/05/26/the-7-ways-to-fix-a-slow-metabolism/“Is Your Lack of Sleep Making You Fat?”https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/07/18/is-your-lack-of-sleep-making-you-fat/“Big Government and Big Food Give the Same Weight Loss Advice?”https://drhyman.com/blog/2014/05/11/big-government-big-food-give-weight-loss-advice/“The Most Damaging Food Lie We Have Ever Been Told”https://drhyman.com/blog/2018/02/07/damaging-food-lie-ever-told/“Sweet Dreams: How to Sleep Better, Lose Weight, and Live Longer”https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/20/how-to-sleep-better-lose-weight-and-live-longer/ For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy

We’re all going through this era of coronavirus—separately but together. I feel like humanity is taking one big existential breath; it’s a pause for us all to think about our previous normal lives, our currently abnormal lives, and how we want to reinvent life when this whole thing is over. And I know many of us have become confused by the different news outlets sharing different information. When it comes to deciding who is a reliable source, I know Katie Couric is always someone I can trust. I’m honored to have her chat with me for this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy. Katie is an award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author and a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer. Since its launch in 2008, Stand Up To Cancer has raised more than $600 million to support cutting-edge collaborative science and its research has contributed to six new FDA approved therapies. In 2017, she founded Katie Couric Media, which has developed a number of media projects, including a daily newsletter, a podcast, and digital video series. She has played a part in producing many documentaries, including Fed Up, which I was thrilled to be a part of. Couric was also the executive producer of Unbelievable on Netflix, is developing other scripted projects, and is currently writing her memoir.This episode is sponsored by AirDoctor and AquaTru. We need clean water and clean air not only to live but to create vibrant health and protect ourselves and loved ones from toxin exposure and disease. That’s why I’m teaming up with AquaTru and AirDoctor to offer you the AquaTru Water Purification System and AirDoctor Professional Air Purifier systems at a special price. Learn more at www.drhyman.com/filter.*For context, this conversation was recorded on 3/31/20.Here are more of the details from our interview: The unprecedented nature of COVID-19 (6:16)Why now is not the time to turn to comfort foods (9:46)What Katie has been hearing from healthcare providers, psychologists, business leaders, and others she has been interviewing during the coronavirus crisis (12:03)The U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic (15:16)The devastating disruption to standard autopsy, grieving, and burial practices in COVID-19 deaths (21:26)Staying informed without obsessing over, or over-consuming, news updates (22:41)Finding power and a sense of control by focusing on where you can be of service (25:06)What our society will look like post-COVID-19 given our intense divisiveness, partisanship, current leadership, and media landscape (30:01)Practices to manage and cope with our current reality (41:32)Restoring national unity through leadership and empathy (48:42)Find Katie online at katiecouric.com. Sign-up for her morning newsletter, Wake-Up Call at https://katiecouric.com/newsletter/Follow Katie on Facebook @katiecouric, on Instagram @katiecouric, and on Twitter @katiecouriic For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy

There are so many questions about how coronavirus can impact our health, and rightfully so. This novel virus has completely changed the way we function as a society and brought about a feeling of uncertainty most of us haven’t ever experienced. But we’re in this together. There is, of course, a wide range of common concerns—from how to protect ourselves and families to what kinds of treatment options exist—but also many new conversations popping up around what supplements we can safely trust for immune strength, if it’s safe to go outdoors, how the virus attaches to surfaces, and so much more. Last week I was lucky enough to sit down with Dr. Patrick Hanaway for a video-call to talk about these important questions from a Functional Medicine perspective. Dr. Hanaway is the Senior Advisor to the Institute for Functional Medicine, their COVID-19 Task Force Coordinator, and Co-Chair of the IFM Expert Advisory Board. In case you missed it, we’re sharing that as the latest episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy.*For context, this interview was recorded on April 8, 2020.In this episode, Dr. Hyman and Dr. Hanaway discuss:The role of supplements in treating COVID-19 and boosting your immune systemWhat we know about taking things like vitamin D, elderberry, zinc, and other compounds to protect against COVID-19Is IV ozone an effective treatment option for COVID-19?Why what you eat is more essential than everIs intermittent fasting or the ketogenic diet a good way to boost immunity? The potential effectiveness of using hot-cold interaction, such as sauna, to protect against COVID-19How long is a person still contagious after having the virus and how long does antibody immunity last?Maintaining practices to ground yourself during this timeFind additional information at:Institute for Functional Medicine Ifm.org“A Functional Medicine Approach to COVID-19” drhyman.com/c19Special Episode: Medicine In The Age Of COVID-19 And Beyondhttps://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/Medicine-In-The-Age-Of-COVID-19-And-Beyond For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy

