Episode 412: Dr. Mark Hyman: How Ultra-Processed Foods Are Fueling America's Obesity Epidemic

Summary

Podcast Summary: Habits and Hustle Episode 412: Dr. Mark Hyman: How Ultra-Processed Foods Are Fueling America's Obesity Epidemic Release Date: January 3, 2025

Hosted by Jen Cohen of Habit Nest, Episode 412 features an in-depth conversation with Dr. Mark Hyman, a renowned physician and thought leader in functional medicine. The discussion centers on the detrimental effects of ultra-processed foods on public health, the escalating obesity epidemic in America, and innovative solutions to combat these challenges.

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1. The Impact of Ultra-Processed Foods on Obesity

Dr. Hyman begins by highlighting a pivotal NIH study conducted by Kevin Hall, which utilized a crossover trial design to compare the effects of real food versus ultra-processed food diets. He explains:

Dr. Hyman: "When participants consumed ultra-processed foods, they ended up eating 500 calories more a day because their biology was dysregulated." [00:29]

This consistent overconsumption leads to significant weight gain over time, emphasizing how even small daily excesses can accumulate to drastic health consequences.

2. Metabolic Dysfunction and Health Implications

Delving deeper, Dr. Hyman discusses the concept of "metabolic dysfunction," noting that a staggering 93.2% of Americans suffer from some form of it. He elaborates on how this dysfunction manifests, even in individuals who appear outwardly healthy:

Dr. Hyman: "You can be skinny fat. You look thin, but you're actually fat on the inside." [01:56]

He underscores that metabolic dysfunction is often caused by excessive starch and sugar in ultra-processed diets, leading to high blood sugar, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, and increased risks of heart attacks and strokes.

3. The Healthcare Cost Crisis

Addressing the economic ramifications, Dr. Hyman points out the astronomical costs associated with the obesity epidemic:

Dr. Hyman: "The U.S. government pays 40% of the national health care bill, which is now $4.9 trillion. Probably a good 2 trillion of that is totally preventable." [02:30]

He emphasizes that preventing these health issues could significantly alleviate the federal deficit and allow for investments in social programs, infrastructure, and research.

4. Medical Intelligence and Function Health

Transitioning to solutions, Dr. Hyman introduces Function Health, the revolutionary healthcare company he co-founded. He explains how the company leverages "medical intelligence" by harnessing vast amounts of personal health data to create predictive models:

Dr. Hyman: "We're creating something called medical intelligence. We can process, I mean, just in your microbiome alone, there's a hundred thousand terabytes of data." [05:26]

This approach allows for early detection and intervention, potentially reversing the trajectory from wellness to illness.

5. Reversing Alzheimer's and Other Health Conditions

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Hyman shares promising developments from European clinical trials that utilize aggressive lifestyle interventions to not only slow but potentially reverse the progression of Alzheimer's:

Dr. Hyman: "If you look at the studies being done out of Europe... they're using aggressive lifestyle intervention to actually reverse the progression of Alzheimer's." [07:13]

He attributes the rise in Alzheimer's and other chronic conditions to poor diets high in sugar and insulin resistance, which he states affects 93% of the population to some degree.

6. Regulatory Differences in Food Safety

Dr. Hyman contrasts food safety regulations in the United States with those in other countries, particularly in Europe. He criticizes the U.S. "innocent until proven guilty" approach, where food additives are deemed safe until proven harmful:

Dr. Hyman: "In Europe, they have regulations called the REACH legislation which limits the use of chemicals. Here, companies get to use whatever they want and only remove them if shown to be harmful later." [08:57]

This regulatory framework contributes to the proliferation of harmful ingredients in the American food supply, exacerbating public health issues.

7. The Role of Education and Information Overload

While acknowledging that education levels have increased, Dr. Hyman expresses concern over the overwhelming amount of information and the prevalence of fad diets:

Dr. Hyman: "Everyone seems to look for these quick fad diets or quick fixes, but the solutions are pretty basic." [03:09]

He argues that the fundamental principles of eating quality food, reducing inflammation, and managing stress are straightforward but often overshadowed by misleading trends and misinformation.

8. Conclusion and Call to Action

In closing, Dr. Hyman reiterates the urgent need to address the obesity epidemic by transforming dietary habits and implementing systemic changes in healthcare. He advocates for personalized medicine and the widespread adoption of preventative measures to ensure a healthier future for all Americans.

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Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Mark Hyman: "When you think about eating ultra-processed foods, you're looking for love in all the wrong places." [01:05]
• Dr. Mark Hyman: "If you're not overweight, you can still be metabolically dysfunctional. It's not just about the number on the scale." [01:56]
• Dr. Mark Hyman: "We're living in a toxic cesspool of food and environmental toxins. It's no wonder our health is deteriorating." [08:28]
• Dr. Mark Hyman: "At Function Health, we're making healthcare scalable. It's about reaching millions, not just a few hundred." [05:26]

Key Takeaways:

• Ultra-processed foods significantly contribute to overeating and obesity due to their impact on biological regulation.
• Metabolic dysfunction is alarmingly prevalent, even among individuals who appear healthy externally.
• The economic burden of preventable health issues is immense, diverting funds from essential services and innovations.
• Innovative solutions like medical intelligence and personalized healthcare models are crucial for addressing these challenges.
• Regulatory reforms in food safety are necessary to protect public health and prevent further escalation of chronic diseases.
• Emphasizing foundational health practices over trendy quick fixes can lead to more sustainable and effective health outcomes.

For those seeking to improve their health and understand the underlying factors contributing to the obesity epidemic, Dr. Mark Hyman's insights provide a compelling roadmap towards a healthier, more sustainable future.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it.

[B]

Hey, friends. You're listening to Fitness Friday on the Habits and Hustle podcast, where myself and my friends share quick and very actionable advice for you becoming your healthiest self. So stay tuned and let me know how you leveled up.

[A]

The NIH study by Kevin Hal looked at this very carefully, and he did what we call a crossover trial, which is one of the best types of study designs, where he took the same people, gave them a diet, and then let them have a break.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Call a washout period and then give them another diet for a few weeks and then measured what happened. First part of the diet was eating real food.

[B]

Wow. Yeah.

[A]

Natural protein, fat, carbs, calories. Then they gave them ultra processed food. Then they could eat whatever they want. Eat whatever you want, as much as you want. On restrictions. When they were eating ultra processed food, they ate 500 calories more a day because their biology was disregulated.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, kids who are iron deficient will eat dirt. The body is going to crave more food and want more food because it's looking for nutrients. But we're looking for love in all the wrong places. Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And. And so what happened is that you get dysregulated. And when you think about that, 500 calories a day in a week is 3,500 calories. That's a pound of weight gain if you don't offset it with exercise in a year. That's 52 pounds of weight gain if you eat ultra processed food. Why is America the fattest country in the world? Like, we, we have 75% of us that are overweight, 42% are obese. It's increased, you know, fourfold since I was born. And you've seen diabetes increase 400%. I mean, it's, it's in the last 30 years. It's insane. And you know the metabolic dysfunction.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Even if you're not overweight, because you can be skinny fat. In other words, you look thin, but you're right. Actually fat on the inside.

[B]

Right. Your percentage is fat.

[A]

Yeah. Your body fat, where the fat is, if it's in your belly, visceral fat. That's.93.2% of Americans have metabolic dysfunction. That means that 6.8% of us are healthy. And what does that mean? That 93.2% has either high blood sugar, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, all by the way, caused by too much starch and sugar in our ultra processed diet. Or they've had a heart attack or stroke or they're overweight.

[B]

Yeah. That is unbelievable.

[A]

It's unbelievable. And so, you know, we're killing ourselves. And it's, the costs are staggering. I mean the government, the U.S. government pays 40% of the national health care bill, which is now $4.9 trillion. Probably a good 2 trillion of that is, is totally preventable and is now being added to our federal deficit every year. And imagine what that 2 trillion can do for the economy, what we could do with social programs, how we could improve our infrastructure, how we could improve so many innovation, how we could fund different kinds of research. I mean, we're recently wasting that money and most people don't realize that, you know, it's one out of every three taxpayer dollars is for health care.

[B]

Some believe. What I find to be unbelievable is that everyone seems to look for these quick fad diets or quick fixes, but yet like it's pretty getting. What you're saying is pretty basic, right? Like it's the same things that like if they watch what they eat, quality of the food, inflammation, like these, it's not that hard. It's not that hard, but yet people are trying to over or this, they're overwhelmed with like all this like noise.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know the other thing I wanted to ask you about Ozempic or any of these or govies or whatever. Can your body acclimate over time anyway and so you end up even eating what you ate before you even started taking it.

[A]

Sometimes these drugs affect people differently. I had a pain patient who, I didn't prescribe it, but he, he was telling me he lost, you know, he did Ozempic for six months. He lost two pounds. It didn't really make him feel great. He had all these side effects. He switched over to what I told him to do. He lost 60 pounds and he's reversed his diabetes and you know, he's on his way back to full, full health.

[B]

You keep on saying patients. Do you still see patients?

[A]

Yeah, I saw two this morning. I had a whole patient day yesterday. Yeah.

[B]

So you actually still see like doctor? Yes. This is what like the.

[A]

I don't just play one on tv.

[B]

No, you don't just play. No. Why? Listen, this is very ref. Refreshing. I thought of all the people, of all the doctors, you wouldn't have time because do you know how many times I've seen doctors sit in the same chair you are? And they are, they're doctors. Yeah, I guess they have a certificate, but they don't Practice, they write books and they like to do media and they like to do all these other things.

