<p>In this episode, Mark Hyman, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and the author of Food Fix, discusses that if we can fix the food system, we can solve many big problems—namely the chronic disease/obesity epidemic, the rising costs of healthcare, as well as the big problems facing the environment. Mark first briefly lays out the health consequences of processed food with a focus on the gut microbiome. From there, Mark discusses the environmental consequences of industrial farming and lays out how we can affect change on the individual level, through policy and regulations, and perhaps most importantly through regenerative agriculture. Additionally, Mark talks about the potential health risks of consuming GMO foods, herbicides, and other chemicals used in industrial farming as well as the environmental consequences, such as the loss of soil, caused by those same fertilizers and methods of farming.</p> <p><span style="color: #333333;">We discuss:<br /></span></p> <ul> <li><span style="color: #333333;">The negative consequences of the existing food environment [3:25];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">What makes processed food so unhealthy? [9:00];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">The gut microbiome: Inflammation from gut permeability and how to measure gut health [18:30];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">Steps to fixing a bad gut—The Five R's [24:30];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">Some staggering health statistics, and which races might be more genetically susceptible [27:15];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">An argument for government regulations and policies to fight back against a massive food industry with unlimited resources (and what we can learn from the tobacco story) [29:00];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">Industrial farming and climate change: The degradation of soil and use of fertilizer [41:45];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">Regenerative agriculture: Could it be the answer to food waste, our health problems, and the environment? [51:45];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">Comparing the Impossible Burger to regeneratively raised beef [1:06:00];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">GMO and Roundup—The potential health risks of consuming GMO foods sprayed with Roundup (glyphosate) and other herbicides and pesticides [1:08:15];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">How the livelihood of farmers are being affected by big ag companies and the current industrial farming system [1:16:30];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">The loss of biodiversity in our food, and what "organic" really means [1:19:00];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">What can people do on the individual level to protect themselves as well as affect change to the toxic food system? [1:25:00];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">What role does the USDA play in this "toxic" food environment and how do we fix it? [1:30:15];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">The top 3 changes Mark would make if he was "food czar" [1:35:15];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">Mark's rebuttal against the argument that it's best for the environment if we stop farming animals and move to a fully plant-based diet (and his argument for "agriculture 2.0") [1:36:30];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">What is Mark's overall mission with the work that he's doing? [1:40:30];<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">Bread in the US vs. Europe: Why does bread (and wheat products) taste different and potentially cause less health problems in Europe versus the US? [1:42:00]; and<br /></span></li> <li><span style="color: #333333;">More.<br /></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="color: #333333;">Learn more: <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/">https://peterattiamd.com/</a><br /> <br /> Show notes page for this episode: <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/markhyman">https://peterattiamd.com/markhyman</a><br /> <br /> Subscribe to receive exclusive subscriber-only content: <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/">https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/</a><br /> <br /> Sign up to receive Peter's email newsletter: <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/">https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/</a><br /> <br /> Connect with Peter on <a href="http://Facebook.com/PeterAttiaMD"><u>Faceboo</u></a><u>k</u> | <a href="http://Twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD"><u>Twitter</u></a> | <a href="http://Instagram.com/PeterAttiaMD"><u>Instagram</u></a>.</span></p>
Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Whole Foods
To maintain optimal metabolism and overall health, prioritize a whole foods, unprocessed diet over junk food and ultra-processed alternatives. These choices lead to better metabolic outcomes regardless of weight.
2. Beyond Calories In/Out
Shift your understanding of diet beyond simple “calories in, calories out”; recognize that different foods have profoundly different biological effects on your body, even if they contain the same number of calories.
3. Avoid Inflammatory Diet
To support healthy brain function and improve decision-making, avoid an inflammatory diet, as it can dysregulate the brain by uncoupling the prefrontal cortex from the amygdala.
4. Remove Gut Triggers
Begin addressing gut dysfunction by removing problematic elements such as triggering foods (e.g., gluten, dairy, certain grains for some individuals) and addressing bad bugs like parasites, bacterial overgrowth, or yeast overgrowth.
