Episode 89
MAHA Myths: Why Nutrition Alone Won’t Save You
Make America Healthy Again? Hyman’s Half-Truths Exposed
Mark Hyman loves a soundbite. One of his favorites is:
“If doctors were trained in nutrition, we could prevent 90% of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.”
It sounds inspiring. Unfortunately, it isn’t true.
Nutrition Is Powerful — But It’s Not Magic
I’m certified in culinary medicine, and I live the Mediterranean diet. Good nutrition matters. It lowers risk. It supports treatment. However, it cannot replace medicine for people with established disease.
The DASH trial (Sacks et al., NEJM 2001) proved that eating more fruits and vegetables while cutting sodium lowers blood pressure by the same amount as one blood pressure pill. That’s great news for prevention. But for those with heart disease, diabetes, or kidney problems, nutrition alone can’t cure the condition.
Before the year 1800, even if you survived childhood, your life expectancy was still in your 30s or 40s (Roser et al., Our World in Data). People then ate “organically,” free from dyes and microplastics. They also died young. Modern life expectancy came from clean water, vaccines, and medicine, not kale.
Samoa and Tahiti: Diet Didn’t Save Them
Samoa in 2019 had a diet Instagram influencers dream about — fresh fish, fruit, and root vegetables. Then measles hit.
Two infants had died in 2017 because nurses mixed the MMR vaccine incorrectly. The government suspended vaccinations for nearly a year, and coverage dropped to about 31%. Into that trust gap stepped anti-vaccine activists, including RFK Jr., spreading misinformation.
By late 2019, Samoa had over 5,700 cases and 83 deaths — most in children under five — in a population of just 200,000. Schools closed. Public gatherings stopped. Unvaccinated homes had to hang red flags so mobile teams could find them. Only when vaccination resumed did the outbreak end (WHO, 2019).
Tahiti’s story was similar. Beautiful diet. Fresh food. Yet measles still spread. The only thing that stopped it was vaccination, not nutrition.
What Hyman Really Sells
Mark Hyman is trained in family medicine. He co-directed Canyon Ranch’s health program, then founded the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine — a role he no longer holds.
His version of “functional medicine” isn’t recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. Chiropractors, dentists, and nurses can buy a certification and call themselves “doctor.” In California, only MDs and DOs can legally use the title “physician,” but in many states, the public gets fooled.
Hyman now uses his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign to give his brand of pseudoscience legitimacy. My Crestor costs $2.36 for three months, and my doctor gets nothing for prescribing it. His supplements? Around $100 for the same time, straight into his pocket.
Real Data Beats Hype
The Lyon Diet Heart Study (de Lorgeril et al., Circulation 1999) found that a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of another heart attack by 72% in people who already had heart disease. But those patients were still taking statins, aspirin, and blood pressure meds. Diet complemented medicine; it didn’t replace it.
The JUPITER trial (Ridker et al., NEJM 2008) showed that statins cut cardiovascular events by 44% in people with normal LDL but high CRP. No supplement stack or smoothie matches that.
Why This Is Personal
My dad had a heart attack at 55. Doctors told him not to expect another 20 years.
Five years later, statins came out. He took them faithfully, along with his blood pressure medicine. He lived to 98 — independent, writing a memoir, and outliving his doctors. He ate reasonably well, but he always had a candy bowl nearby and drank plenty of coffee. Science kept him alive, not “perfect” eating.
The Bottom Line
Nutrition is essential. Medicine is essential. The best results come when we combine them — evidence-based and free from supplement hype.
When you hear Hyman claim that doctors just need nutrition training to prevent 90% of disease, remember Samoa. Remember Tahiti. And remember my dad.
References
- Sacks FM et al. Effects on Blood Pressure of Reduced Dietary Sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:3–10.
- de Lorgeril M et al. Mediterranean Diet, Traditional Risk Factors, and the Rate of Cardiovascular Complications After Myocardial Infarction. Circulation. 1999;99(6):779–785.