Hormone imbalances are epidemic these days. For example, symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), like mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, fluid retention, bloating, breast tenderness, sugar cravings, headaches, and sleep disturbances, affect 75 percent of women. But just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you have to live with these symptoms. The real fact is that suffering related to menstrual cycles is unnecessary. You might never know this from conventional medicine, which seems to subscribe to the idea that women are destined to suffer throughout their reproductive life and beyond. However, there are actually many things you can do to fix hormonal imbalances. In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman is joined by Dr. Elizabeth Boham to discuss the Functional Medicine approach to treating hormonal imbalances in women. Elizabeth Boham is a physician and nutritionist who practices functional medicine at The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, MA. Through her practice and lecturing she has helped thousands of people achieve their goals of optimum health and wellness. She witnesses the power of nutrition every day in her practice and is committed to training other physicians to utilize nutrition in healing. Dr. Boham has contributed to many articles and wrote the latest chapter on Obesity for the Rankel Textbook of Family Medicine. She is part of the faculty of the Institute for Functional Medicine and has been featured on the Dr. Oz show and in a variety of publications and media including Huffington Post, The Chalkboard Magazine, and Experience Life. Her DVD Breast Wellness: Tools to Prevent and Heal from Breast Cancer explores the functional medicine approach to keeping your breasts and whole body well. In this episode, Dr. Hyman and Dr. Boham discuss:The prevalence of hormonal imbalances in womenUsing the birth control pill as medical therapy to address PMS, heavy bleeding, and other symptoms of hormonal imbalanceWhat happens during perimenopauseThe interrelatedness of hormones and what causes them to be out of balanceThe role of our adrenal glands and how to support themThe benefits of eating foods such as flax seeds, broccoli, and whole-food soy to support our hormonal health Why maintaining balanced blood sugar is so important for hormonal healthFor more information visit drhyman.com/uwcAdditional resources:“Getting to the Root: Perimenopause”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2019/02/16/getting-to-the-root-perimenopause/“Lesson 3: Hormones and Neurotransmitters”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2012/10/17/lesson-3-hormones-and-neurotransmitters/“Natural Approach to Alleviating PMS”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2018/04/25/natural-approach-to-alleviating-pms/“Magical Magnesium”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2020/03/11/magic-magnesium/“How Do I Naturally Balance Female Sex Hormones?”https://drhyman.com/blog/2015/08/14/how-do-i-naturally-balance-female-sex-hormones/“How to Eliminate PMS in 5 Simple Steps”https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/09/17/how-to-eliminate-pms-in-5-simple-steps/“Relationships, Menopause, and Health”https://drhyman.com/blog/2012/01/13/relationships-menopause-and-health/“How to Get Your Mojo Back (Boosting Female Sex Drive)”https://drhyman.com/blog/2016/07/09/how-to-get-your-mojo-back-boosting-female-sex-drive/“ULTRAMIND®: Key #2 Balance Your Hormones”https://drhyman.com/blog/2012/01/27/the-ultramind-solution-key-2-balance-your-hormones/“A Functional Medicine Approach to Infertility”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2018/09/01/a-functional-medicine-approach-to-infertility/“Clara’s Case Study: Overcoming Infertility”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2018/09/05/claras-case-study-overcoming-infertility/“Overcoming Postpartum Depression”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2019/01/16/overcoming-postpartum-depression/“Meditation: Connecting to the Wisdom Within”https://ultrawellnesscenter.com/2014/04/10/meditation-connecting-wisdom-within/ For information regarding your data privacy, visit Acast.com/privacy