Mark Hyman, M.D. is an internationally recognized authority in the field of functional medicine -- a revolution in 21st century medicine that provides a new road map for navigating the territory of health and illness. He is founder of The UltraWellness Center where he treats patients using this new model in his medical practice and is co-founder of UltraWellness whose mission is to make the principles of functional medicine accessible to everyone.

You can learn more about Dr. Hyman's exhaustive work to change healthcare as well as his program for achieving UltraWellness by following him on Twitter, watching his videos on YouTube, connecting with him on LinkedIn, or becoming a fan on Facebook.

Dr. Hyman is the author of multiple New York Times best-sellers including The UltraMind Solution, The UltraSimple Diet, UltraMetabolism, and the weekly UltraWellness Newsletter in which he provides insight into how you can integrate functional medicine into your life and achieve the state of UltraWellness -- which is nothing less than vital mental and physical health, optimal weight, and a renewed lease on life.

He is also Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors and faculty of the Institute for Functional Medicine; is on the Board of Directors of the Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington DC; on the Board of Advisors and faculty for the "Food as Medicine" training program; and is a part of Memhet Oz's HealthCorps. In each of these capacities he actively advocates for fundamental changes in healthcare-changes that takes into account diet, lifestyle, and personalized treatment based on the paradigm of functional medicine as essential components for medical education and practice.

Blog Entries by Mark Hyman, MD

Are Your Food Allergies Making You Fat?

189 Comments | Posted November 3, 2009 | 09:13 AM (EST)


Your digestive system may be making you fat. It's hard to believe - but very true!

Today, I'm going to explain the bugs in your digestive tract, why they upset your gut's immune system, and how they just might be behind those extra pounds.

I have observed this phenomenon...

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Is Your Digestive System Making You Sick?

229 Comments | Posted October 11, 2009 | 08:26 AM (EST)


There might be something wrong with your inner tube, and it could be making you sick and fat.

You may not even realize you have a problem ... but if you have health concerns of any kind or you are overweight, your inner tube could be the root cause.

Of...

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Lower Your Risk Of Heart Disease Without Drugs

174 Comments | Posted September 26, 2009 | 08:31 AM (EST)


Last week, I explained how preventing heart disease has very little to do with simply lowering cholesterol with statin drugs. Our current thinking about how to treat and prevent heart disease is at best misguided, and at worst harmful. We believe we are treating the causes of heart disease...

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Why Cholesterol May Not Be the Cause Of Heart Disease

303 Comments | Posted September 20, 2009 | 08:02 AM (EST)


We have all been led to believe that cholesterol is bad and that lowering it is good. Because of extensive pharmaceutical marketing to both doctors and patients we think that using statin drugs is proven to work to lower the risk of heart attacks and death.

But on what...

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Autoimmune Disease: How To Stop Your Body From Attacking Itself

228 Comments | Posted September 13, 2009 | 07:59 AM (EST)


The incidence of autoimmune disease has tripled in the last few decades. 24 million Americans are now affected. In fact, it affects more women than heart disease and breast cancer combined.

But autoimmune disease isn't just one condition ...

You're probably familiar with the most common autoimmune...

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Why Current Thinking About Autism Is Completely Wrong

1101 Comments | Posted September 5, 2009 | 09:40 AM (EST)


"Autism is caused by poor mothering." That was the belief of the medical community until the late 1960s.

"Autism is a genetic brain disorder." That is what most people -- and most of the medical community -- believe today.

I'm here to tell you that neither one of these...

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Is Your Body Burning Up With Hidden Inflammation?

211 Comments | Posted August 27, 2009 | 08:32 AM (EST)


Could something as simple as a quick and easy blood test save your life?

Absolutely.

It is called a C-reactive protein test, and it measures the degree of HIDDEN inflammation in your body.

Finding out whether or not you are suffering from hidden inflammation is critical, because almost

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5 Steps To Reversing Type 2 Diabetes And Insulin Resistance

273 Comments | Posted August 20, 2009 | 08:37 AM (EST)


Breaking news!

Some newly discovered compounds have just been found to turn off all of the genes that cause diabetes.

Are these compounds found in a pill bottle? No!

Instead, you'll find them on your dinner plate -- in rye bread and pasta.

(As I recently wrote in one...

