Article Date: 5 March 2019
According to Dr. Mark Hyman (aka the godfather of functional medicine)
Let’s be real—there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to food. Your genes, your environment, your daily stress load (and let’s not forget microplastics in your oat milk) all play a role. But instead of waiting for something to break, Dr. Mark Hyman suggests we play offence, not defence. Prevention over panic. Long game over quick fix. And while perfection isn’t the goal, a few smart principles can change the whole game.
Who’s Dr. Hyman? Only the ten-time #1 New York Times best-selling author, Director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine, founder of The UltraWellness Center, and medical contributor to just about every show with a couch. Oh, and he’s also the chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine. Basically, if functional health had a presidential cabinet, he’d be Secretary of Feeling Good.
Below? His 12 go-to rules for eating like your body actually matters.
1. Ditch the sugar
Sugar, flour, and refined carbs are the unholy trinity of insulin spikes. And insulin spikes = inflammation.
Bonus fact: That 2016 University of Texas study? It linked high sugar intake to an increase in 12-LOX signalling - a pathway that can fuel breast cancer. You’re not imagining it. Sugar can get dark.
2. Eat like a plant lover (not a cow)
Make 70–80% of your meals non-starchy veggies, nuts, and seeds. Zucchini, not Zappos. Broccoli, not bread. Potatoes? Cool it.
3. Keep fruit on a leash
Yes, fruit is healthy. But it’s also candy with a wellness PR team. Out of your 8–10 daily servings of fruit and veg, only 2–3 should be fruit. Step away from the grapes.
4. Nix the chemical cocktails
If it’s wearing a barcode and sounds like it belongs in a lab, skip it. Pesticides, GMOs, antibiotics, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, dyes, your liver is a detox factory, but it wasn’t built to handle a chemical apocalypse. Give it a break.
5. Make peace with fat
Fat is not the enemy. Just make it the good kind: omega-3s from wild fish, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, nuts, ghee, grass-fed butter, and MCTs. Your brain will thank you.
6. Break up with industrial oils
Most veggie oils are refined, bleached, deodorised… basically traumatised. Ditch the canola, soybean, corn, and safflower. These oils age you faster than your in-laws’ cooking.
7. Rethink dairy
Modern dairy is like modern dating: complicated and likely to cause inflammation. Go for grass-fed, organic, or try sheep or goat if you must. Or skip it altogether; your skin and sinuses might throw you a party.
8. Meat = side hustle
Meat should be the backup dancer, not the headliner. Think of it as “condi-meat.” Grass-fed only, and broth if you’re dealing with gut drama. No factory-farmed mystery meat allowed.
9. Smash the SMASH fish
Sustainably sourced, low-mercury, wild fish only. That means Salmon, Mackerel, Anchovies, Sardines, and Herring. Small but mighty.
10. Just say no to gluten
Modern wheat is weaponised. More starch, more gluten, more inflammation—and it’s weirdly addictive. Your gut deserves better.
11. Grains? Sometimes
If you’re bloated, inflamed, tired, or have autoimmune issues, keep gluten-free grains on the occasional guest list, not the weekly rotation.
12. Beans, but not by the bowl
Fiber? Yes. Gas bombs? Also yes. Beans are fine, as long as they’re the side dish, not the star.
Still confused about what to eat?
You’re not alone. Dr. Hyman breaks it down with science and sass over at drhyman.com—or just follow the basic rule: real food, not too much, mostly plants. Oh, and read the label. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it.
