The #1 diet change to make today to fight chronic disease | Dr Mark Hyman

**Tim Spector** (0:00)
Welcome to ZOE Science and Nutrition, where world leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health.
At the turn of the 20th century, surviving to your fifth birthday was an achievement. And if you did make it into adulthood, your eventual cause of death was most likely to be an infectious disease. Today, thanks to the incredible power of vaccines and other public health interventions, these diseases are no longer the leading cause of death. However, a new category of illness has stepped in to fill that void. Chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and obesity are now the biggest killers. Three out of four Americans have a chronic condition, and more than half of Americans have two or more chronic conditions. And the UK is not far behind. And worryingly, these numbers are still rising. In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Mark Hyman, MD, a practicing family physician who's been a New York Times bestselling author 15 times over. He believes that real food is the answer to health and that big food conspires to keep us sick. Also joining me is Tim Spector, one of the world's top 100 most cited scientists, medical doctor, professor of epidemiology at King's College London, and my scientific co-founder at ZOE. Together, we explore the concerning rise of chronic diseases in the West and the dark industries that have brought us to this point. By the end of the episode, you'll understand how the modern world is driving these conditions and what simple changes you can make to protect yourself today. Mark, thank you for joining me today.

**Mark Hyman** (1:45)
My pleasure.

**Tim Spector** (1:46)
And Tim, thanks for being here too.

**Tim Spector** (1:47)
It's great.

**Tim Spector** (1:49)
So, we have a tradition here at ZOE, Mark, where we always start with a quick fire round of questions from our listeners, where there's very strict rules. You can say yes or no if we have to, a whole sentence. Mark, are chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes increasing in the West? Yes. Tim, can lifestyle interventions reduce your risk of these diseases?

**Tim Spector** (2:11)
Absolutely.

**Tim Spector** (2:12)
Mark, are poor food choices to blame for the rise in chronic diseases?

**Mark Hyman** (2:17)
A thousand percent.

**Tim Spector** (2:19)
Tim, are chronic diseases mostly due to our genes?

**Tim Spector** (2:22)
No. That's controversial, but I'll say no.

**Mark Hyman** (2:25)
Not at all controversial. He's being British.

**Tim Spector** (2:30)
So finally, Mark, what's the most common misconception surrounding chronic diseases?

**Mark Hyman** (2:35)
That it's chronic, that it has to go on forever. Heart disease, diabetes, dementia, metabolic dysfunction, autoimmune diseases, things people think they get and they have to have forever. Mental health issues, bipolar disease, schizophrenia, depression. These don't have to be chronic. If you understand the root cause and address it, they can be reversed.

**Tim Spector** (2:55)
That's amazing. So you're saying all these things that are described as chronic meaning you have them forever.

**Mark Hyman** (2:59)
That's right.

**Tim Spector** (2:59)
Actually, you can in many cases make changes that mean you stop having them.

**Mark Hyman** (3:05)
I've seen it over and over and over again in my practice. I'm a practicing physician. It's not like a theory.

**Tim Spector** (3:09)
So I absolutely want to get into that. What I'd like to do is just maybe just start with the basics. We just mentioned this word, chronic conditions and chronic diseases. What I'm a bit fuzzy about, what exactly that means?

**Mark Hyman** (3:23)
The main chronic diseases that people suffer from are cardiovascular disease, heart disease, diabetes, type 2 diabetes. Dementia is increasing. Cancer can be chronic, although it often kills people. Autoimmune diseases, mental health issues like depression. People have often chronic digestive issues, whether it's irritable bowel or reflux, I think is chronic and permanent. There's a whole long list of things that people suffer from that are basically affecting six out of 10 Americans in causing massive amounts of disability, dysfunction, loss of life, and quality of life, more importantly. Traditional medicine is maybe okay at managing some of the symptoms, but doesn't have a model for getting to the root cause and understanding the drivers of them and how to reverse those conditions.

**Tim Spector** (4:09)
So when we use this word chronic, that means once you've got it, you've got it forever.

**Mark Hyman** (4:13)
Yeah. I mean, I learned in medical school, if you have type 2 diabetes, it's a one-way street. If you have hypertension, it's a one-way street. If you have cardiovascular disease and plaque angiitis, it's a one-way street. If you have an autoimmune disease, it's a one-way street. At this conference where we are, I had a woman come up to me who was a patient of mine 20 years ago, who had rheumatoid arthritis that was very severe. She's perfect now. She just wanted to give me a hug, say thank you.