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Dr. Mark Hyman is among the most prolific health writers in recent decades—the proof is in his collection of nutrition-focused works, which is as expansive as it is focused. The New York Times bestselling author and functional medicine advocate has penned more than a dozen books. Nearly every one dives into a different facet of his approach to eating, whether that be his somewhat controversial “pegan” diet (an unlikely combination of paleo and vegan), writings on the failing of global food systems, vanquishing people’s fear of fats, and so on.
But which do you start with? This guide to Mark Hyman’s most-read books should simplify things .
EAT WELL
The Pegan Diet
The more Hyman you read the more you’ll gather that all of his books feed into each other. Within the The Pegan Diet’s 272 pages you’ll find this to be especially true.The book outlines a diet Hyman created and popularized, combining principles from paleo and vegan diets. If you’re wondering how a diet focused on meats, fats, and eating hardly any vegetables could hybridize with an almost entirely vegetal diet, you should probably read the book.
Young Forever
Published February 2023, Hyman’s latest book shifts focus to aging and longevity. It dives into how a person should eat to pull their various biological levers as they age, as well as how and what to focus on during exercise and recovery. There are lengthy chapters on sleep, stress, and supplements, too. If you’re worried a “longevity” book may be too science-y for your blood, don’t be; Young Forever is meant more as a practical handbook than a reformatted peer-reviewed study. Hyman’s writing style is simple and to the point
The Blood Sugar Solution
Hyman’s The Blood Sugar Solution covers a wide range of topics, but the title really gives away the underlying point: maintaining a balanced insulin level is critical to current, near-term, and long-term health and wellness. Hyman unspools a thread that links uneven spikes of blood sugar with diabetes, yes, but also increased risk of heart disease, dementia, and cancer. As with all Hyman’s works, though, there’s immediately actionable advice doled out to lighten some of the doom and gloom.
10-Day Detox Diet
Published in 2014, Hyman’s 10-Day Detox Diet is a companion to The Blood Sugar Solution. Inside, Hyman takes a dramatic angle—losing significant weight in just 10 days—to explain a handful of simple health truths: control your insulin levels; minimize gastrointestinal inflammation; focus on reducing stress; teach yourself appetite control; etc. Much is promised from the 10-day detox program, but the benefits reaped from it last far longer than a week-and-a-half.
Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?
At 400 pages, Dr. Hyman dedicated one of his longest works to one of the broadest subjects a good nutrition advocate can: what’s healthy to eat? The book plays off the many (and often contradictory) ideas about what’s good and bad to eat. But instead of providing a list of good things and a list of bad things, Hyman begins each chapter with a surprisingly bad (or good) food item that gets a bad rap, ultimately spelling out what the stuff that makes that food bad or good really is. Spoiler: oatmeal is actually terrible for you.
Food Fix
Food Fix is a bit ambiguous, but the second half of its full title sheds more light on the subject matter—How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet. This is Hyman’s most zoomed-out work. Instead of writing about how you can and should eat better so you can live a more comfortable life, Hyman identifies the root causes of the health epidemics we face today. Put simply, if you’re interested in learning who’s really to blame for the prices you see in grocery stores these days, it’s the book for you.
Eat Fat, Get Thin
One of the cornerstones of Hyman’s pegan (again, paleo and vegan) diet is a rejection of commonly held dieting beliefs—the most obvious of which is the approach to consuming dietary fat. Hyman’s point isn’t that you should be stuffing your face with ice cream, but rather that healthy fats play a starring role in any healthy diet, including those focused on weight loss.
The Eat Fat, Get Thin Cookbook
Rest assured that any popular Mark Hyman book will have an accompanying cookbook on its heels. Carrying the principles of Hyman’s cleverly titled Eat Fat, Get Thin, this cookbook carries nearly 200 recipes, all targeted at changing how you think about fat in your diet. Expect lots of nuts, coconut oil, and a ton of avocado.
