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A
So the idea is how do you live a hundred healthy years? How do you, how do you change your biology by understanding what's going on and adjust your diet, your lifestyle, maybe nutritional supplementation, maybe other things that you might need to upgrade your health and how do you implement those and then watch those changes over time?
B
This is the Pursuit of Wellness podcast and I'm your host, Mari Llewellyn. What's up, guys? Welcome back to the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. I am joined by the incredible Dr. Mark Hyman for part two. You guys loved him so much, as did I. I had to have him back. Today we are diving deep into lab testing and what your health results really mean. We are exploring functional medicine and how lab tests can reveal hidden health issues like metabolic dysfunction and environmental toxin exposure and how to be proactive about your health. He shares insights into major health concerns like cancer in younger generations. I know this is something that I've been seeing and I'm sure you guys have to pcos, fertility, and how traditional medical systems often overlook key biomarkers in women's health. Whether you're navigating chronic illness, trying to improve your metabolic health, or you're just curious about how to optimize your well being, this episode is a must. Listen, you're going to get the best advice on how to get your labs done, what to ask for, what to look for in your results, and so much more. We're talking about Mark Hyman's amazing company, Function Health. I have used them for my own personal lab tests and I think it's amazing. So without further ado, let's hop into this episode with Dr. Mark Hyman. Dr. Mark Hyman, welcome back to the Pursuit of Wellness.
A
Oh, so good to be here again.
B
Second time. And today we have some really exciting results to go through. We're going to talk all about lab testing. I see tons of questions come in regarding lab testing. I'm a huge fan of lab testing. When it comes to anything someone's dealing with, whether it's acne, fatigue. I feel like all the answers are in lab testing. And you are the co founder of Function Health, which I'm a huge fan of. I think you guys are changing the game. Fantastic company. I'd love to just start by talking about lab testing. How should people go about getting their lab work done? Reviewing it with the right people. What should they be looking for? Let's just give like a umbrella look at lab testing.
A
Well, you know, it's a great question and in traditional medicine, the way I was taught Was you only want to do a lab test when you want to confirm a diagnosis, otherwise you shouldn't do lab testing. And that's a big mistake because. And the reason it's a mistake is that that only allows you to diagnose disease once it's already happened, to not not to check where people are on the trajectory from wellness to illness. And that trajectory can go on for decades. And you can pick up clues very early on with deviations from optimal lab testing that gives you a clue about where you are and what you can do about it in a way that will transform your health and prevent you from getting a whole host of diseases. And many people are not screened for things that they should be screened for that picks up things that are actually abnormal, that they wouldn't know, like their thyroid's a little off or they have this nutritional deficiency. And the reason we copy founded function Health, or I co founded Function Health, was to give people access to their own lab data. Right now, Mary, if you want to get your labs, you have to go to your doctor. You have to hopefully find a doctor who's willing to do lab testing that goes deep. You have to hope your insurance pays for it. And you have to go through all these hoops and these barriers where you actually can't get access to your own biological data. This is your blood. This is your biology. You gotta be the boss of your biology. You gotta be the seal of your own health, and nobody else is going to take charge like you are. And so while you may not be able to understand every little detail about the lab testing, Function Health allows you immediate access without having to go through health insurance, without having to go through your doctor to over 110 biomarkers on the first panel. And you can access a lot more by self selecting tests that you might want to know about yourself, like food sensitivities or gluten. And you get back really detailed results, but not just the results, you get back the explanation of what they mean. Yeah, we've created thousands and thousands and thousands of pages of content, giving people a deep interpretation of what the results mean, what to do about it, what you can do on your own, and when you need to go see a doctor to get further testing or care. And so it really provides you with a really sort of empowered sense of what you can do to understand where you are in your health and what you can do to upgrade your health. So the idea is, how do you live 100 healthy years? How do you. How do you change your biology by understanding what's going on and adjust your diet, your lifestyle, maybe nutritional supplementation, maybe other things that you might need to upgrade your health and how do you implement those and then watch those changes over time. And so we really failed as a healthcare system to help identify that. And what's really quite amazing, and we've now had over 80,000 members join. We have over 300,000 people on the waitlist and we're going to give them a code to jump the waitlist for your listeners. We've had over 10/4 million biomarkers tested and we're tracking the data and it's just astounding what we're finding. Most people have poor metabolic health, meaning they have some level of prediabetes insulin resistance, what I call diabesity, which is this kind of continuum of a little bit of belly fat to pre diabetes to type 2 diabetes. 96% of people have this problem that we're finding on the lab testing we're doing over.
B
Do I have that?
A
You do not. Okay, you might have in the past. You do not.
B
Yeah, maybe I did when I was overweight, but I didn't lab test back then.
A
That's right. And then, you know, 50 over 50% have high tests called APOB, which is the most important predictive biomarker for cardiovascular risk. So in other words, if you're looking at your risk of having a heart attack, this is the most important biomarker, but it's not tested by most doctors. We measure insulin levels, which again are not tested by most Doctors. Less than 1% of tests are that we measure the kind of quality, the type, the size of your cholesterol particles. Again, less than 1% of your cholesterol tests that you get out in the country by your regular doctors are for the right cholesterol test. We're finding 30 plus percent have autoimmunity. You don't 46% have inflammation. We're finding 13% have autoimmune thyroid disease they didn't know about that makes them feel like crap. They don't sort of subtle symptoms. 67% have a nutritional deficiency at a level that is the lab reference range, not what I would say is optimal. For example, vitamin D should be probably a level of 50 or more to optimize your health. For example, with COVID if your level was 50 or more, there was zero risk of death according to a big Israeli study. And if your level was low, you had a 70% higher risk of ending up in the hospital and dying. So the reference range for the lab is 30, but it should be probably 50. And same thing with iron or other nutrients. And so even with the reference ranges of the traditional lab, 67% of Americans that we're testing are deficient and they don't know it. Whether it's iron or vitamin D or B vitamins, these are significant biomarkers that we now can track and help people sort of sort through to figure out what's going on. So I'm super excited about, you know, democratizing healthcare, decentralizing healthcare, giving people access to their own data. I mean, people weren't using wearables, which is great, whether it's Whoop or Oura Ring or Apple Watch or whatever to track their data. And people want to know what's going on, but that's just like skin deep, not going another layer.
B
Yeah. This is a lot of info and great information. And one thing I keep thinking of on the Internet right now, I'm seeing more and more and this is really sad. People my age being diagnosed with cancer.
A
Yeah.
B
And it's really interesting to me because I think we're talking, I'm getting experts on the show telling me about toxins, microplastics. We're just exposed to so much more now.
A
Yeah.
B
And seeing cancer in people my age is really alarming.
A
Yeah.
B
And I feel like function health is allowing people to pick it up sooner.
