From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Young Forever, uncover the powerful web of corporate interests that are hijacking our food, our health—and our future.
This is not a diet book. It’s an indictment. Food Fix Uncensored is the fully revised and expanded edition of Dr. Mark Hyman’s bestselling 2020 wake-up call, now more revealing than ever. In a world where food is engineered more for profit than nourishment, every bite you take matters—not just for your health, but for the future of our planet. Dr. Hyman invites you to question: • What if the chronic diseases we accept as normal… aren’t? • What if our broken food system was designed to protect power and profits rather the health of the American public? • What if the solution to our biggest health crises isn’t more medicine—but better food?
The shocking stats you read about Americans' declining health are not the result of personal failures. They’re policy failures by design – the result of a system rigged by Big Food, Big Ag, and Big Pharma to keep you sick and addicted. Food Fix Uncensored rips the veil off the multibillion-dollar machine hijacking our bodies, our brains, and our children’s futures, and hands you the tools to take it all back.
Balancing cutting-edge nutritional science with unflinching journalistic investigation, Food Fix Uncensored doesn’t just ask you to eat differently. It dares you to see differently. After reading this, you’ll never look at your food the same way again.
Mark Hyman, MD, believes that we all deserve a life of vitality--and that we have the potential to create it for ourselves. That's why he is dedicated to tackling the root causes of chronic disease by harnessing the power of Functional Medicine to transform healthcare. Dr. Hyman and his team work every day to empower people, organizations, and communities to heal their bodies and minds, and improve our social and economic resilience.
Dr. Hyman is a practicing family physician, an eleven-time New York Times bestselling author, and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in his field. He is the Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. He is also the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center, chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine, a medical editor of The Huffington Post, and was a regular medical contributor on many television shows including CBS This Morning, Today Show, CNN, and The View, Katie, and The Dr. Oz Show.
Dr. Hyman works with individuals and organizations, as well as policymakers and influencers. He has testified before both the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Senate Working Group on Health Care Reform on Functional Medicine. He has consulted with the Surgeon General on diabetes prevention and participated in the 2009 White House Forum on Prevention and Wellness. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa nominated Dr. Hyman for the President's Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. In addition, Dr. Hyman has worked with President Clinton, presenting at the Clinton Foundation's Health Matters, Achieving Wellness in Every Generation conference, and the Clinton Global Initiative, as well as with the World Economic Forum on global health issues. He is the winner of the Linus Pauling Award, The Nantucket Project Award, and was inducted in the Books for Better Life Hall of Fame.
Dr. Hyman also works with fellow leaders in his field to help people and communities thrive--with Rick Warren, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Dr. Daniel Amen, he created The Daniel Plan, a faith-based initiative that helped The Saddleback Church collectively lose 250,000 pounds. He is as an advisor and guest co-host on The Dr. Oz Show and is on the board of Dr. Oz's HealthCorps, which tackles the obesity epidemic by educating American students about nutrition. With Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. Hyman crafted and helped introduce the Take Back Your Health Act of 2009 to the United States Senate to provide for reimbursement of lifestyle treatment of chronic disease. And, with Tim Ryan in 2015, helped introduce the ENRICH Act into Congress to fund nutrition in medical education. Dr. Hyman plays a substantial role in a major film produced by Laurie David and Katie Couric, released in 2014, called Fed Up, which addresses childhood obesity.
The conclusion that processed food is bad for you is not one I would ever argue against. As this book highlights, there are now decades of high quality research that support this claim. I was all in on exposing the evil practices of the U.S. food industry and highlighting the importance of whole, unprocessed foods. But right around there is unfortunately where the author lost me.
The book went from a balanced review of research on the negative health impacts of soda/processed foods to making sensational claims about the food industry that border on conspiracy theory. For example, in a section about raw milk, they make a vague blanket statement that all milk is bad and shouldn't be consumed as a large part of anyone's diet in general, but then claim that the government is somehow responsible for misinformation about raw milk which is intentionally misleading people from its benefits and therefore restricting their feeedom. Raw milk is dangerous and, if sold legally, needs to be highly regulated in order to reduce the risk of spreading very deadly diseases. The author claims that raw milk is widely available in Europe, including in vending machines, trying to make an argument that "if it's ok there, why not here?". However, a quick Google search reveals an article from the European Food Safety Authority (which I would say is a better source) that confirms that raw milk is risky to consume and, while it is available in some EU member states in vending machines, the guidelines are still to BOIL IT FIRST (aka pasteurization) before consuming to reduce risk of bacterial contamination. This section alone, when taken at face value, is incredibly misleading and attempts to confuse the reader by telling them that "all milk is bad but you're also being lied to and the government is trying to control you". If you are going to make a point throughout your whole book that the government shouldn't hide or misrepresent the data found in high quality research about what is and is not safe, why the hell would raw milk be the hill you are choosing to die on? All the research we have on raw milk so far shows any claims about its benefits are baseless.