5. Replace Missing Gut Support
After removing gut triggers, actively replace missing elements crucial for gut health, such as fiber, prebiotics, and enzymes, which can be sourced from both food and appropriate supplements.
6. Re-inoculate Gut Microbiome
Support your gut health by re-inoculating with beneficial bacteria through consuming fermented foods or by taking targeted probiotic supplements when necessary.
7. Provide Gut Healing Nutrients
Nourish your gut with specific nutrients needed for healing, including glutamine, vitamin A, fish oil, butyrate, and polyphenols found in foods like pomegranate, cranberries, and green tea, which powerfully support the microbiome.
8. Restore Nervous System for Gut
Address gut health holistically by restoring your nervous system and managing stress, as high stress levels can directly contribute to gut issues like leaky gut.
9. Support Regenerative Agriculture
Influence the food industry and promote environmental health by actively seeking out and supporting companies and products that utilize regenerative agriculture practices. Consumer demand is driving this shift in supply chains.
10. Mindful Food Sourcing
Be highly intentional about what you eat and where it comes from by prioritizing local farmers’ markets, joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), or finding regenerative food sources online, possibly by buying in bulk with friends.
11. Use Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen
Consult the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen” guide to make informed purchasing decisions, prioritizing organic options for heavily contaminated produce while potentially choosing conventional for less contaminated items.
12. Seek Regenerative Organic Certification
Look for products with regenerative organic certification, a standard that goes beyond basic organic to ensure farming practices actively regenerate soil and ecosystems. This represents a higher level of sustainable and healthy food production.
13. Engage in Personal Food Production
Take direct action to improve your food quality and environmental impact by starting a compost pile, cultivating a backyard garden, or participating in community gardens.
14. Reduce Personal Food Waste
Make a conscious effort to reduce food waste in your household, as minimizing the 30-40% of food typically wasted globally significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and conserves resources.
15. Advocate for Food Policy
Recognize and leverage your power as an individual by using your vote and voice to advocate for systemic changes in food policy, influencing government and industry towards healthier and more sustainable practices.
16. Engage Food Policy Action
Become politically active by communicating with your congressmen and senators, and utilize resources like foodpolicyaction.org to track their voting records on food and agricultural policy issues.
17. Advocate for Composting Laws
Get involved in local politics to advocate for municipal composting laws, potentially making it mandatory to divert organic waste from landfills and reduce methane emissions.
18. Eat Diverse “Weird” Foods
Diversify your diet by consuming a wider variety of plant species, including less common or heirloom varieties, to ensure your body receives a broad spectrum of essential phytochemicals, nutrients, and minerals.
19. Choose Organic Wheat
To avoid exposure to glyphosate, which is often sprayed on non-organic wheat at harvest for defoliation, opt for organic wheat products.
20. Avoid Modern Wheat for Gut
Consider avoiding modern hybridized wheat to reduce gut inflammation and the risk of leaky gut, as it contains extra inflammatory gliding proteins compared to older wheat varieties.
21. Be Mindful of Dwarf Wheat
Exercise caution with modern dwarf wheat, as its amylopectin A “super starch” can elevate blood sugar more significantly than regular sugar, impacting metabolic health.
22. Seek Slow-Fermented Bread
When consuming bread, look for slow-fermented options (e.g., sourdough) that undergo a 12-14 hour leavening process, as this method can alter gluten structure and improve digestibility compared to quick-rise breads.
23. Avoid Calcium Propionate
Be aware of calcium propionate, a preservative commonly added to US bread products, and consider avoiding it due to its links to toxic neurological effects, behavioral hyperactivity, and autism.
24. Test Glyphosate Levels
If you are concerned about your exposure to glyphosate, you can send a urine sample to labs like Great Plains Lab to check your personal glyphosate levels.
25. Deepen Health Knowledge
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