[A]

It keeps it real, but keeps you humble.

[B]

But people don't like to do it. Like it's impossible to find. Like the big joke is I can't find a doctor.

[A]

I love it. I mean, I love taking care of people. It's so, I mean, it's amazing.

[B]

You actually are like, would you take another, another patient? I need a doctor because there is such a shortage of doctors.

[A]

You're a ly girl.

[B]

I know. Like, what is the waiting list for that? Like, do you have like a crazy waiting list?

[A]

It's tough. I, I wish I could see everybody. I really wished. I, I, I mean it's, it's the heartbreak of my life. And I can tell you, I probably get five to 10 texts, emails, requests every day, easy. My mother this, my friend this, I'm sick this. And like people who are close to me and I'm like, I just wish I could help everybody and I can't. And so that's really why I co founded Function Health, right? To give people to take what I know and make it accessible not to a few hundred or thousand people, but to millions and millions. We have an 8 billion person problem.

[B]

That's exactly true.

[A]

Right. What we're creating at Function is something that is revolutionary. It's why we're the fastest growing healthcare company in the world. We're creating something called medical intelligence. You know, you have ChatGPT and all this, but think about where you take all your own data and all your data is sorted through with the use of technology. Because now we can process, I mean just in your microbiome alone, there's a hundred thousand terabytes of data. I don't even know what a terabyte is, but it's a lot of information.

[B]

A lot, I guess, yeah.

[A]

So no human mind can comprehend all that. So we're able to take all this data and actually understand what's happening to you and input it all into the system and then give you a predictive model of where you are, the trajectory from wellness to illness. Because things don't happen overnight. Right. For example, we were measuring some of these Alzheimer's tests like PTAU 217 or AD 4240 or Neurofibrillary Light chain. There's other biomarkers and we're now able to see from a blood test that you know, you could be developing early, early cognitive injury, brain injury that you don't even know about because you're not symptomatic. You can tell with brain imaging up to 30 to 40 years before you get Alzheimer's that you're starting to get trouble in the brain. But now with these blood tests, we can detect it and then you can do something to intervene and actually reverse that trajectory. That's never been possible before.

[B]

So, I mean, how is it even possible? I thought there was no cure that you couldn't you give us.

[A]

Well, there is. Of course there is. I mean, you know, like what?

[B]

Give us some things that we can do for our brain.

[A]

This is not my opinion. This is, this is, this is actually fact. I mean, if you look at the studies being done out of Europe, the finger trial, the pointer trials, these are large scale clinical trials using aggressive lifestyle intervention, risk factor modification, and actually selling, not showing, not just reverse, slowing down or, or delaying the progression of Alzheimer's, but reversing.

[B]

How can we reverse Alzheimer's?

[A]

What you eat. I mean, exercise, stress management, sleep optimization, the Right. Nutritional optimization, hormone optimization, addressing all the root causes, toxins, the gut microbiome. I mean, it's, it's a process. It's a deep, deep, involved process. And I've written a book about this called the Ultra mind solution. About 15 years ago. It was way ahead of its time and still ahead of its time. And colleagues of mine, like Dale Bredesen have taken that and really upgraded it. And he's got a recode program now. He's written a book called the End of Alzheimer's which talks about the root causes. This is not just happening in a vacuum. It's not just a random event. Why have we seen Alzheimer's increase by 150%?

[B]

Why? Tell us why.

[A]

Because we, we have the shitty diet, right? Which is sugar. I mean, they're calling Alzheimer's type 3 diabetes now, which is insulin resistance. Why? We have 93% of the population have some degree of insulin resistance.

[B]

But that's what I don't understand.

[A]

Environmental toxins.

[B]

There's more education out than ever before, right? We're more educated. You'd think, like there's information out there. How is it instead of getting less obese, we're getting more obese, instead of getting healthier, we're getting more sick. When all we, we are overloaded with people and information, like the health industry, longevity industry, It's a trillion dollar business. Yeah.

[A]

We live in a toxic cesspool of food and toxins. I mean, it's just the truth. I mean, the, the food industry has produced food that is making us sick and making us die early. And it. And we also have completely unregulated environmental toxins that in this. In the society, that people are just polluted. Polluted. You know, if we were food, we wouldn't be safe to eat as human beings, we're so polluted.

[B]

Why is it different here than the.

[A]

Uk in other countries, they don't allow the same ingredients. I mean, you might have heard the recent.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

About Kellogg's, and these are friends of mine.

[B]

I was going to ask you about that.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, like, you know, it's ridiculous. Like in. In Europe, they have regulations, they have something called the reach legislation in the European Union which limits the use of chemicals. So here, the way it works is you, if you're a company, you get to use whatever you want and you get it approved as generally recognized as safe. And then you only get to have it taken off the market if it's shown later to be harmful. So innocent until proven guilty.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

As opposed to, you have to prove this is safe before you put it in the food.