Other reviews have talked about the author's praise of RFK Jr. and the current movement in DHHS to radically change the American Diet standards. Perhaps the worst part of these sections of the book to me, though, is how the author tries to act like he is somehow a victim of censorship and cancel culture for showing this support. A substantial portion of this book is spent calling out the shady practices and bullshit research of other doctors (which is ironic if you've ever read the author's Wikipedia page). What's worse is that the authors smartly couched their bullshit claims of cancel culture in parts of the book that chastise the reader if they disagree and claim political tribalism has obfuscated our ability to follow the true science about what healthy eating actually looks like. "If you disagree with me it's because cancel culture told you to" is an insane claim to hide behind.
I am sure the author and his supporters will dismiss anyone who speaks out against the contents of this book as someone with a political ideology too extreme to see the facts. Unfortunately, I think this is yet another book about the American diet and food industry that gets it wrong by presenting the facts and then making illogical arguments based off of them that simply don't follow. This ultimately harms the everyday person who might have picked up this book to learn more about what really goes on in the U.S. food industry.
I challenge anyone who read and liked this book to follow the author's own advice - ask yourself why you should trust what he says ("because he is a doctor" alone is not a good enough reason). Ask yourself why he wrote this book (if it's for money and to garner more brownie points with key figures in the government, consider why that might be concerning). He also says to consider multiple viewpoints and look for a wide breadth of research rather than simply believing one source. I hope readers will do so, as using this book alone to form an opinion on the U.S. food industry would be a mistake.
This was a really thought provoking read. I appreciated how it challenges the way we think about food and the systems around it. Personally, I believe in free choice. I’m not against having access to foods that aren’t necessarily good for me. I know what’s not the healthiest, but I also love all kinds of food, just in moderation. I mean, if I couldn’t have strawberry ice cream every once in a while, my mental health would suffer greatly 😂.
This book made me more aware of the outside influences in our decision making, which I really valued. Definitely worth picking up if you’re interested in food, health, and the bigger picture behind what we eat.
Hyman makes strong points about Big Food, Big Ag, and Big Pharma, as well as the harms of ultra-processed foods, soil degradation, industrial agriculture, and environmental damage. But the book loses credibility by: - aligning its MAHA message (already very Trumpian) with political figures like RFK Jr., who (as just one example), despite promising to challenge glyphosate, defended its production for “national security” the moment Trump said so; and - questioning science on vaccines. To quote Michael Pollan, any lives MAHA can save through its food/health advocacy are lost through its stance on vaccines.
The bigger problem is systemic: the issues the book covers persist whether a Democrat or Republican is in power because of lobbying, politicians’ self-interest, and the incentives built into our political and economic systems. Corporate influence, unhealthy diets, environmental harm, inequitable access to food, and regulatory capture continue because our economic and social systems are structured to perpetuate them.
Although Hyman acknowledges these are systemic problems, in our highly divisive era it’s easy to slip into “us versus them” language around political parties. It’s disappointing to see this pattern appear repeatedly, especially when the current administration faces many of the same challenges Hyman critiques from the previous. The connection between agriculture and human health holds enormous promise for bipartisan progress, but real change will require moving beyond partisan framing to build solutions both sides can support- a goal the book emphasizes in broad strokes but somehow loses in the details. Overall: great message, but had to read with a grain of salt.
OK, wow. Food Fix Uncensored is eye-opening in so many ways. It was hard to read, but also so important. It not only sheds light on the atrocities of our current food issues, but also suggests ways to make a change going forward.
Government corruption and big food/ag/pharma play such a large role in pumping out calorie-dense, nutrient poor foods that it is criminal.
I recommend everyone read this book to get a reset and think about what you are putting in your mouth. Is it food or a food-like substance?!
I went to the grocery store yesterday and, for the first time in my life, I actually felt angry. Not because of the prices, but because of what I learned in Dr. Mark Hyman’s new book, Food Fix Uncensored. Once you see the 'Toxic Triad' of food, pharma, and farming on every shelf, you can’t unsee it. Here’s why this book ruined my typical shopping trip (in a good way). If you've ever wondered why your healthy habits don't seem to be enough, this book was written for you.
What I Liked About Food Fix Uncensored:
The Uncensored:
Many of my favorite wellness podcasts are those done by Dr. Hyman. He asks great questions, and seems, well, human, which I like. The "uncensored" part of this book, which I admire, is his willingness to call out specific lobbyists and corporations that are contributing factors to the demise of our health. He shifts the blame to the system, and not just to my lack of willpower at the grocery store. He plainly points out that it is the food environment that is adding to the corruption of healthful eating.