A
Yeah, absolutely. One of the tests we offer is called Gallery by a company called Grail and it's a multi cancer liquid biopsy screening test. Meaning normally you would have to do an imaging scan or you'd have to do a biopsy to figure out if you had cancer and you would often not find out till late. And there were a few cancer screening tests like mammograms or pap tests or colonoscopy or prostate exams, but they're very insensitive and they, they miss a lot. And they all often have false signals. For example, on a mammogram, how many women get a mammogram that shows something that's not really something? And then they have a biopsy and it's a big worry. What's happened now is the technology has gotten so advanced that we can now pick up small fragments of cell free DNA in the blood from cancer and identify exactly what that cancer is, where it's from, and pick it up a year to three before it ever shows up on any other kind of screening or diagnostic test, which is quite amazing. And when we've now offered this to our members, people are using it. I personally Think it's sort of an annual screening test. In fact, I just came back from Boston where I gave a talk to John Hancock, the insurance company. They think it's so important that they're offering it and subsidizing it for their insurance clients. So if you're a life insurance purchaser, you now, if you're with John Hancock, can get this cancer screening test because they know it's going to save them money by picking up cancer early. So we now see 1 in 188 of our members who use the gallery screening test show up a positive cancer.
B
So if they get that positive, what's the next step?
A
The next step is they get a phone call. You don't just get your result, you.
B
Just get a call.
A
You get a call from a doctor that says, hey, you know, we found this on your test. Here's what it, we think it means. Next step is you need to see an oncologist to get a further screening and imaging and a biopsy and then get treatment. What do you, and the false positive rate, which is people worry about, oh my God, is it going to show something? If I, if I don't have anything, then I'm going to go into this rabbit hole and I'm going to, you know, kind of go chasing something that's not. There is less than 0.5% for most of the screening tests, like a mammogram, it's like 20% false positive, which is crazy. So you're getting a lot of people doing follow up tests that they don't need. So it's a very good and specific test. Now it doesn't pick it up all the time. 75% of the time it'll pick up the cancer, which is pretty darn good. It means 25% if you have a cancer, it might not because it's not at that stage yet where the DNA from the cancer has gotten released into the blood. But it's really a powerful new advance in cancer screening they're talking about covering with Medicare. So you can't get this and doctors aren't really aware of it and doctors don't order it. And there are a few who might be, but it's kind of really rare. Where do I think that, I think one of the number two, one or two providers of this cancer screening test in the country now at function.
B
You guys know me, I drink a ton of water and I'm also really concerned about the quality of water I'm getting. And that is why I love aqua. True. If you're like me, you probably don't trust your tap water. It's the last thing you want to have to worry about. But unfortunately, according to research by the Environmental Working Group 3 hour 4 homes in America have harmful contaminants in its tap water. That's why you guys need to track our aquatru. It purifies using a four stage reverse osmosis purification process and their countertop purifiers work with no installation or plumbing. It removes 15 times more contaminants than ordinary pitcher filters and it's designed to combat chemicals like PFAS in your water supplies. PFAS are found in almost 45% of US tap water. I'm so grateful that Aquatre removes these. Greg and I have the under the sink option for Aqua True, but you can also get the on the countertop pitcher which makes a great gift as well. PFAS are really important to avoid because they can lead to adverse health effects like cancer, endocrine disruption and liver toxicity. So having clean water and high quality water is really important. We're giving it to our kids, we're drinking tea, we're drinking coffee, we're giving it to our pets. And you want to make sure everyone in your home is healthy. Archa True comes with a 30 day money back guarantee and even makes a great gift. Today my listeners receive 20 off an Aqua True Purifier. Just go to aquatru.com pow that's a Q U a T R U.com forward slash P and automatically receive 20 off any Aqua Tree Water Purifier. That's 20% off any Aqua Water Purifier. When you go to aqu.com pow you guys know I value clean ingredients, especially in products I'm using every single day. And that's why I'm really careful with the toothpaste I use. Bite is amazing because most commercial toothpastes are filled with harsh chemicals, artificial flavors and preservatives. But Bite makes dry toothpaste tablets made with clean ingredients that are sulfate free, palm oil free and glycerin free. They are so convenient. You just pop a bit in your mouth, chew it up and start brushing. It will turn into the paste you're used to, but with no plastic tube or messy paste. It also comes in a refillable glass jar and they send refills and compostable pouches. It's better for our bodies and the earth. I also just find it really easy to travel with and stay fresh on the go. Bite is offering our listeners 20 off your first order, go to try bite.com pow or use code POW at checkout to claim this deal. That's T R Y b I t e.com/pow.
A
We hope more and more people take advantage of it. Because you're right, Mari, that the cancer rates in young people are going up. And in 30s and 20s, even, whether it's breast cancer, colon cancer, colon cancer particularly, and then a lot has to do with our diet. It has to do with environmental toxins, and the diet particularly is important. It has to do with metabolic dysfunction. And most people don't realize this. And it's one of the things that we do so powerfully well with function diagnostics is we look at your metabolic health. Now, most doctors will just look at your blood sugar. Your blood sugar can be perfectly normal, but you could be in big trouble metabolically because your body keeps your blood sugar normal until the last minute when it can't do it anymore. And then it starts to go up, and then you get diabetes, right? But if your insulin's high, if your lipid particle number is high, which is not usually tested, if your particle size is small, if you have high triglycerides and low hdl, if you have inflammation, if you have high uric acid, if you have certain abnormal liver function tests, if you have certain changes in your hormones, we're picking all this up on our function diagnostics, and we can tell you if you're metabolically unhealthy, and we can tell you if you're at risk for all the consequences of poor metabolic health caused by insulin resistance, whether it's pcos or infertility, whether it's cancer, whether it's heart disease and heart attacks, whether it's dementia, whether it's obviously type 2 diabetes, all the major illnesses that we're seeing are caused by this metabolic dysfunction. Today in America, 93.2%, and this is what we're seeing in our lab testing, it's in the same ballpark. Are metabolically unhealthy by research published out of Tufts that shows that 93.2% of people have a high blood sugar, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, have had a heart attack or stroke or overweight. That means 6.8% of Americans don't have that. And this is a ticking time bomb. And if you just get your 19 lab tests that you get at your regular doctor's annual physical, it doesn't pick any of that up. It doesn't measure insulin, it doesn't measure particle size, it doesn't measure apob it doesn't measure, usually CRP or inflammation. It doesn't measure insulin. These are critical tests that we now know. And unfortunately, Mary, I'm a doctor, but it takes decades for science to get into the clinic. Decades. I mean, I remember a famous story of Semmelweis, who was a Viennese physician who was delivering babies in vienna in the 1800s, and he noticed that the midwives didn't seem to have the same rate of childbirth fever, which was killing the patients of the doctors as the doctors. And he noticed that they washed their hands between deliveries. And he said to his colleagues who were physicians, gee, guys, maybe we should wash our hands. And maybe we're causing the childbirth fever that's causing the death of all these women who are giving birth. And they were like, oh, my God, you're a heretic. How could you even imply that our physicians are causing their patients to be sick? You're banished. And he was basically banished, excommunicated, died in disgrace. And it took 50 years for doctors to finally realize they should wash their hands before surgery.
B
Wild.
A
So we're kind of in that situation now, and function takes us and leapfrogs us to the future.
