Mark Hyman
Physician · The Dr. Hyman Show · author of Young Forever
Functional medicine physician, sixteen-time New York Times bestselling author and host of The Dr. Hyman Show, formerly The Doctor's Farmacy. He founded The UltraWellness Center, co-founded the lab-testing company Function Health and chairs the Food Fix Campaign on food policy. In his sixties he has laid out his own longevity routine in detail: a plant-rich diet he calls pegan, band-based strength work, hot and cold exposure and a long supplement list, and he is candid about which parts are experiments.
- Entries
- 25
- Does
- 23
- Recommends
- 2
- Discusses
- 0
Supplements
9 supplements in this stack
- SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Protein powder
Goat whey is his pick, blended into the healthy aging shake he uses around strength training. He argues that plant protein alone rarely delivers enough leucine to build muscle unless amino acids are added.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: The Benefits Of Strength Training And How to Get StartedView item: Protein powderOn record from 18 of 62 tracked people: 13 do it, 3 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Creatine monohydrate
One of six supplements he says he takes every day, singled out for muscle as people age and, in his reading of the studies, for insulin sensitivity. He pairs it with resistance training.
Source: The Dr. Hyman Show: How To Choose The Best Supplements (episode transcript)View item: Creatine monohydrateOn record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 10 do it, 2 recommend it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Electrolyte supplementation
Starts every morning with at least four cups of water with electrolytes added, listed as the hydration step in his own fasting guide.
Source: drhyman.com Longevity Journal: practical guide to fastingView item: Electrolyte supplementationOn record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 12 do it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)
A small dose at night, taken as part of a wind-down that also includes eye shades and earplugs. He lists it with his everyday supplements rather than his experimental longevity stack.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineView item: Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)On record from 11 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 1 recommends it, 2 have discussed it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA)
Daily fish oil, which he links to brain, mood and skin, and he credits it for his hard nails. He says he takes omega-3s himself and would rather see levels checked on a blood test than guessed at.
Source: The Dr. Hyman Show: How To Choose The Best Supplements (episode transcript)View item: Omega-3 (EPA/DHA)On record from 9 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 1 recommends it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Multivitamin
One of the six supplements he says he takes every day. He describes a multivitamin and mineral as a safety net for a baseline of nutrients rather than anything more ambitious, with older adults, vegans and people on restricted diets named as the groups most likely to fall short.
Source: The Dr. Hyman Show: How To Choose The Best Supplements (episode transcript)View item: MultivitaminOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 recommends it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Vitamin D3
On the short list he says he takes every day. He tells listeners to pick the D3 form and take it with fat, describes vitamin D as acting more like a hormone than a vitamin, and thinks most people test low.
Source: The Dr. Hyman Show: How To Choose The Best Supplements (episode transcript)View item: Vitamin D3On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 recommends it - SupplementDoes it$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
NMN and NAD precursors
Sits in what he calls his longevity stack, taken daily. He says the stack is a lot and does not expect everybody to copy it, and human evidence for NMN remains thin.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineView item: NMN and NAD precursorsOn record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 has discussed it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Sulforaphane (broccoli sprouts)
Takes a broccoli-extract product for its sulforaphane content as part of the longevity stack he lists, the experimental tier he says he does not expect everybody to follow.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineView item: Sulforaphane (broccoli sprouts)On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it
Gear
5 pieces of gear in this stack
- GearDoes it$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Red light therapy device
Owns a red light machine at home and uses it with the aim of supporting his mitochondria. He files it under hormesis, the small stresses he thinks make the body stronger.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineView item: Red light therapy deviceOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 have discussed it - GearDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Resistance bands
Most of his strength work runs on bands from the TB12 system, chosen because they travel anywhere with a floor and a doorknob and, in his experience, cause fewer injuries than heavy weights. He says he has no relationship with the company.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: The Benefits Of Strength Training And How to Get StartedView item: Resistance bandsOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - GearDoes it$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Oura Ring
Tracks sleep with an Oura ring and an Apple Watch. The data is mostly for diagnosis: a late meal shows up as a bad night, and a glass of wine as a heart rate that never dropped.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineVisit ouraring.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 5 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 3 have discussed it - GearDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Blue-light blocking glasses
Wears blue-blocker glasses in the evening to cut blue light before bed, one of the smaller habits in his nightly routine.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineView item: Blue-light blocking glassesOn record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 has discussed it - GearDoes it$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Percussion massage gun
Bought a Theragun after pricing it against a couple of monthly massages, and uses it on himself between the professional massages he still tries to get once a month.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineView item: Percussion massage gunOn record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it
Books
1 book in this stack
- BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Young Forever
His 2023 book and the source of the routine above: the hallmarks of aging, testing, self-assessment quizzes and a step-by-step program. He calls it the culmination of his life's work.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineView item: Young ForeverOn record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it
Protocols
9 entriesStructured routines and practices with a defined method.