- Ridker PM et al. Rosuvastatin to Prevent Vascular Events in Men and Women with Elevated C-Reactive Protein. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:2195–2207.
- Roser M et al. Life Expectancy. Our World in Data. Accessed August 2025.
- World Health Organization. WHO and UNICEF join Samoa vaccination campaign. December 6, 2019.
Transcript
>> Dr. Terry Simpson: Before 1800, even those who survived
Speaker:childhood rarely lived past their mid-30s to
Speaker:early 40s. And that was despite eating
Speaker:organically, free from microplastics and
Speaker:artificial dyes. It wasn't kale or root
Speaker:vegetables that boosted human lifespan. It
Speaker:was clean water, vaccines and modern
Speaker:medicine. That's why I cringe when I hear the likes
Speaker:of Mark Hyman say if
Speaker:doctors were trained in nutrition, we could prevent
Speaker:90% of heart disease and type 2
Speaker:diabetes. It sounds
Speaker:inspiring. It's also wrong.
Speaker:Today we'll unpack why, what the evidence really
Speaker:shows, and why public health depends on both
Speaker:nutrition and medicine.
Speaker:I'm Dr. Terry Simpson, your chief medical
Speaker:explanationist, and this is Fork U
Speaker:Fork University, where we make sense of the
Speaker:madness, bust myths, and teach you
Speaker:real food and real medicine.
Speaker:To begin with, I'm actually certified in culinary
Speaker:medicine and follow a Mediterranean diet. I
Speaker:believe in nutrition, but expecting it to work
Speaker:magic alone. That is not reality.
Speaker:The DASH trial dietary approach to stop
Speaker:hypertension showed that eating more fruits
Speaker:and vegetables while cutting sodium lowers
Speaker:blood pressure about as much as taking a single pill.
Speaker:That's great, but if you already have heart
Speaker:disease, diabetes or kidney problems,
Speaker:diet alone won't cure you. You need medicine,
Speaker:too. And here's the perspective Hyman leaves
Speaker:out. Life expectancy didn't soar
Speaker:because we ate clean. It soared because of
Speaker:sanitation, vaccines and modern medical
Speaker:care. Let's talk about a perfect
Speaker:example. Samoa. In 2019,
Speaker:Samoa had a diet health gurus would post
Speaker:on Instagram. Fresh fish,
Speaker:tropical fruit, root vegetables,
Speaker:then measles hit. Two years before, in
Speaker:2017, two infants died after nurses
Speaker:improperly prepared MMR vaccines.
Speaker:Public trust collapsed in vaccinations. The
Speaker:government suspended its vaccination program for nearly 10
Speaker:months, and coverage plummeted to about
Speaker:31%. Into that
Speaker:gap stepped anti vaccine activists.
Speaker:Yes, including RFK Jr
Speaker:spreading misinformation. By
Speaker:October of 2019, measles had ripped through
Speaker:the islands. Over 5,700
Speaker:infections and 83 deaths, mostly
Speaker:in toddlers and infants, in a population of
Speaker:just 200,000. Schools
Speaker:closed, public gatherings were banned. The government
Speaker:ordered unvaccinated households to hang red
Speaker:flags outside so mobile vaccination
Speaker:teams could find them. Only when vaccination
Speaker:rates soared did the outbreak stop.
Speaker:Tahiti's story is familiar. Incredible
Speaker:diet, plenty of fresh local food. But measles
Speaker:still spread. The difference between
Speaker:life and death wasn't the menu. It
Speaker:was the vaccination. Nutrition is
Speaker:important, but against infection, disease,
Speaker:medicine, not mangoes, wins every
Speaker:time. Mark Hyman is a family medical trained
Speaker:physician. He co directed Canyon Ranch's health
Speaker:program, later founding the Cleveland Clinic's center
Speaker:for Functional Medicine. Though that leadership has quietly
Speaker:ended. Functional medicine isn't recognized by the
Speaker:American Board of Medical Specialties. You can get
Speaker:certified if you're a dentist, a nurse, or a
Speaker:chiropractor. Pay the fee, take the six
Speaker:month course, print the certificate. In
Speaker:California, at least, chiropractors can't legally call
Speaker:themselves physicians. But in other states they can
Speaker:and they do. And patients are
Speaker:easily misled. Now Hyman
Speaker:is pushing his Make m America Healthy Again
Speaker:movement, borrowing the RFK Jr
Speaker:playbook, using the language of prevention to sell
Speaker:supplements. Here's the money trail.
Speaker:My Crestor, a statin cost
Speaker:$2.36 for a three month
Speaker:supply. My doctor doesn't profit from prescribing
Speaker:it hymen supplements. 100 bucks for
Speaker:the same time straight into his pocket.
Speaker:Here's some real evidence. Let's talk about the Lion Diet
Speaker:heart study that showed the Mediterranean diet cut the risk
Speaker:of another heart attack by 72% in patients or
Speaker:with established heart disease. But here's the
Speaker:detail Hyman won't tell you. These patients stayed
Speaker:on statins, aspirins and blood pressure
Speaker:medications. The diet complemented
Speaker:medicine. It didn't replace it.
Speaker:The Jupiter trial found that statins reduced
Speaker:Cardiovascular events by 44% in people
Speaker:with a normal, low density lipoprotein. That's the
Speaker:bad cholesterol, but an elevated crp, that's
Speaker:a, uh, form of inflammation. You won't get that from
Speaker:kale or coconut oil. Medications like
Speaker:statins, antihypertensives, and modern
Speaker:diabetic drugs outperform diet alone.
Speaker:In advanced disease, nutrition training
Speaker:is important, but that should start from
Speaker:kindergarten to 12th grade. We
Speaker:doctors are here for absolution, not for
Speaker:repentance. Why? This is personal.
Speaker:You know, my dad had his first heart attack at age 55,
Speaker:and he had to retire because the heart attack was so bad from the University of
Speaker:Alaska. Doctors told him not to expect another
Speaker:20 years. Five years later, statins hit the
Speaker:market. He took them along with his other medications
Speaker:faithfully. He lived independently, wrote a
Speaker:memoir, and outlived, uh, both his primary care doctor
Speaker:and cardiologist. And he died at 98 just
Speaker:a couple of years ago. My dad didn't eat perfectly.
Speaker:There was always a bowl of candy by his chair. He drank
Speaker:a ton of coffee. But it was science, not
Speaker:perfection, that kept him alive and
Speaker:independent for 43 years after
Speaker:his heart attack. Here's the bottom
Speaker:line. Nutrition is essential.
Speaker:Medicine is essential. The best results
Speaker:come when we combine them. Science backed,
Speaker:not supplement hyped. When Hyman says
Speaker:doctors just need more nutritional training to prevent
Speaker:90% of diseases. RA Remember, that's a
Speaker:sound bite. That's not a solution.
Speaker:Check out my blog@yourdoctorsorders.com and
Speaker:forq.com this episode was
Speaker:researched and written by me, Dr. Terry Simpson. And uh, while I am
Speaker:a board certified physician, I am not your
Speaker:physician. If you're on a health journey, please check with
Speaker:your doctor. And a registered dietitian, Not a
Speaker:chiropractor, not an eastern trained shaman who can't
Speaker:prescribe or even pronounce the medications we've discussed.
Speaker:Distribution and audio were handled by my friends at Simpler media
Speaker:and the pod God. Mr. Evo Terra. Have, um,
Speaker:a good week everybody.
Speaker:Hey Evo, what percentage of functional medicine do you
Speaker:think is just functionally profitable?
Speaker:Profits over patience.
Speaker:Every time with those guys. Every time.