B
Yeah. And I love the fact whenever. You know, I definitely am coming from a privileged perspective where I can work with optimal wellness doctors, and I have access to certain things. And the fact that we now have this to recommend to people, I think is astronomical, because most people out there can't get optimal wellness doctors or go to someone special to get special lab testing. But everyone deserves to have this information and be tested in an optimal range rather than a reg. I mean, the ranges they're testing in a regular doctor's office, it must be abysmal.
A
Well, yeah. I mean, first of all, you're right. I mean, people should have access to their own data, and they shouldn't have to wait for medicine to catch up on their doctor's office to be aware of it or their insurance to cover it, or they should be able to have access to data. And the beautiful thing about function is we be willing to take $115,000 worth of diagnostic testing and bring it down to $499 a year, which is $1.37 a day less than you spend on your coffee.
B
Right.
A
Or if you buy a muffin. Right. And so it's affordable in that way for most people. Not everybody, but for most people. And the investment in your health, it pays off dramatically.
B
Pay now or pay later.
A
Exactly. You pay now or pay later. And the beautiful Thing about functions. It gives you access to this data. It allows you to know what's going on and to do something about it. And you not only get the data, but you get all the insights. So it's one thing to just get your labs. Like, I don't know what this means. What's a, you know, monocyte or what's a, you know, homocysteine or methylmalonic acid? You don't have any idea. But the beautiful thing about function is we spent literally thousands and thousands and thousands of hours building educational content inside the platform that allows you to be empowered with the knowledge of what to do. And then it gives you a summary of your data. It gives you an action plan, what to eat, you know, lifestyle factors you should consider, and what supplements might be helpful, what further testing you might need, when you might need actually to go see a doctor. Let's say your thyroid is really off, you might need thyroid hormone or some other intervention or, yeah, we pick up a cancer, you need to go to the oncologist. So we have all that in there. So think of it like a kind of co pilot for your health that's driven by data, enormous amounts of data. It's all informed by the scientific research and literature formed by knowledge experts, not just me, but many others. And you're right, most people can't access that. I mean, I wish I could see millions of patients. I'm one doctor, and I'm going to be 65 next month. And I could be like, you know, golfing, which I don't do at all, or playing tennis or riding my bike in Maui or sitting on the beach somewhere. I don't need to do this. But the reason I'm so compelled is because I feel like people are suffering needlessly. There's so many people out there who have so many issues. I call it FLC syndrome, where they feel like crap. And there's a more advanced version called fls. And when people go to the doctor, they don't get the answers. And there's two possibilities there. When the doctor says, well, your tests are fine, your exam's fine, why don't you take some Prozac? There's either two answers to why he's saying or she is saying that one is, you're crazy, right, and you need Prozac or some other medicine to deal with your neurotic hypochondriac behavior, which is very honest, very patronizing and very paternalistic. Or the doctors are missing something, and the truth is they're missing Something most of the time, because we're not trained how to think about health. We're trained how to diagnose and treat disease. So function flips the script and allows you to focus on your health and optimize your health. And the reference ranges you mentioned are reference ranges that are for the population at large. And the way we come up with these, just so people understand. And the beautiful thing about function is we'll give you the reference range from Quest or the lab that we use, but we also say, what's the optimal range?
B
Yeah.
A
You know, and when you. When you look at the typical reference ranges, they. They're missing a lot. For example, the reference range for insulin is 18 on the quest reference range.
B
Okay.
A
Now how do they come up with that? Well, they measure the population. They come up with what they call the two standard deviations from the mean. They come up with the normal range. Normal is a statistical number. It's not normal as we think of normal, but it means a statistical, mathematical value.
B
Yeah.
A
And so what normal means is you're two standard deviations from the middle from the mean. And so that's. If you're. If you're a Martian and you landed in America today, it's normal to be overweight. Right. Because 75% of Americans are overweight. If you're like me or you, we're abnormal.
B
Yeah, right.
A
In America, we're like, we're off the grid, and yet we're optimal. Right. We should have BMIs where we are. We should have body compositions like we do. It shouldn't be abnormal to have a body composition for a woman of 20 or a man of 10. We should all be like that. Right. And so when we look at the popular. The reference ranges for insulin, for example, it's 18. That's terrible for fasting insulin. But why is it that way? Because the American population is metabolically unhealthy, and so most people are insulin resistant, and most people have high insulins because it's not working properly. So you need to make more and more insulin to get the blood sugar down, but that doesn't mean it's optimal. And so the optimal range should be less than five.
B
Oh, wow, that's a big.
A
And yours is around five, which is great.
B
It is, yeah. Oh, good.
A
So you're in the optimal range. Your blood sugar is in the optimage. Your cholesterol and lipid markers are in the optimal range. So I really look at that and I go, okay, well, we now can tell where people are and pick up stuff not when they've already got something or when they already have some diagnosable disease. But you know, if you're, if your insulin levels are starting to creep up to 5, 10, you know, 15, you're starting to get into trouble. Your blood sugar may still be normal because the first thing to go up is insulin. And again, it's something we don't test. So that's why, you know, we developed this set of tests. After my 40 years of experience as a doctor, I've had a unique experience where I've seen, you know, thousands and thousands of patients, probably tens of thousands at this point. And I've had a unique experience where I worked at a health resort called Canyon Ranch and then in my own practice, and I'm able to do five to $10,000 worth of diagnostic testing on tens of thousands of people. And so I've been able to see what really is happening out there in the population and what's happening in the data. And this is really why we developed function, to give people access to that kind of care without having to be able to see me or one of the very few doctors in the country that does this because it's not scalable. Before I die, I want to have this available to millions of people and end all the suffering that it's so needless. I can't end the war in the Middle East, I can't prevent nuclear war, I can't end climate change, but this is a solvable problem. Obesity, metabolic, poor health, chronic illness, which affects 6 out of 10Americans, affects 51% of children. 51% of kids have a chronic disease.
B
Wow.
A
Including obesity. I mean, that's something that's not an inevitable part of being a human.
