Functional medicine aims to uncover the laws of biology, treats the human body as an ecosystem, and is about creating health, not just curing illness. Mark Hyman is one of the foremost practitioners of functional medicine, one of its earliest advocates, and is certainly one of its best spokesmen. On this episode of Health Theory with Tom Bilyeu, Mark Hyman explains the rationale behind functional medicine and describes its most important features. He also gives detailed advice on improving the diet, talks about what it means to say that food is information, and discusses the connection between the body, mind, gut and brain.    Get a copy of Mark's new book "Food Fix" here: https://amzn.to/38mWyY8 This episode is brought to you by: Butcher Box: For a limited time, you can get 2 pounds of salmon and 2 filet mignons for free plus $20 off your first box when you sign up at butcherbox.com/IMPACT or enter promo code IMPACT at checkout. SHOW NOTES:   What does it mean to say the body is an ecosystem? [1:41] How do you find the root cause of an illness? [3:18] Functional medicine is about creating health, not curing illness [6:08] How should you deal with bacterial overgrowth in the upper gut? [10:05] Mark explains how to test your microbiome [11:33] There is lots of conflicting information on nutrition but there are some common principles [14:40] Factory vegetarian diets harm the environment, but regenerative meat diets help [19:17] Why should we eat more vegetables? [21:30] What are the laws of biology regarding diet and nutrition? [23:19] Soy traditionally was processed in a very different way than it is now [26:30] All food is information [28:00] Mark describes the dietary principles nearly everyone should follow [29:17] Which kinds of vegetables should you be eating? [34:12] Mark explains the effects of eliminating the most toxic foods from a diet [35:56] We have the most inflammatory diet in history, and it directly causes illness [38:17] Mark shares his journey towards Buddhism, wisdom and compassion [41:10] Your brain, mind, body and gut are all connected [43:26] Mark shares the one change people need to make [48:11]   FOLLOW MARK:   WEBSITE: drhyman.com INSTAGRAM: https://bit.ly/31IKBcR  FACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/2tN13MP  TWITTER: https://bit.ly/2vpGFS4  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices