A Conversation with Mark Hyman and Carla Hall

“Food is the cause of most of my patients’ illnesses and the number one cause of death in the world – lack of protective foods and too much of foods that are poison,” said fourteen-time New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Mark Hyman, an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in the field of functional medicine who believes what we do to our bodies, we do to the planet; and what we do to the planet, we do to our bodies.

Hyman addressed an audience of nearly 800 during a talk hosted by the Queens University of Charlotte Learning Society at the Sandra Levine Theatre in the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement.

Author of numerous nutrition books, including The Pegan Diet: 21 Practical Principles for Reclaiming Your Health in a Nutritionally Confusing World and Food Fix: How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet–One Bite at a Time, Hyman has turned his passion for functional medicine, real food, nutrition, and wellness into activism, working to change our food system on a global scale. He is the head of strategy and innovation at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and host of one of the leading health podcasts, The Doctor’s Farmacy.

“Food is the number one cause of chronic disease and also the number one cure, yet doctors know nothing about it,” Hyman said. “Processed food and ultra-processed foods kill over eleven million people per year and I think that’s a gross underestimate.”

The event was moderated by “Top Chef” and cookbook author Carla Hall who spent 7 years co-hosting ABC’s Emmy award-winning, popular lifestyle series The Chew. She currently serves as a culinary contributor to Good Morning America. Hall’s latest cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, was published in 2018, landing on annual “Best Cookbook” lists across the country and receiving an NAACP Image Awards nomination.

“You present these large societal issues through the lens of food which is such a deeply ingrained part of our lives,” Hall said. “The economy, the climate, poverty, education, social justice, you name it. We all care about it. In the simplest terms, if we care about those issues, what should we be eating to alleviate these problems?”

“That’s kind of a trick question,” Hyman replied. “That implies that individuals can actually change the system, which we can, we need to and we should. But we can’t put the onus on just the individual. We have to deal with the political and structural issues.”

The 90-minute talk also included questions from four Queens University students.

“It’s not the cow, it’s the how,” Hyman said in response to a question from sustainability studies major Mia Manuel ’23 about the sustainability practices and safety of eating meat. “The truth is, animals are essential to build soil. The way we raise animals now through factory farming is terrible – bad for the animals, bad for us, bad for the planet. That’s not to say that we should end all consumption of animal products because there are things in animal foods we just can’t get from plants.”

“Do you believe that the medical field can shift from focusing on treating symptoms of an illness to maintaining wellness and if so, how can that begin?” asked public health education and promotion major, Sydney Lash ’24.

“Functional medicine is the science of creating health,” Hyman said. “Our current medical system is based on specialties, human diseases but not on understanding what drives those diseases. As I see what’s happening in medicine and in science and around the edges of medicine which is driving a lot of change, I’m very hopeful.”

Since 1988, the Learning Society has hosted renowned thought leaders for the semiannual series which is magnified by weeks of student engagement and immersion in the speaker’s topic and background. The on-campus student discussion before the evening program has become a signature student experience. To learn more, visit the Learning Society website.