B
Holidays are coming up. Greg and I are hosting and I'm sure many of you are too. And I'm so excited that I have my Caraway cookware ready to go. It really brings me peace of mind that their non toxic cookware is free of dangerous chemicals. During the holidays, I want to make sure I'm healthy and everyone I'm feeding is healthy as well. Plus it's so easy to wash and store. They make it so simple. And the pans are also gorgeous. I have the sage green set and the stainless steel set and they always look amazing on the stove. Caraway's cookware set comes with a saute pan, fry pan, dutch oven and saucepan, plus lids for all of them and a canvas lid holder, a magnetic pan rack for storage. It's the ultimate kitchen setup that will save you 150 versus buying the items individually. Plus we can ditch the chemicals with Caraway. It comes with a chemical free ceramic coating so food can be prepared with peace of mind. The holidays are closer than ever so get their gift or yours in time. Visit caraway home.com pursuit to take advantage of this limited time offer for up to 20% off your next purchase. Again, that's Caraway Home.com pursuit to get new kitchenware before the holidays. Caraway Non Toxic Cookware Made Modern if you guys haven't listened yet, I highly recommend you go back and listen to my episode with Mike Feldstein. He's the founder of Jasper. Jasper is the world's best air purifier. I would know. I have a bunch in my house and they are incredible. It is a commercial grade air purifier but it's also beautiful and quiet. I honestly don't even notice mine in my house, but it always turns on when I blow out a candle or shake out the bed. It senses any little toxin and helps remove it from the air. I think a lot of us don't realize living in our homes just how many toxins, toxins are floating around. If you go and listen to the episode with Mike, he gave so much information about how poor air quality can be affecting our health. Hundreds, if not thousands of listeners who heard the recent podcast have already bought their Jaspers and are loving them. My community can get 400 off with early black Friday access. Jasper will be sold out by Black Friday so I highly recommend you guys hop on this Investing in clean air is one of the most important ways to invest in your health. Better sleep, better energy, clean fresh air. It's the world's best purifier and it's also stunning in your house. Jasper is offering an exclusive deal. Get 400 off with code POW at checkout. Again, that's CodePowasper Co for 400 off your Jasper Air purifier. So I got my function health test done and I was clicking around on my account and I actually have it printed here guys. But I was clicking around and it was really interesting being able to click on the specific tests. So for example like my prolactin or my DHEA and I could read what it was, what it meant, like a really great description. Then as you said, what diet I should be eating. Like really fantastic suggestions. The one thing I did notice was my leptin was below range. What does that mean?
A
So first of all you're right, some of the hormones you're talking about aren't checked normally like prolactin and yeah, no leptin. And these are things that tell you a lot about what's happening underneath the hood. And, and, and most of your stuff was within pretty good range because you're healthy. But your, your leptin is low because your, your, your body was probably in a fasting state and you didn't need to be increasing leptin, which is the appetite suppressing hormone. And so that's a good thing, it's not a bad thing. Leptin can be high in people who are obese. There's something called leptin resistance which we often pick up. So if you have maybe high insulin, you'll also have high leptin. And that doesn't mean you're going to feel full. It means your leptin is not working. So you need to make more and more leptin in order to actually feel better. But the beautiful thing about the results is that we don't just give you the traditional medical perspective. We add in the things that we know scientifically work, like what you should be eating and how food affects these things, or how lifestyle factors affect these things, or how to remove environmental toxins from your life, or how to optimize your sleep or optimize your exercise, or optimize your stress regulation, or optimize your nutrient status, or look at various phytochemicals or herbs or nutrients that can help optimize various abnormalities that you have. And so we give you a very detailed end to end look. It's not just here's what you get in a medical textbook, but we add in what all the science says, which is not part of regular practice. Now the truth is that if you look at the science, it's there. It just hasn't been incorporated into medical practice. You know, we say, well, here's a drug. If you have a drug for something, we'll do it. But if you don't have a drug and if it's lifestyle, we kind of ignore it.
B
Yeah. So for someone like me, first of all, were there any other standouts on my tests I should know about?
A
I mean, no, I think, you know, what I did notice was your thyroid fluctuates and it could go up and down and that can be stress. And your free T3 was a little bit on the low end, but that can be variable depending on the time of month and stress levels and so forth. So your adrenals and your thyroid are very connected. And so we can see sometimes that you'll have, you know, a little bit dip in your thyroid. But your sex hormones were good. Your pregnancy marker, we checked anti mullerian hormones were very fertile, which is good. That's good news.
B
If you're looking to have a baby pregnant, then.
A
Yep. I mean, Your insulin was 6.2, was 5.4 in the previous one.
B
Okay.
A
So, you know, you're in the ballpark, I think, you know, five is good. You know, you have had some, I think, metabolic issues in the past. Right. So, yeah, basically dealt with most of those. And I would imagine back then your probably insulin was 20 or 30.
B
I'm sure it was not good. Okay, good to know. Yeah, I'm happy with that.
A
You're going to live.
B
I'm going to live.
A
That's the diagnosis.
B
I mean, and also it's important to keep testing. Right. Like, I should probably do this again in what, three months?
A
Well, with function membership, which is an annual membership, you get twice your testing. So you get initial 110 biomarkers and you get initial 60, and then you get to repeat everything again at, at a year. So it's basically twice your testing. It gives you a sense of where you're, where you're off and where you're. Where you need to tweak. You can do it more frequently. For example, let's say you find out you have really abnormal blood sugar. You maybe have diabetes. You want to see John, I want to wait six months. I want to recheck my numbers and select a few of numbers in three months or two months to see if anything I've done has made a difference. You can do that. Or if you start a thyroid medication, you want to change that, you can check. So there's a lot of ways you can actually follow up more frequently, but you don't have to. If things are okay, then we're also adding not just the basic panel, but we have over another 200 tests that we've added that include everything from food sensitivity testing to infection testing for Lyme disease to looking at various cancers and risk factors, more detailed nutrient testing, more detailed toxin testing, for example. You mentioned toxins. Well, we're now being able to test for pfas, which are the forever chemicals, bpa. We're adding a lot of diagnostics that are helping us look at pesticides and chemicals that are exposed to that help us to understand what's going on and what's affecting us. And then we can start to give you recommendations on how to treat it. But if you go to a regular doctor, they're not Checking for pesticide levels, they're not checking for BPA levels, they're not looking for forever chemicals in your blood. But they matter and they do have an impact on your health. And there's ways you can actually reduce those.
B
It's crazy how motivating it is. So for example, I'm looking at my heavy metal test right there, the lead amount, and it's good, it's fine. But in the past I had seen, I did have heavy metals. And it's so motivating when you see that to change your lifestyle. Like, I really hope you're not going.
A
To have that tuna sushi every night.
B
No. Yeah, I was overdoing it on the tuna for sure. And even like, yeah, the pfas, that's a big thing. Like, I really hope people are motivated to switch out their daily products after seeing that because I think people will be surprised.
A
Yeah.
B
You know, even like someone who's super health conscious like me and feels like, oh, my labs will be fine, I take care of myself. What are some things they might see on their tests that they would be surprised by?
A
You mean in their basic function panel or in some of the.
B
In anything. Because I do think there's a lot of people out there who are like, oh, I'm healthy, I'm not, you know, obese. And they assume that their labs will be perfect. But I know just from personal experience that isn't always the case.
A
You know, it's. When I went to medical school, we had a textbook called Rob is in Co Tran. And every doctor listening will know what I'm talking about. About it's the pathologic basis of disease. And it talks about how do you diagnose diseases, what's the pathology, which is what it looks like under a microscope. And what they said is any pathological change always is preceded by a biochemical change. In other words, anytime you get a disease, you can see under the microscope, it's always preceded by a biochemical shift. Now that's what we're measuring with function. We're measuring the change in your biochemistry over time that give you early warning signals. I mean, you know, we don't have on our bodies a check engine light or a tire pressure light that comes on or you know, when the oil's low, like we don't have that. So function is that, that's what function is providing for people is the early warning check engine lights and then you go, oh God, I better take my car in for a tune up and I better take my body in for A tune up. And then the beautiful thing about function is it provides all the guidance on how to do that that you probably aren't getting from your physician. Some obviously do, but most don't. And it's, it's, it's way more than they can do. Like, because we're, we've literally put in thousands and thousands and thousands of hours into building incredibly robust content. That's all driven from the scientific literature. For example, let's say you find out you have high levels of bpa, which is a test that we offer. You're going to go, God, you know, where am I getting this from? And then you go, oh well I'm going to read about it. And it says, here's the sources. Oh, it's my credit card receipt receipts, it's, you know, my ATM receipt, it's the receipt that I get from the gas station.
