Is Low-Grade Inflammation Making You Sick?

While we are in an incredibly exciting time when it comes to preventing and reversing disease, issues such as misleading scientific research, imperfect policy, corporate financial interests, and other biases often act as roadblocks to enhancing the health of our population and our planet. Yet, when we recently reflected on a number of conversations from The Doctor’s Farmacy, we couldn’t help but hear a common and hopeful message. In this mini-episode, we revisit four conversations Dr. Hyman has had with guests on this podcast, each with a common refrain: Progress is being made and it’s happening fast!  Michael Pollan is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Cooked, Food Rules, In Defense of Food, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Botany of Desire, and his latest book How to Change Your Mind, which is all about the new science of psychedelics. A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine, he also teaches writing at Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley where he is the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Science Journalism. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the one hundred most influential people in the world. Dr. Hallberg is a Medical Director at Virta Health and a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovator Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She is also the Medical Director and founder of the Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program at Indiana University Health Arnett and an adjunct Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Hallberg is serving as Chair of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council for The Nutrition Coalition. Dr. Hallberg is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Obesity Medicine, and The American Board of Clinical Lipidology and is a Registered Exercise Physiologist by the ACSM. She is also a Fellow of the Obesity Medicine Association and The National Lipid Association. David Wallace-Wells is the deputy editor of New York magazine and the author of the international bestseller The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, published in February 2019, which the New York Times called both “brilliant” and “the most terrifying book I have ever read.” 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. Tune into Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Michael Pollan: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/MichaelPollan Tune into Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Dr. Sarah Hallberg: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DrSarahHallberg Tune into Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with David Wallace-Wells: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DavidWallaceWells Tune into Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Dr. Sonia Angell: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DrSoniaAngell

6 Sep 20198min

The gut and brain are strongly interconnected. That’s why in Functional Medicine we always take the gut into account, along with the rest of the body, when trying to understand a brain disease. Unfortunately, conventional medicine likes to look at each part of the body separately, which may be why doctors have a hard time effectively treating neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Knowing that the gut affects the brain and understanding the far-reaching role of the microbiome has led this week’s guest on The Doctor’s Farmacy to approach neurodegenerative conditions with a whole new perspective.  Dr. Jay Lombard is an internationally acclaimed neurologist, author, and keynote speaker specializing in neuroimmunological conditions and medical mysteries. Dr. Lombard integrates biological, psychological, and existential components in his holistic treatment approach. Dr. Lombard’s clinical experience revealed an interesting pattern: one patient with ALS also had small intestine bacterial overgrowth, then another who had ulcerative colitis, another had Crohn’s, and so on. He started seeing the connection between these bacterial imbalances and Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, and the link to neurological symptoms.  This episode of The Doctor’s Farmacy is brought to you by Thrive Market. Thrive Market has made it so easy for me to stay healthy, even with my intense travel schedule. I never let myself get into a food emergency. Instead, I always carry enough food with me when I’m on the go, for at least a full day. I order real, whole foods online from Thrive Market. Right now, Thrive is offering all Doctor’s Farmacy listeners a great deal: you will receive an extra 25% off your first purchase plus a free 30 day membership to Thrive. There’s no minimum amount to buy and no code at checkout. All you have to do is head over to http://thrivemarket.com/farmacy

4 Sep 20191h 2min

Wellness is more than just eating right and exercising; feeling well means feeling whole, balanced, vibrant, and alive. And there are many moving pieces that we can tap into to feel empowered in our own wellness journey. In this miniepisode, Dr. Hyman sits down with his friend and life coach Lauren Zander to explore the importance of personal integrity, and how it relates to overall well-being. He also speaks with Dr. Shefali about reclaiming our connection to our innate authentic spirit, both in relationship to ourselves and our families Lauren Handel Zander is the Co-Founder and Chairwoman of Handel Group, an international corporate consulting and life coaching company. Her coaching methodology, The Handel Method, is taught in over 35 universities and institutes of learning around the world, including MIT, Stanford Graduate School of Business, NYU, and the New York City Public School System. Lauren is the creator of Inner.U: Learn to Human BetterR, the online coaching course that teaches the entirety of The Handel Method, which has been used by dozens of celebrities, CEOs, and entrepreneurs since 2004. She is also the author of, “Maybe It’s You,” a no-nonsense, practical manual that helps readers figure out not just what they want out of life, but how to actually get there.  Dr. Shefali Tsabary, is a clinical psychologist, an international speaker and wisdom teacher. She has written two bestselling books, “The Conscious Parent,” and, “The Awakened Family.” Tune into Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Lauren Zander: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/LaurenZander Tune into Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Dr. Shefali: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DrShefali

30 Aug 201910min

You may have heard about emotional intelligence, but have you really ever paused to think about where you fall on the spectrum, and how it’s influencing your relationships and place in the world? It actually impacts everything, from our family lives to our leadership abilities and careers. But it’s something we’re never taught in school and often pressured to ignore when it comes to “being professional.” Luckily, emotional intelligence is something we can work on and grow like many other parts of our lives—you probably won’t be surprised that meditation is one way to do just that.  Personally, I have noticed that when I’m staying current with my meditation practice, I’m less easily triggered and more emotionally resilient, which allows me to be more present for my family and my work. This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I had the pleasure of sitting down with my good friend Dan Goleman to talk about cultivating emotional intelligence through meditation, and why it matters more than you might think.  Daniel is best known for his worldwide bestseller, “Emotional Intelligence,” and most recently co-authored the book, “Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body.” Goleman has been ranked among the 25 most influential business leaders by several business publications including TIME and The Wall Street Journal. Apart from his writing on emotional intelligence, Goleman has written books on topics including self-deception, creativity, transparency, meditation, social and emotional learning, eco-literacy, and the ecological crisis.

28 Aug 201954min

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: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/GaryTaubes

23 Aug 201911min

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.

21 Aug 20191h 7min

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: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DrSoniaAngell Find Dr. Hyman’s full length conversation with Pam Koch: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/PamKoch

16 Aug 20198min

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. 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 kresser.co/kresserinfo

14 Aug 20191h 18min