Came to lifting around 60 after years of assuming tennis, biking and yoga counted. Now he runs a home program he can finish in half an hour, and says he feels fitter and stronger at 63 than he did at 40.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: The Benefits Of Strength Training And How to Get StartedCold baths for years, timed at three or four minutes with a stopwatch. At home it is a big bathtub filled with cold tap water, 48 degrees in winter by his measurement; he describes himself as close to addicted to the combination of hot and cold.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: The Science Behind Cold And Heat TherapyHe keeps at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. Every night. Three or four times a week he stretches that to 14 or more, to give his body what he calls a chance to do autophagy.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineAims for seven to eight hours, asleep by ten and up by six or seven, in a bedroom made as dark and quiet as he can get it.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineSteam rather than a dry sauna. He put a steam shower in his bathroom 23 years ago, calls it the gift that keeps on giving, and alternates it with the cold bath until he cannot stand either.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: The Science Behind Cold And Heat TherapyHot yoga whenever he can find a studio, vinyasa a couple of times a week, and a little stretching most days to stay flexible.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineFour to six days a week of aerobic work, about half an hour of intervals, on a road or mountain bike and indoors in winter. Tennis, hiking and swimming fill in the rest.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineThe label is his own for a plant-rich, food-as-medicine way of eating, high in phytochemicals and with what he calls the right amount of protein for his age, since he argues older people need more to hold muscle. Nutrition sits at the base of his longevity plan.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity RoutineWants people testing far beyond a standard checkup: vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3 levels, ferritin, inflammatory markers and a full lipid panel. He co-founded Function Health, which sells that panel, an interest he states himself.
Source: The Dr. Hyman Show: How To Choose The Best Supplements (episode transcript)
Habits
1 entryRecurring behaviors recorded in public statements.
Meditates once or twice a day and adds breathwork, from simple deep breathing to longer practices. Time in wilderness and a weekly gathering with old friends are the rest of his stress plan.
Source: The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity Routine
In their own words
Checked word for word against the linked source
“Sleep, I always try to get seven, eight hours sleep. I usually get to sleep by 10, up by six or seven. And I make sure I take magnesium at night. I wear eye shades, I have ear plugs.”
The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity Routine (opens in a new tab) · 10 Mar 2023 “All right, now what do I take in terms of supplements? Well, I always have the basics. Vitamin D, fish oil, a multivitamin.”
The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity Routine (opens in a new tab) · 10 Mar 2023 On Multivitamin
“So I try to not eat, give myself at least 14 hours between dinner and breakfast, which gives my body a chance to do autophagy, clean up at night at least three or four times a week”
The Doctor's Farmacy: My Personal Longevity Routine (opens in a new tab) · 10 Mar 2023 “And I don't really like going to the gym that much, sometimes I go, but I basically do a home strength training program. I use Tom Brady's system called TB 12 Sports. … And I find I can do my routine in half an hour. I'm in and out and I love it and I feel so good afterwards.”
The Doctor's Farmacy: The Benefits Of Strength Training And How to Get Started (opens in a new tab) · 14 Apr 2023 “I'm kind of addicted to cold and hot therapy actually. I think I might be addicted. It's so addictive. It just makes you feel so good.”
The Doctor's Farmacy: The Science Behind Cold And Heat Therapy And How To Do It For Maximum Benefit (opens in a new tab) · 5 Apr 2023
Episodes from the feed
Show archive, The Dr. Hyman Show (opens in a new tab)Last fetched . A title without a link is an episode the feed publishes no page of its own for.
- Encore - What Happens to Your Body When You Stop Drinking for 30 Day (opens in a new tab) · 21m
- What We Got Wrong About the Gut Microbiome (And What's Actually Right) (opens in a new tab) · 1h 5m
- ADHD Is a Whole-Body Problem: What to Look at Beyond the Brain (opens in a new tab) · 48m
- How to Actually Calm an ADHD Nervous System (And Change Your Life) (opens in a new tab) · 58m
- Inflammation isn't Something to Eliminate. It's Something to Regulate (opens in a new tab) · 17m
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