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Why Health Reform Will Fail: Part II -- Finding the Money for Health Care Reform: Made in Japan

87 Comments | Posted August 14, 2009 | 07:52 AM (EST)


Bending the Health Care Cost Curve: Lessons from an Iowa Chicken Farmer

What can we learn about how to transform health care and "bend the cost curve" from a man raised on an Iowa chicken farm, with a Ph.D. in mathematics and physics who helped change our perspective of "made...

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Why Health Care Reform Will Fail: Part I -- The Business of Disease: We Pay For What Doesn't Work

291 Comments | Posted August 12, 2009 | 08:52 AM (EST)


The health care debate has been hijacked by fears about cost and how we will pay for universal coverage. Will it cost $1.6 trillion or $900 billion over 10 years? This is beside the point. Every other industrialized nation spends far less (about half) and creates much better health for...

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Are Diabetes And Insulin Resistance Really Reversible?

217 Comments | Posted August 8, 2009 | 08:08 AM (EST)


Diabetes is not reversible and controlling your blood sugar with drugs or insulin will protect you from organ damage and death.

That is what the medical profession would have you believe, but medication and insulin can actually increase your risk getting a heart attack or dying.

The diabetes...

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A 7-Step Plan To Boost Your Low Thyroid And Metabolism

361 Comments | Posted July 30, 2009 | 08:05 AM (EST)


Last week, I told you about low thyroid function and how it affects more than 30 million women and 15 million men.

So why are we seeing such an epidemic of thyroid problems?

Well, chronic thyroid problems can be caused by many factors ...

What Causes Hypothyroidism?

...
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Hypothyroidism: How Your Thyroid Can Make You Sick, Tired, And Overweight

426 Comments | Posted July 23, 2009 | 08:29 AM (EST)


Are you one of the 30 million women and 15 million men who have a chronic medical problem that is both under-diagnosed and under-treated?

Are you suffering from vague symptoms that you think are normal parts of life, such as fatigue, feeling sluggish in the morning, and

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Are Your Hormones Making You Miserable?

104 Comments | Posted July 16, 2009 | 06:04 AM (EST)


Are your hormones out of balance?

Does your life feel like a song played badly out of tune?

If so, the problem may have to do with imbalances in your hormones, which are wreaking havoc on your body and mind.

There is one hormone in particular I am going...

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Are You Also Being Deceived into Eating Fake Frankenfoods?

47 Comments | Posted July 9, 2009 | 08:34 AM (EST)


Should we buy food with health claims on the label?

These days, we are seeing more and more health claims that go beyond the usual. These include "trans fat-free," "gluten-free," "heart healthy," and foods spiked with vitamins, such as my new favorite: sodas with vitamins and minerals.

We see whole-grain...

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How to Get Rid of Acne, Pimples, and Other Skin Problems

61 Comments | Posted July 3, 2009 | 06:03 AM (EST)


"Patients are deluded into thinking that their health can somehow be mysteriously harmed by something in their diet."

This is a quote from an article published in 1971 in American Family Physician.

That's not all.

The major textbook of dermatology for acne published in 1975 claimed that parents and doctors...

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How To Optimize Your Nutrition For Vibrant Health

41 Comments | Posted June 26, 2009 | 02:36 PM (EST)


Confused about what "good nutrition" is?

You shouldn't be -- we know what works and what doesn't.

In a moment, I will share 5 simple tips to help you optimize your nutrition and achieve vibrant health, but first let me clear up a few misconceptions.

Despite the "conflicting" scientific studies...

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The 7 Keys to UltraWellness: Discover Why You are Sick and How You Can Heal

179 Comments | Posted June 23, 2009 | 09:01 AM (EST)


"I didn't know how bad I was feeling until I started feeling better."

That is what my patients tell me every day. They go from being ill or just okay to experiencing UltraWellness.

Most people don't know how poorly they feel until they feel better. In fact, most of us...

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How To Fix Obama's Health Plan Before It's Too Late

43 Comments | Posted June 18, 2009 | 10:00 AM (EST)


The Chinese word for crisis is comprised of two separate words, "danger" and "opportunity" -- and this describes the exact situation we face with the healthcare crisis in our country.

As a nation we are at the precipice of change for our healthcare system.

But if we make the wrong...

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Obama's Health Plan: What Matters the Most is Missing

76 Comments | Posted June 16, 2009 | 08:37 AM (EST)


Want to know the real truth about healthcare in this country?

Even if President Obama and Congress get everything else right in healthcare reform, it won't matter...that is, unless we address the underlying causes of illness that drive both skyrocketing healthcare costs and the proliferation of chronic disease.

...
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