In a 3-hour and 20-minute YouTube video, Dr. Hyman creates confusion regarding the causes of chronic disease and early death. Sadly, this is typical of functional medicine.
Does he state valuable information? Yes
Does this long video provide actionable solutions for listeners? NO
Does he tie all the pieces of the health puzzle together in a thesis? NO
He admits this in the video by saying, "Researchers are making progress, but we have a lot more to learn." He also states that "new biomarkers are being investigated."
WE DO NOT NEED NEW BIOMARKERS. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND DISEASE MECHANISMS AND THEN TEST FOR READILY AVAILABLE AND LOW-COST BIOMARKERS THAT ARE LARGELY IGNORED IN FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE.
Here is a quote from a health insurance broker from Ohio explaining the functional medicine conundrum.
"Like you, I have become dissatisfied with those in the Functional Medicine space. They recommend a lot of expensive tests, some of which have very little studies to support them. Also, they sell their expensive supplements as well as treatments, which have pretty high mark ups. And sadly, people have to pay out of their own pocket for all this."
Here is a short clip from Hymans long "longevity" presentation.
This video may provide some context about his shortcomings.
Here are a couple of key points to be taken from this clip.
He still believes cholesterol is THE problem in many cases but also states its importance. You cannot have it both ways, thus this blog I created.
2. He blames sugar for cancer while not understanding that HIDDEN INFECTIONS, a main cause of cancer are what thrive on SUGAR and are at the root cause of cancer.
3. He states that CRP is a great measure - agreed. But inflammation is a result, not the cause. He then goes on to name many more expensive tests for inflammation. Really, CRP is all you need to understand inflammation status in most cases, but then you need to look to other biomarkers which he states are in development. I can guarantee you that spirochetal antibodies and those for organisms like chlamydia pneumoniae on not on the list. Chronic infections are "not a thing" in functional medicine, for the most part.
If you are not sure, watch any of these videos I created.
While throwing out "sound bites" of supposed facts may be useful, Hyman's talk speaks to a lack of development of a solid foundation. Dr. Carter and I have overcome this problem (not that we know everything - but we know how to set priorities), as shown in the following diagram.
Rather than discussing treatments - like hormone therapy, or a ketogenic diet, Hyman should be talking mechanisms of disease. Here are our top-5, that arguably cover most of what drives chronic diseases.
Notice, that we do NOT specifically state "sugar" in the list. Instead, we focus on poor micronutrient status. Those with poor nutrient status will always have excess sugars in their system. It's a bit of a "chicken or the egg" conundrum, but I believe this short video explains that micronutrient status is more all-encompassing.
If functional medicine is ever to expand beyond working with a scant 1% of the U.S. population, the leaders need to create a functional "evidence-based" platform. They currently do not have one. They lack standards, which then leads to complaints about the high cost, poly-supplements, and chasing down irrelevant "rabbit holes."
In essence - we need the "standard of health" to compete with the "standard of care."
What do you want, health or care?
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Thank you, Dr. Lewis, and your team, for this insightful and informative article. You've not only broke down and dissected the nitty-gritty of the said video but also you've saved me a lot of mind-bending, roller coaster of a time. Truly, in this day and age, time is most certainly GOLD. With that said, I'm also grateful to Dr. Mercola that I've found out about you and your website. The two of you, and other trustworthy, holistic healers, are my go-to for this kind of information. More power and keep up the good work.
Amen, well said!
Controlled opposition? Who is paying Hyman to confuse/lie?
I have seen so many Functional Docs, ND’s… they all eventually go “Hollywood”- thousands of $$$ later, I am still chronically ill!