B
Receipts freak me out.
A
It's like lining from my, you know, cans of bottles of stuff that I'm having. And so then you begin to say, oh well maybe I should learn what to do. And then it takes you to Environmental Health Guide which allows you to say, okay, well here's all the sources of these toxins. Here's how to remove them from your as best you can from your life. Here's how to upregulate your body's own detoxification system. Here's the, the foods that upregulate these detox pathways, like for example, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli. Or maybe you want to learn about other ways you can detoxify through saunas or other ways to boost glutathione through supplements like N acetylcysteine. So it's giving you very detailed science based instructions about how you can up level your health and insights about what the science is about how to actually address these problems. It's not a lack of science, but if you go to the average doctor, say can you check my BPA and tell me what to do if you find it's high? I don't know what to do. It's just not their fault because they're not learning about it. They're not even learning about the most important things like insulin resistance.
B
Wild.
A
I mean my daughter's a fourth year medical student. She's not learning about this in medical school. There's no course on nutrition. There's no real training about insulin resistance. There's no training about toxins, there's no training about the microbiome. These are the things that are the biggest drivers of Our chronic disease epidemic today, and most people are not hearing about it.
B
They're still not teaching. So she must be a few steps ahead, though, because of you.
A
Maybe she doesn't really listen to me much, but she's her own person.
B
Maybe we'll send her this podcast. Maybe she'll be.
A
Yeah.
B
Yeah, that's wild. I also love the fact, I know a lot of women in particular feel intimidated by asking certain questions to their doctor or having certain conversations because you end up. I mean, I know I've felt this way where you feel like they're kind of making fun of you or they're putting you down. It's like a pretty scary situation. What would you say?
A
Don't worry, dear, everything's fine. Just take your Prozac, you'll be okay.
B
Wild, right? Especially with, like, fertility. It just like really sensitive problems, you know.
A
Now there. There are a lot of good physicians out there who are doing great jobs and who are doing the best they can. But the problem is our medical system is our training, the content or education that doctors get, which they call it continuing medical education, but it's really should be called continuing pharmaceutical education because it's funded and driven by pharmaceutical companies. Medical schools are funded primarily by pharmaceutical companies. You know, all the professional associations like the American Diabetes Association, American College, you know, cardiology, and American Diabetes Association. Funding, a large part comes from food or big pharma. And so, you know, the average physician just doesn't have the understanding or the knowledge or the tools to equip them to actually help their patients with the things that they're suffering from. If you have something serious and you need to go to the hospital, great. We're great at that. Like, you need surgery, you need cancer treatment, you need, you know, heart bypass, go for it. You know, like. But for most of the stuff that people are suffering from, we're pretty bad at it.
B
You guys know, I'm very active. I'm always working out and horseback riding. And I'm very thankful for my Lumi Whole body deodorant. Lumi is unlike any other. It was created by an OBGYN who discovered BO isn't just an underarm thing, it's an all over thing. So she developed a ph optimized new deodorant that's clinically proven to block odor everywhere. Not just your armpits, but your privates, feet and beyond. The best part, no matter where you use it, Lumi is proven to keep working for up to 72 hours. If three days of odor control isn't something to be thankful for. I don't know what is. I love that it was created by an ob GYN and it has sweat control. It's baking soda free, paraben free and PH balanced. Lumi Starter Pack is perfect for new customers. It comes with a solid stick deodorant, cream tube deodorant and two free products of your choice and free shipping as a special offer for our listeners. New customers get 15 off all Lumi products with our exclusive code and if you combine 15 off with the already discounted starter pack that equals over 40 off the starter pack. Use code POW POW for 15 off your first purchase at lumideodorant.com that's code POW@L U M E D E O D O R a n t.com Please support our show and tell them we send you okay guys, I have to tell you about this underwear I am obsessed with. I'm sure you have all heard of it by now. It is the Fits Everybody collection by Skims and I feel like it's their best kept secret. I absolutely love the bras and underwear. I wear them every single day and I have been for the past couple of years. I love the fact that it's so stretchy and soft and kind of melts onto your body, but they also have so many different color options so it disappears when you're wearing a white T shirt, doesn't show and you really feel like you're not even wearing anything. I feel like everyone needs this level of comfort. It's truly life changing. They have so many different options of underwear and bras to fit your needs. I am someone who wears a lot of T shirts. I'm always on the go and I want things that are going to kind of disappear and feel like I'm not wearing anything at all. I know you guys are all going to love it, especially with the holiday season coming up. I feel like it makes for a great gift. The Fits Everybody collection is available in sizes from extra extra small to 4x and you can now shop@skims.com after you place your order be sure to let them know I sent you select podcast in the survey and be sure to select my show in the drop down menu that follows. And if you're looking for the perfect gifts for the whole family, Skims just launched their biggest holiday shop ever. Also available@skims.com what would you say to women out there who are maybe curious if they have pcos endometriosis? Maybe they want to see their numbers for fertility? What are Some things specifically they should look at on their tests.
A
That's really a great question because you know what we're seeing? Fertility, infertility rates skyrocketing. One in seven couples is infertile. And the reason is not surprising. I mean, it's really, I think, driven primarily by our diet and also environmental toxins, which are endocrine disruptors. So you combine those two things, the high sugar starch diet and the endocrine disruptors, which, whether it's PFAS or BPA or these compounds we're looking at, that's what's driving most of the problems with PCOS and infertility. And PCOS is also called polycystic ovarian syndrome. It's increasingly common. It leads to women having irregular periods, heavy periods, hair growth on their face, acne, maybe hair loss on their head. It's a very discouraging condition. It causes infertility. Very, very unpleasant condition. It's really common and it's called polycystic ovarian syndrome. But it's not an ovarian problem, it's a nutritional problem for the most part. Now there are some rare cases where it's more genetic, but most time it's caused by our starch and sugar in our diet and the buildup of visceral or belly fat. And when you get belly fat, that drives up the androgen hormones, which are the male hormones. So you get higher levels of testosterone and DHEA sulfate and androcenedion. And these are things that we actually measure on functional labs which, you know, most women go to, their labs check. They don't get their testosterone checked, they don't check their DHE sulfate, they don't check all the other indicators of insulin resistance which are driving this. They don't check insulin, they don't check a 1C. They don't check your lipid particle number, your particle size, they don't check uric acid, they don't check your liver function test, which can be abnormal if you have insulin resistance in fatty liver, which is extremely common now used to be called non alcoholic fatty liver disease. First was alcoholic fatty liver disease because you only got it if you were an alcoholic. Then we called it non alcoholic fatty liver disease. And then we're like, that's a stupid name. We're calling it now metabolic associated fatty liver disease, meaning it's caused by insulin resistance in our diet. So now the biggest cause of liver transplants is soda.
B
Huh? Oh my God.
A
Yeah, no kidding. I mean, I was at a conference with a liver transplant liver Transplants.
B
Wow.
A
Yeah. I was at a conference with a bunch of physicians. It was on childhood obesity, and there was a liver specialist there. And I'm like, well, why are you here? You know, he's like, oh, wow. We're seeing fatty liver and cirrhosis and 15 year olds who need liver transplants who are obese.
B
Wow.
A
Yeah. And now 40% of kids are overweight, 22% are obese. I mean, one in two teenage boys has prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. I'm sorry, one in four has type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. One in two Americans have that. And so we're starting to measure all these things. And so with the profile, we're not only getting your metabolic health, not only getting the hormones, you're also looking at something like anti mullerian hormone, which is a biomarker that most women don't get. But it's a measure of your fertility, which yours was great. If it's low, then you're in trouble. And so we can tell. And I, for example, I had a patient who was vegan who was quite low. And you know, she was very malnourished. She had low iron, she had low vitamin D, she had low zinc. And you know, she was, she was not overweight, but she, her body was like, I'm malnourished, that's not safe to get pregnant. So it was shutting down her fertility, which is what you do if you're starving.
B
Yeah.
A
And so we got her, you know, on nutrients, we got her starting some animal protein, and it all came up. So you start to see, you know, by actually looking at people's individual data, how to optimize their health so you.
B
Can improve those numbers. You're not just set for.
A
No, not at all. I mean, obviously you did it, right.
B
Yeah.
A
So, I mean, I think, you know, if you know what to do, it's not hard to do.
B
Totally.
A
You know the very funny joke I usually tell about this where this guy gets his appendix out and doctor sends the guy a bill for $1,000 and the guy goes, hey, that's such a simple operation. That's a lot of money for a simple operation. Of course, thousand dollars doesn't seem like a lot now, but let's say it's $10,000. He's like, well, yeah, you're right. You know, $100 for taking out your appendix, $99,900 for knowing what needs to be taken out. Right?
B
Yeah.
A
So I think that's the key, is when you have this, your data when you have your information, when you have your knowledge, you can then be empowered and you don't have to be abdicating your health to somebody else.
B
Yeah.
A
I mean, the smartest doctor in the room is your own body. You know, I believe that people should be empowered, their data. When I first started practicing medicine, we were taught never to give your lab results to the lab results to the patient. Just say, hi, Ani, your labs are fine. We'll see you next year. Everything looks good.
B
Yeah, they. I always found that they would never give me my results.
A
And I'm like, when I started doing this 30 years ago, I'm like, here's your lab tests. Here's what they mean. Here's what you need to do about it. Yeah, you should be in charge. And I was like a heretic that I was giving people their lab results, you know, and now with function, we're democratizing this at scale, totally.
B
You can print them out, you can have them, you can do what you.
A
Want with them, and you follow them over time. And you have a centralized hub where you own your data. And you know how it is. You know, you go to this doctor and you get your labs, go to that doctor, you go, you can move cities and you go, you know, you might have data in five or 10 or more different doctor's offices or hospitals, and you can't even access that easily.
B
Yeah.
A
And you know, and I know as a physician, if I want to look at data over time, I can't really track it very easily. I have to go. Let me pull up this PDF and look at the last PDF and I'm trying to remember the result from last time and write it down. But with function, you get a dashboard where you own your data, where you see it over time, where you track it over time, and you're empowered over time to make those changes that make a real difference.
B
Just a note on PCOS that I think is really interesting. I've been diagnosed with pcos, PCOS a number of times, and I manage it with diet and lifestyle.
A
That's right.
B
So I even went to the gynecologist the other day because I'm doing IUI right now. They scanned my ovaries and they were like, oh, you know you have pcos, right? Like, you have tons of follicles, like, over the counter, you probably have irregular periods, you don't ovulate. And I was like, actually, I do have regular periods. I do ovulate. I don't have extra belly fat, I don't have acne. Anymore. Like, I. I feel good.
A
Yeah.
B
And I think that's because I manage it with my diet and lifestyle. So I do think, like, getting these numbers back and having that knowledge and knowing what to do with it is really, really powerful.
A
So important. So important. Because what you just said there is the key whole key and value proposition for function, which is if you are. Go to a regular doctor that say you have pcos, you need this set of drugs, we need to suppress your hormones, or we need to give you this drug or that drug to modify your hormones. But you'll never get the advice, oh, here's why you're getting this. Here's what you can do without taking hormones or medication to fix it. And then we're here if it doesn't work. But the first step is actually you actually being empowered with the data to fix it. And that's what's so important about function, is we built in that science, which is being left in academic journals that no doctors look at that actually have the data on how we intervene. And that's just beautiful about function. We want to sift through 10 million research papers and come up with a coherent narrative about the why. So traditional medicine is what. What disease do you have? Ipcos. Okay, what drug do I give? Right. But what we do is the medicine of why, what root cause. We call it root cause medicine. Right. Systems medicine, network medicine, some people call it functional medicine. Doesn't really matter. It's just understanding the body as a system. It's understanding that we need to get to the root cause. It's understanding that you can create health instead of just treat disease. And then when you create health, disease goes away. You weren't treating your pcos, you were eating well, you were exercising, you were taking certain nutritional supplements and helped optimize your health or correct deficiencies. And your body naturally went back to a healthy state where you're ovulating, where you're having regular periods, where you're not having acne. We don't have a mustache. You know, like, that's great. I don't know that you had a mustache, but.
B
Well, this doctor I saw was like, oh, you must, like. She literally said, oh, that's probably why you have irregular periods. And I looked at her and I said, I don't have irregular periods.
A
That's right.
B
She's like, oh, that's why you don't ovulate. And I was like, I do ovulate. It was annoying, and I hate. I don't. It was. I left frustrated because I was like you didn't ask me, you told me. Anyway, I could go on a run about that. But.
A
Yeah, well, that's it. I think it's not their fault, it's just their training. Right. Yeah, it's like.
B
But it's offensive and rude.
A
Well, I mean, doctors are trying to go a job and based on what their knowledge is, that's what they think should be.
B
And some of them are amazing. Like I've had.
A
It's just that it's impossible. Even me, I read constantly. I studied literature. I've been doing this for 40 years. But I'm one doctor, one brain. I've had a limited set of patients. I haven't had the value of reading 10,000 articles. I haven't had the value of seeing 10 million patients. But imagine a system that has and they can use that data and knowledge to help inform what you're doing right now. We know, for example, that data driven analysis of your skin is better than a dermatologist, of your retina is better than an ophthalmologist, of your X rays are better than a radiologist. Right. Because even the best, best, best, best, best still can't know it all.
B
Yeah.
A
And so we're kind of merging technology with healthcare in a way that allows you to be empowered with data that will transform your life and close that gap between the science and the practice and allow you to be empowered to actually be the CEO of your own health and live 100 healthy years. That's the goal of function. And we want everybody to have that and not have to wait and be frustrated going to doctor after doctor after doctor and not being able to get the information they need. So I would say 80% of the problems people have don't need a doctor. Reflux, irritable bowel, migraines, hormone issues, so many problems, weight issues, diabetes. I mean, none of these problems need a touch or they're fixed. At home, in your house, in the kitchen, in the gym, in the grocery store, you know, in your community, these are, these are not problems that need medications.
B
Agreed.
A
Yeah.
B
What would you say to someone listening who is avoidant and worried of testing because they don't want to see what will come back?
A
I hear this all the time. Oh, my God. I don't want to know because if I know, then I'm going to. I'm a hypochondriac and I'm going to be freaked out and it's too much information and I'd rather just not know. And that only makes sense if there's nothing you can do about it.
B
Yeah.
A
Right. Like, why would I want to know if my plane was going to crash if there was nothing I could do about it? Right. I want to know if I could do if my plane was going to crash, if your health is going to crash and I could actually do something about it. And I was giving the instructions to fly the plane and I had someone coaching me about how to fly the plane to land it so I wouldn't die. That's a good thing. So that's what function is. It's sort of like a copilot for your health that catches you before you get into trouble.
B
Yeah. And I just encourage anyone listening who's like my age, maybe younger. As I said before, I am seeing more and more people coming out saying, oh, I was diagnosed with cancer. They're sharing their experiences online. It's scary. But if you do take steps, get function health, get your testing done and you can catch those things early, you can live a healthy life, prevent these things from happening, change your lifestyle. It can be intimidating. But I feel like for, I mean, as someone who's been overweight and gone through a health journey, having a wake up call and paying attention to these things changed my life. And I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't do that. So. Exactly. I really encourage everyone. Also, we do have a code to skip the wait list, which is really nice because it's 300,000 people on the wait list. So the first 100 listeners can bypass this wait list by going to function health.com pow pow. Highly recommend you guys do this ASAP because I'm sure they're going to rush that. It's only a hundred listeners, so I would do it right now. Thank you so much for giving us that code, by the way.
A
Yeah, we want people to be able to kind of start to use this. And, and part of the reason the waitlist is so big is just because, you know, we've been growing so fast and we're trying to sort of make sure we don't break the system. You know, it's like we have to sort of build it and we're going to be able to let more people in soon. But it's, it's, it's, it's amazing to see the growth of this because we really have done very little advertising, marketing, promotion, but people want something like this. You know, it's like the ipod and no one ever knew it existed. But all of a sudden, a thousand songs in your pocket, boom. Everybody wants one Tomorrow.
B
Yeah.
A
Like, I need that because I'm like, I got CDs and cassettes. And I'm like, it's a mess. And my car's a mess with all this. Like, I don't know if you're not old enough to remember that. I mean, it was like, it was terrible. And then you have, like, a cassette thing and you're like, oh, my God, I want to listen to this song. But you have to scroll through, like, you know, fast forward. I mean, now it's like with ipod, it's like, we're so spoiled. And I think it was. This is like that. This is one of those ipod moments where people go, oh, my God, I didn't know that existed. Yeah, and I want it.
B
Before you came in, Dahvie, one of our producers, said that she's actually on the waitlist. And I was like, girl, use the code. So you gotta write that down.
A
Get the code.
B
Yeah. All my friends, everyone I know is like, dying to get on this thing. And I'm like, guys, use my code. Pao, what excites you the most about looking forward with function, health?
A
What excites me the most is we are facing a horrific chronic disease epidemic in this country that's crippling us. It's. It's 75% overweight. 93% are metabolic and healthy. 6 out of 10 have a chronic disease. 51% of kids, we're 48th in life expectancy. We're 30th among all developed nations in major health metrics like infant mortality. We're spending more and more, getting less and less. We went from 1.3 trillion to 4.9 trillion healthcare expenditures since 2000. We're adding to our national debt probably $2 trillion a year, because we're not doing the right thing with our health, that we actually can see a change. So what is exciting me about. What's exciting to me about this is actually being able to scale this and democratize this and make this available to everybody right now. When smartphones came out, they were exclusive. They were hard to get. Now I'm like, I was in some village in the Maasai village, where they don't even have electricity in Africa, and everybody's got their smartphones taking videos and what's happening, you know, all of a sudden, this is going to scale to everybody, hopefully, and be able to empower people to become the CEO of their own health. And I think that's what's going to shift healthcare. It's what's going to help US address our chronic disease epidemic. It's not going to get solved in the doctor's office. It's not solved in the hospital. Those are for acute care medicine, which is great. I'm a big fan of it, benefited from it many times. But it doesn't deal with chronic disease. We're not trained to deal with it. We basically built a healthcare system that's built on a 20th century set of problems, which was infectious disease. And it's great for that, it's great for trauma, but for everything else we're suffering from, our current model does not set up to do that. And these drugs, whether it's Ozempic or Statin or Prozac, they don't solve the problem. They're just a bandaid. And so with function, I think what's exciting to me is that we're actually giving people the knowledge and the tools to really change their health, to change their biology, to use the science to actually get healthy and see these trajectories that they're on from wellness to illness and do something about it before they're in big trouble or even if are in big trouble. Like we have patients who are way down the road and they follow the guidelines and they reverse their diabetes, they reverse their blood pressure issues, they reverse their hormonal dysfunction, they get their depression solved because they find that, God, they have this nutritional deficiency that's causing depression, or they have high heavy metals and they address that. So we're looking at all these things that are so essential to know about yourself that just aren't being looked at. And so that's what's exciting to me, is we're entering an era of sort of empowered care, of data driven healthcare, of using the power of healthcare that's driven by data science to empower people with the knowledge that they can do whatever they want to do. Just like your iPhone in your pocket, this is going to be an integral part of your daily life.
B
I think this is a life changing company and I really applaud you for doing this. Thank you so much for coming on for part two.
A
My pleasure.
B
And if you guys do you didn't listen to part one, I highly recommend it because it was a great episode. And we'll put the code and the link in the description box. Thank you so much.
A
My pleasure. Now I'm in Austin. We can do this on a regular.
B
Yeah. Every week.
A
Okay.
B
Thanks for joining us on the Pursuit of Wellness podcast to support this show. Please rate and review and share with your loved ones if you want to be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast or video play player. You can sign up for my newsletter to receive my favorites@marin.com it will be linked in the Show Notes. This is a Wellness Loud production produced by Drake Peterson, Fiona Attics and Kelly Kyle. This show is edited by Mike Fry and our video is recorded by Luis Vargas. You can also watch the full video of each episode on our YouTube channel at Mari Fitness. Love you POW girls and POW boys. See you next time. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and does not constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor or health team.
Pursuit of Wellness Podcast Summary
Episode: How Lab Testing Will Change Your Health: What Dr. Hyman Found in My Results
Release Date: November 18, 2024
Host: Mari Llewellyn
Guest: Dr. Mark Hyman
In this enlightening episode of Pursuit of Wellness, Mari Llewellyn welcomes back the esteemed Dr. Mark Hyman to delve into the transformative power of lab testing within the realm of functional medicine. The discussion centers on how comprehensive lab tests can unveil hidden health issues, enabling proactive health management and disease prevention.
