Mark Hyman’s Guide to Living Longer and Staying Strong

Mark Hyman argues that consistent daily habits matter more for health than occasional heroic interventions. His routine includes 10 minutes of meditation and 45 minutes of strength training, sometimes replaced by a 45-minute bike ride. He says he is 65 and has about 10% body fat. He calls muscle “the currency of longevity”: losing it can contribute to frailty and reduced function, while building and preserving it becomes increasingly important with age.

Hyman says adults over 60 need 1.5–2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, or roughly 1 gram per pound of ideal body weight. For someone weighing 180 pounds, he gives a target range of 120–180 grams a day. He says animal protein may stimulate muscle synthesis more effectively than plant protein because it contains more leucine, but emphasizes that protein and supplements cannot build muscle without strength training. After training, he aims for about 40 grams of protein and takes 10 grams of creatine, which he says he uses more for the brain; he cites 5 grams as a muscle-focused amount.

He warns that people taking GLP-1 drugs may lose muscle if appetite suppression leaves them short on protein and they do not strength train. Muscle loss can slow metabolism, and the interviewer raises it as a possible contributor to rapid weight regain after stopping the drugs. Hyman credits strength training and protein with helping him regain muscle after a health issue, reinforcing his view that maintaining muscle requires both adequate food and resistance exercise.

For eating, Hyman recommends at least a 12-hour overnight fast and says 14 hours is manageable for most people. He cautions that fasting may not suit people who are underweight, experiencing hormonal shifts or issues, or trying to get pregnant. He favors simple meals built around vegetables and protein, often with olive oil, avocado, nuts or seeds, and canned fish; he limits sugar, starch, pasta, noodles, rice, and grains, and avoids routine snacking. He identifies visceral belly fat as a major health risk linked to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and dementia. He estimates that about 20% of people are gluten-sensitive and suggests testing or a three-week period without gluten, followed by observing any changes.

Hyman says diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management should come before vitamins or peptides. His suggested supplements include a multivitamin, omega-3s, vitamin D3 with K2, and a probiotic, but he says choices should account for evidence, safety, potential downsides, and price. He sometimes uses BPC-157 and TB-500 for tissue repair, while describing peptides as an advanced and somewhat invasive option that should involve a doctor. He says at least 70% of Function members are deficient in one or more nutrients at minimum lab thresholds, and that 90% of people have some degree of omega-3 deficiency. He cites 30 ng/dL as the lab cutoff for vitamin D and says 50 is probably preferable; he also points to research suggesting urolithin A may benefit mitochondrial health, inflammation, and exercise performance.

Hyman sees lab tests, genomics, and imaging as ways to build detailed individual biological profiles, with AI helping interpret the results. He describes the Galleri test as screening for more than 50 cancers but says it is imperfect, and says a total-body MRI can assess risks across hundreds of conditions. He notes that whole-genome sequencing now costs $300, compared with $1 billion previously, and gives $499 as the cost of a whole-body scan; by contrast, an MRI of his knee cost $2,500. His expectation that understanding and targeting the biology of aging could extend life by 30 or 40 years is a projection, not an established outcome; he contrasts it with an estimated five to seven years gained from eliminating cancer and heart disease.