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

We’ve all heard the fiendishly simple and completely untrue colloquialism about how to lose weight: Just eat less and exercise more. The idea that all calories are created equal has been one of the most pervasive and damaging food lies in history. Not only is it completely unsupported by science, it develops a blame-the-victim mentality that tells people who are struggling with their weight that it is just a matter of willpower. In this mini-episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy, Dr. Hyman talks with Gary Taubes about this topic and the history behind how science got it so wrong. Gary Taubes is co-founder and President of the non-profit Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI). He’s an investigative science and health journalist, the author of The Case Against Sugar, Why We Get Fat and Good Calories, Bad Calories . Gary is a former staff writer for Discover and correspondent for the journal Science . His writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine , The Atlantic , and Esquire , and has been included in numerous “Best of” anthologies, including The Best of the Best American Science Writing . Find Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Gary Taubes:

Sometimes the best ideas are the most simple. In an age where technology is ever-evolving and often responsible for the latest inventions, it can be easy to forget that even the most basic of ideas can add up to massive change. But it’s accessible, small steps that our food system needs now, more than ever, if we want to see a global shift. Food waste, in particular, is one of the biggest problems of our food system that desperately needs new solutions.  Think of just one head of lettuce: It takes lots of water, manpower, and resources to grow, then it’s picked and transported in a refrigerated truck, moved to a refrigerated cooler, and you take your car to go to the market and buy it. That’s a lot of resources that are all for nothing if that head of lettuce goes bad and gets thrown in the trash before you have a chance to enjoy it.  Today’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy has the answer for this common problem, one that is making huge impacts on our food system from farm to fork. Kavita Shukla is the Founder and CEO of The FRESHGLOW Co. and the inventor of FreshPaper, a simple innovation taking on the massive global challenge of food waste by keeping food fresher, longer. FreshPaper is used by farmers and families across the globe, and The FRESHGLOW Co. has partnered with some of the largest retailers in the world, from Whole Foods to Walmart so that people everywhere can take advantage of this incredible product and the goodness of real food. 

How much personal choice do we really have when it comes to our food choices? The science is clear—our processed, sugary, starchy diet is the single biggest cause of disease and death. And health outcomes are disproportionately worse in minority communities. There are social and cultural inputs at play and many reasons we need to begin looking at health beyond the individual to a community and population-based level. In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman speaks with Dr. Sonia Angell about how when it comes to social determinants and what we view as cultural tendencies for food choices, much has been imposed from outside influences. He also speaks with Pam Koch about the need to move away from a system that overwhelmingly supports growing commodity crops such as corn, soy, and wheat, and move toward incentivizing the production and purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. Dr. Sonia Angell is a former Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), where she oversaw the Division of Prevention and Primary Care. Dr. Angell is a practicing physician, board certified in internal medicine, and on faculty at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital. Pam Koch, EdD, RD. Pam teaches both Nutritional Ecology and Community Nutrition to master and doctoral students at Teachers College, Columbia University. She conducts research about the connections between a just, sustainable food system and healthy eating. She translates her research into curricula for schoolteachers and recommendations for policymakers.  Find Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Dr. Sonia Angell:

When it comes to looking at studies on nutrition, we need to ask the right questions. What type of study is it? Who funded it? What kinds of variables were and weren’t accounted for? And so much more. There is a lot of information out there to sort through in order to truly understand what the science says about diet and health. One of the most important things to remember, that is often taken out of context in the nutritional studies shared by the media, is that correlation does not equal causation.  Part of being a Functional Medicine doctor is staying up to date with the latest research from sources I know and trust, and there’s no one better to break down the science than today’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy , Chris Kresser. Chris Kresser M.S., L.Ac is the co-director of the California Center for Functional Medicine, founder of Kresser Institute, creator of ChrisKresser.com, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Paleo Cure and Unconventional Medicine . He is one of the most respected clinicians and educators in the fields of Functional Medicine and ancestral health and has trained over 1,500 clinicians and health coaches in his unique approach. His health coaching program, called ADAPT, is the one I recommend for my own staff at Cleveland Clinic and he’s the guy I trust with my own health. Chris and I dive right into this episode, discussing good versus bad research and what to keep in mind when reading the latest news.  Learn more about the ADAPT Health Coach Training Program at

Globally women are leading the way when it comes to caring for biodiversity, water quality and quantity, soil health, and other aspects of consciously producing food for an ever-growing population. They are also producing 43% of the world’s food, despite lesser accessibility to own land, receive loans, and other essential components of farming. In this mini-episode, Dr. Hyman talks with Danielle Nierenberg and Paul Hawken about the potential for women to fundamentally improve our broken global food system, and in doing so, significantly contribute to the reversal of global warming. Danielle co-founded the non-profit Food Tank in 2013, an organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. Prior to starting Food Tank, Danielle spent two years traveling to more than 60 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, meeting with farmers and farmers’ groups, scientists and researchers, policymakers and government leaders, students and academics, along with journalists, documenting what’s working to help alleviate hunger and poverty, while protecting the environment at the same time. Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, and activist who has dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment. He is Executive Director of Project Drawdown, a non-profit dedicated to researching when and how global warming can be reversed. His book, Drawdown, outlines the most comprehensive plan to reverse global warming. Tune-in to Dr. Hyman’s full-length conversation with Danielle Nierenberg: