Mark Hyman, MD · 2026-01-21 · Mark Hyman (host), Robert Hedaya

Fix the Brain, Change the Mind: Root-Cause Psychiatry w/ Dr. Robert Hedaya

29 research-tied claims examined: 2 contradicted 2 overstated 2 context 13 supported 10 unverified

Contradicted by research

0:46:40 Robert Hedayacontradictedmoderate

Babesia parasites inhabit red blood cells and proliferate in high-oxygen environments.

"unless you happen to have Babesia as an infection, then it's maybe not the best idea because they love oxygen. Babesia loves oxygen, right? It lives in red blood cells and they love oxygen." (said at 0:46:40)

The speaker claims that *Babesia* parasites "love oxygen" and proliferate in high-oxygen environments. While *Babesia* species are intraerythrocytic parasites that infect red blood cells, in vitro culture studies show that *Babesia* organisms are microaerophilic—meaning they require reduced oxygen concentrations (typically 2% to 5% O2) rather than high-oxygen environments for optimal continuous cultivation. Elevated oxygen concentrations and reactive oxygen intermediates (such as superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals) exert cytotoxic/babesiacidal effects on *Babesia* parasites.

contradicts: In vitro cultivation of Babesia bigemina. (American journal of veterinary research 1985) · cited 208x in the literature
"Culture conditions included washing of infected and normal bovine erythrocytes in a special solution, and the use of a 5% to 10% (v/v) erythrocyte suspension in medium 199 (with 20% to 50% fresh normal bovine serum) at a depth of 4 mm in a 5% CO2, 2% O2, 93% N2 atmosphere." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed
contradicts: Babesia bovis: continuous cultivation in a microaerophilous stationary phase culture. (Science (New York, N.Y.) 1980) · cited 323x in the literature
"Lowered oxygen tension within the layer of host erythrocytes results in a darkening of infected cultures and provides a rapid means of evaluating parasite growth." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
contradicts: Reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates and products from polyamine degradation are Bab… (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1996) · cited 50x in the literature
"Xanthine degradation by xanthine oxidase leads to the formation of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. The degradation in the presence of B. bovis was toxic to the parasite." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

1:00:51 Mark Hyman (host)contradictedhigh

Adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors causes autoimmune disease to go away.

"Your autoimmune disease is going to go away if you do all the right things. If you do the things to get healthy, then automatically I always say when you create health, disease goes away as a side effect." (said at 1:00:51)

Autoimmune diseases (such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis) are chronic, immune-mediated conditions without a known universal lifestyle-based cure. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials examining lifestyle interventions—such as exercise, dietary patterns, and psychotherapy—show that while they can improve quality of life, fatigue, and pain as adjuncts to medical management, they do not reliably eliminate disease activity or cause autoimmune diseases to 'automatically go away'.

contradicts: The effects of lifestyle interventions on disease activity and quality of life in patients… (Autoimmunity reviews 2024) · cited 8x in the literature
"Physical activity (2 studies, 116 patients), psychotherapy (5 studies, 507 patients) and coaching (1 study with 30 patients) had no significant effect on disease activity, while fish oil supplementation showed a slight benefit in two studies with a total of 102 patients. Quality of life generally improved with physical activity (4 studies with in total 253 patients) and psychotherapy (9 studies with in total 623 patients)" (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
contradicts: Effects of vegetarian and vegan diets on disease activity, pain, fatigue, and physical fun… (Joint bone spine 2025) · cited 3x in the literature
"Pooled analyses revealed that compared to controls, participants following vegetarian or vegan diet achieved no significant improvement in disease activity, a small significant improvement in pain, and no significant improvement in physical function." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.