Podcast Summary: The Dr. Hyman Show – "How to Choose the Right Supplements (and Avoid the Wrong Ones)"

Release Date: May 14, 2025

In this enlightening episode of The Dr. Hyman Show, Dr. Mark Hyman engages in a profound conversation with Steve Martosi, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of SEP Co., a groundbreaking platform designed to revolutionize the supplement industry. Together, they delve into the complexities of choosing the right supplements, the pervasive issues within the current market, and innovative solutions to empower consumers in their health journeys.

1. Introduction to Guests and Their Journeys

Steve Martosi's Health Transformation

Steve Martosi shares his personal health struggles and transformation journey. Once weighing nearly 300 pounds during his college years, Steve's health took a critical downturn despite engaging in rigorous sports activities. His turning point came in 2010 when, at 270 pounds, he sought help from a functional medicine doctor. Through comprehensive lab work and personalized supplement regimens, Steve managed to regain his health, losing approximately £70 in the process (00:06-00:32). This personal success ignited his mission to address the deficiencies and confusion prevalent in the supplement industry.

“I wanted to live, but I was deeply unhealthy. I found a functional medicine doctor. We started doing lab work. Right. And we started experimenting and, you know, started with some thyroid medicine, kind of dialed in some hormones, and built a supplement stack. And it worked.”
— Steve Martosi [08:34]

2. The Flaws in the Current Supplement Industry

Over-Saturation and Lack of Regulation

Dr. Hyman and Steve discuss the vast and chaotic landscape of the supplement market, highlighting the explosion from 4,000 products in the 1990s to over 200,000 today (25:29). The conversation underscores the absence of stringent regulatory oversight, leading to an environment rife with low-quality products and deceptive practices.

“Supplements are covered under federal code 21 CFR 111. Right. And that's basically that like, you know, for pharmaceuticals there's a whole process that they have to get pre approved following CGMP standards and all these different things.”
— Steve Martosi [27:36]

Quality Control Issues

The episode highlights critical quality control issues, such as the presence of harmful excipients like titanium dioxide and various dyes, which are banned in Europe due to their potential health hazards (33:13).

“You know, they have reductive ingredients and that's pretty much what we're talking about.”
— Dr. Mark Hyman [33:27]

3. Introducing SEP Co.: A Solution to Navigate Supplements

Features and Functionality

Steve Martosi introduces SEP Co., a platform dedicated to helping consumers make informed decisions about their supplements. SEP Co. offers:

• Comprehensive Cataloging: Over 200,000 supplement products are cataloged, allowing users to search or scan product barcodes for instant information (15:21-16:48).

• Trust Scores: Utilizing a 29-point system, SEP Co. assesses supplements based on manufacturing standards, third-party certifications, and ingredient quality. This provides users with a clear, easy-to-understand trust score for each product (25:46-29:52).

• Personalized Protocols: With 80 expert protocols addressing various health topics like brain fog, heart health, and women's hormones, users can receive tailored supplement recommendations (16:55-18:03).

• Smart Scheduler and Tracking: SEP Co. includes a scheduler to remind users when to take their supplements and track their adherence and results, fostering a feedback loop for continuous improvement (48:03-49:24).

“We've built a 29 point system that goes in and you know, checks what certifications, what kind of testing they're doing and kind of breaks it down and gives them a score.”
— Steve Martosi [29:16]

Community and Data-Driven Insights

SEP Co. incorporates social features, allowing users to share their supplement stacks and experiences, fostering a community-driven knowledge base. Additionally, the platform aims to aggregate individual (n=1) data to build robust, actionable insights into supplement efficacy and safety.

“We have a mix of AI driven data, clinical data, expert data like from yourself and then users sharing their n equals 1 stories too.”
— Steve Martosi [68:24]

4. The Prevalence of Nutrient Deficiencies in America

Alarming Deficiency Statistics

Drawing from extensive data, Dr. Hyman and Steve reveal that over 70% of Americans are deficient in one or more essential nutrients, despite 75% of the population taking dietary supplements (17:54-23:00). Common deficiencies include vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, zinc, and iron.

“We're seeing almost 70% of people are deficient in these nutrients in a cohort of 150,000 people, which is a massive amount of data that we've collected at Function Health.”
— Steve Martosi [20:32]

Impact of Modern Diets and Farming Practices

The discussion highlights how modern agricultural practices have depleted soil nutrients, resulting in food that lacks essential vitamins and minerals. This, coupled with increased consumption of processed foods, exacerbates nutrient deficiencies.