Mari Llewellyn ([00:14]):
"Today we are diving deep into lab testing and what your health results really mean. We are exploring functional medicine and how lab tests can reveal hidden health issues like metabolic dysfunction and environmental toxin exposure and how to be proactive about your health."
Dr. Mark Hyman ([02:23]):
"In traditional medicine, the way I was taught was you only want to do a lab test when you want to confirm a diagnosis, otherwise you shouldn't do lab testing. And that's a big mistake because that only allows you to diagnose disease once it's already happened."
Dr. Hyman emphasizes the shortcomings of conventional medical practices, which often rely on lab tests solely for diagnosing existing conditions. This reactive approach delays the identification of potential health issues until they manifest as overt diseases.
Dr. Hyman ([02:23]):
"This only allows you to diagnose disease once it's already happened, to not check where people are on the trajectory from wellness to illness. And that trajectory can go on for decades."
He further critiques the standard reference ranges used in traditional labs, highlighting that they are based on population averages rather than optimal health benchmarks. This often results in missing early indicators of metabolic and hormonal imbalances.
Dr. Hyman introduces Function Health, a company he co-founded, which aims to provide individuals with direct access to their comprehensive lab data without the bureaucratic hurdles of traditional healthcare systems. Function Health offers over 110 biomarkers in their initial panel, with options to select additional tests tailored to individual needs.
Dr. Hyman ([02:23]):
"Function Health allows you immediate access without having to go through health insurance, without having to go through your doctor to over 110 biomarkers on the first panel."
The platform not only provides lab results but also offers detailed explanations, actionable insights, and tailored action plans to help users understand and improve their health.
Dr. Hyman shares alarming statistics derived from their extensive lab data, revealing widespread metabolic dysfunction among the population.
Metabolic Health:
96% of individuals tested show signs of prediabetes or insulin resistance, a condition he terms "diabesity."
Dr. Hyman ([05:36]):
"96% of people have this problem that we're finding on the lab testing we're doing over."
Cardiovascular Risk:
Over 50% exhibit high levels of APOB, the most critical biomarker for predicting cardiovascular risk, which is seldom tested in standard medical settings.
Autoimmunity and Inflammation:
30+% have autoimmunity issues, and 46% show signs of inflammation, both of which are frequently overlooked in traditional diagnostics.
Nutritional Deficiencies:
67% of Americans tested are deficient in essential nutrients like Vitamin D, iron, and B vitamins, even if they fall within the standard reference ranges.
Dr. Hyman ([22:32]):
"Most people should have BMIs like we do. It shouldn't be abnormal to have a body composition for a woman of 20 or a man of 10."
A significant highlight of the episode is the introduction of Grail's multi-cancer liquid biopsy screening test offered by Function Health. This cutting-edge test can detect small fragments of cell-free DNA in the blood, identifying cancers up to three years before conventional diagnostic methods.
Dr. Hyman ([08:12]):
"We now see 1 in 188 of our members who use the gallery screening test show up a positive cancer."
The test boasts a false positive rate of less than 0.5%, a stark contrast to traditional methods like mammograms, which have a 20% false positive rate. This precision minimizes unnecessary follow-ups and anxiety for users.
Dr. Hyman ([09:46]):
"It's a very good and specific test. Now it doesn't pick it up all the time. 75% of the time it'll pick up the cancer, which is pretty darn good."
The conversation shifts to hormonal health, particularly Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a prevalent but often mismanaged condition. Dr. Hyman explains how PCOS is largely driven by dietary factors and insulin resistance rather than being purely an ovarian issue.
Dr. Hyman ([40:22]):
"PCOS is increasingly common. It leads to women having irregular periods, heavy periods, hair growth on their face, acne, maybe hair loss on their head. It's a very discouraging condition. It causes infertility."
Through detailed lab testing, Function Health can identify hormonal imbalances and metabolic dysfunctions that contribute to PCOS, enabling tailored interventions focused on diet, lifestyle, and nutritional supplementation rather than solely relying on medication.
Mari Llewellyn ([46:11]):
"I'm very thankful for my Lumi Whole body deodorant. Lumi is unlike any other. It was created by an OBGYN who discovered BO isn't just an underarm thing."
(Note: This section includes promotional content and should be disregarded based on instructions.)
A recurring theme is the empowerment of individuals to take control of their health through accessible and comprehensive lab data. Dr. Hyman criticizes the traditional healthcare system's inability to keep pace with scientific advancements, leading to gaps in patient care.
Dr. Hyman ([35:22]):
"We don't have a course on nutrition. There's no real training about insulin resistance. There's no training about toxins, there's no training about the microbiome. These are the things that are the biggest drivers of our chronic disease epidemic today."
Function Health aims to bridge this gap by providing not only data but also the necessary education and resources for users to make informed health decisions.
Dr. Hyman ([45:31]):
"Traditional medicine is what. What disease do you have? PCOS. Okay, what drug do I give? Right. But what we do is the medicine of why, what root cause."
Addressing a common concern, Dr. Hyman reassures listeners who may be hesitant to undergo extensive lab testing due to fear of discovering alarming health issues. He likens Function Health to a "copilot for your health," providing actionable steps to address any identified problems proactively.
Dr. Hyman ([51:17]):
"If I know if my plane was going to crash, if your health is going to crash and I could actually do something about it. And I was giving the instructions to fly the plane to land it so I wouldn't die."
By having access to their health data, individuals can take preventive measures, adjust their lifestyles, and seek appropriate interventions before serious health issues develop.
The episode concludes with Dr. Hyman expressing optimism about the future of healthcare through the widespread adoption of data-driven, personalized health management. He envisions a shift from reactive to proactive health care, where individuals are equipped with the tools and knowledge to maintain optimal health and prevent chronic diseases.
Dr. Hyman ([54:09]):
"We are entering an era of empowered care, of data-driven healthcare, of using the power of healthcare that's driven by data science to empower people with the knowledge that they can do whatever they want to do. Just like your iPhone in your pocket, this is going to be an integral part of your daily life."
Mari Llewellyn reinforces the importance of taking actionable steps now to join the movement toward personalized health management, encouraging listeners to utilize Function Health's offerings to secure a healthier future.
Notable Quotes:
Dr. Mark Hyman ([02:23]):
"Function Health allows you immediate access without having to go through health insurance, without having to go through your doctor to over 110 biomarkers on the first panel."
Dr. Mark Hyman ([09:46]):
"It's a very good and specific test. Now it doesn't pick it up all the time. 75% of the time it'll pick up the cancer, which is pretty darn good."
Dr. Mark Hyman ([40:22]):
"PCOS is increasingly common. It leads to women having irregular periods... It's a very discouraging condition. It causes infertility."
Dr. Mark Hyman ([51:17]):
"If your health is going to crash and I could actually do something about it... it's sort of like a copilot for your health that catches you before you get into trouble."
This episode serves as a compelling argument for the integration of comprehensive lab testing into everyday health management. By highlighting the discrepancies in traditional healthcare practices and showcasing the benefits of functional medicine, Mari Llewellyn and Dr. Mark Hyman inspire listeners to take charge of their health proactively.