Fighting Back:
Dr. Hyman doesn't just leave us hanging with the doom and gloom that has overtaken our food in America; he is actively trying to fix our food system by founding the Food Fix Campaign. "...the campaign brings together a team of policy experts, regenerative agriculture leaders, medical professionals, soil scientists, and communications strategists to deliver a singular message: our food system must become a tool for health, not harm." He is slowly getting politicians on both sides of the aisle to wake up and fight back.
What Does This All Mean?
I have been listening to a lot of wellness podcasts lately, and they have all been saying the same thing: food is medicine. If you look at the flip side, disease is also caused by the wrong foods. Politics aside, this should make you angry. If you're like me, you'll want to learn how to do better. That's why this book matters.
I'm going to be honest, though. The book isn't a thrill ride every second. Sometimes, I wondered who the book was geared toward because some of it went right over my head. That being said, there are many seeds of wisdom, and that is why I enjoyed this book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Dr. Mark Hyman and Little, Brown & Company for my free copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.
Dr. Mark Hyman and Brianna Bella-Hyman deliver an eye-opening and essential wake-up call in Food Fix Uncensored. This fully updated edition expertly unveils how the toxic triad of Big Food, Big Ag, and Big Pharma have engineered our food system for profit rather than our wellbeing—and the consequences are staggering, with poor diet now being the single biggest killer on the planet. What makes this book truly powerful is that it doesn't just expose the dark realities; it pairs cutting-edge nutritional science with actionable solutions that empower readers to take control of their health and make meaningful change. The authors brilliantly connect the dots between what we eat and global crises including obesity, chronic disease, climate change, and environmental degradation, making it impossible to ignore that these are not separate problems but symptoms of one broken system. Whether you're concerned about your own health, your family's nutrition, or the future of our planet, this book provides both the evidence and the roadmap you need. Highly recommended for anyone ready to transform not just their diet, but their relationship with food itself.
This book is chocked full of fascinating and frightful statistics about our food system in the US. I found it so interesting, underlining much of what I read. I am excited to share this information with friends and family.
This book should be required reading for Congress, since they influence so much of our good policy with their votes. Big Food/Ag & Big Pharma are driven by profits over healthful choices for consumers or the earth.
The statistics are frightful and more people need to understand this. We can and should vote with our forks!
There is much to ponder, discuss and change. This would make a great book club book. Educators, Doctors and Parents should read it too. There is a plethora of critical information here!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The US is the most fed, while being the most unhealthy of nations. We need to fix our food by promoting whole real foods instead of ultra processed fake foods that are full of ingredients that we can’t even pronounce. Ingredients that addict us to these foods and make us over weight and sick. Fixing our food must be done through government and also individuals. Great examples of how you can make choices and promote healthy foods and environment. Dr. Hyman is so knowledgeable in this area and works with groups to make changes in government. He truly cares about people’s health and the future of our country.
I won a copy of this one in a goodreads giveaway and oh so glad it was free. Ugh. From the blurb, things sounded interesting, you know, the whole reason for entering the giveaway. As soon as you start reading it, you start to question this dude HARD. And then you get to the MAHA is such a great movement section...and you look up the author and find out that he supports RFK Jr and boy does it all click into place. This book'd make great kindling! The poor tree that turned into this garbage didn't deserve it.
Let me start by saying I loved Food Fix when it came out in 2020. I read it cover to cover, then purchased both the 10-Day Detox and Young Forever. When I was offered the chance to receive an advance review copy of Food Fix Uncensored I jumped at the chance! I'm sorry to say that this book is nothing but inflated political propaganda for MAHA and had I known in advance I'd have never requested a copy. There should be a MAHA disclaimer on the label. Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the advance review copy. All opinions are, obviously, mine.
I learned a lot in this book and it was very eye-opening but I would recommend the Indio version because the physical book was difficult to get through. I could tell it was AI editing, which was the first time I have seen this in a book with so many dashes and AI sentence structures.
I also want to confirm some of the claims made in the book and I have some hesitance towards the MAHA movement and Robert F Kennedy Jr and his affiliation with Trump
Where as it has some significantly informative recommendations on how to make changes to the global population starting from the individual, it was off-putting to be so politically biased towards the Conservative Party touting heroes of Robert F Kennedy, Junior and Charlie Kirk, just to name a few. Would’ve been a much better publication if they would have stuck to the facts and research rather than including unnecessary and blatantly inflammatory rhetoric.
Food is such an important and large part of the health puzzle. The more you know, the more informed decisions you can make for what you and your loved ones consume.
Food Fix Uncensored was interesting, but not extraordinary. Processed food is bad for us, here are a bunch of statistics to back that up. It felt a bit like preaching to the choir, since the people likely to pick up this book are already in agreement with the main points.