“You have to be thinking about your customer's lifetime value in years or decades. But so many because of that, you know, 30 to 50% of people not finishing the supplement, not reordering the way the margin structures are and how much they're costing to acquire customers, keeps the price really high for people who are on stuff for a long time.”
— Steve Martosi [56:10]

5. Personalized Supplement Plans and 'Stacks'

Concept of 'Stacks'

'Stacks' refer to personalized supplement regimens tailored to individual health goals and needs. SEP Co. allows users to create, share, and compare their stacks, facilitating a collaborative approach to health optimization.

“Stacks is like, to me, a stack is like the. When you're taking a bunch of things together that, you know, have a. For either an individual effect, like this is my, you know, muscle growth stack, or this is my daily stack.”
— Steve Martosi [62:22]

Protocols and Personalization

With protocols addressing specific health conditions, users can receive recommendations that align with their unique health profiles. SEP Co. plans to integrate more personalized supplement plans based on comprehensive biomarker testing and user feedback.

“Our protocols are very much designed for like the crossover between the nutrients and the health condition in the health conditions.”
— Dr. Mark Hyman [65:04]

6. Bridging the Gap Between Consumers and Healthcare Providers

Enhancing Doctor-Patient Communication

SEP Co. facilitates better communication between patients and healthcare providers by allowing users to share their supplement stacks in an organized and analyzable format. This ensures that doctors have a clear understanding of what their patients are taking, enabling more informed medical advice.

“Now it can be a link to us and you can actually analyze it and we'll see what doctors really want to, want to take the time to kind of take action on it.”
— Steve Martosi [54:59]

Educational Resources and Community Support

Beyond the app, SEP Co. emphasizes education through expert interviews, protocols, and community-driven support, empowering individuals to take control of their health with accurate information and collective wisdom.

“They can scan their supplements, they take them, and they're going to save it and be on track.”
— Steve Martosi [68:48]

7. Future Directions and Aspirations

Expanding Features and Data Integration

Both Dr. Hyman and Steve outline future plans to enhance SEP Co. by incorporating more personalized data, expanding the supplement database, and integrating with functional medicine diagnostic tools. The goal is to create a comprehensive health management system that evolves with user needs and industry advancements.

“We really need to up the game there, right? And people want our number one most requested feature is a personalized supplement plan. And so that's what we're working on, right?”
— Steve Martosi [46:26]

Advocating for Industry Standards

SEP Co. aims to elevate industry standards by promoting transparency, quality, and efficacy in supplements. Through their trust score system and independent testing, they seek to influence manufacturers to adhere to higher production standards and reduce the prevalence of low-quality products.

“We're not out here to, we just want to kind of arc the industry in the right direction.”
— Steve Martosi [36:55]

8. Conclusion: Empowering the Consumer

The episode culminates with a shared vision of empowering individuals to become the CEOs of their own health. By providing access to reliable data, personalized recommendations, and a supportive community, both Dr. Hyman and Steve Martosi advocate for a future where consumers can confidently navigate the supplement landscape to achieve optimal health.

“You're the CEO of your own health. So if you want to do that, you need the data, the information you need to know what you're doing.”
— Steve Martosi [76:13]

Key Takeaways

• Nutrient Deficiencies Are Widespread: A significant portion of the American population lacks essential nutrients, even among supplement users.

• Supplement Industry Protections Are Lacking: The current market is overwhelmed with products of varying quality, often containing harmful additives and lacking transparency.

• SEP Co. Offers a Comprehensive Solution: By cataloging supplements, providing trust scores, and enabling personalized health protocols, SEP Co. empowers consumers to make informed decisions.

• Personalization and Data Are Crucial: Personalized supplement plans and community-shared experiences (stacks) are essential for optimizing individual health outcomes.

• Bridging the Gap Between Patients and Providers: Enhanced communication tools within SEP Co. facilitate better healthcare guidance and more effective treatment plans.

• Future of Supplementation: Continued innovation and stricter industry standards are necessary to ensure that supplements can effectively contribute to public health without posing risks.

Whether you're a healthcare professional seeking to guide your patients more effectively or a consumer striving to optimize your own health, this episode offers valuable insights into navigating the complex world of dietary supplements. SEP Co. emerges as a pivotal platform in addressing the deficiencies and challenges that currently plague the supplement industry, promising a more transparent and health-focused future.