HoldsUp

Mark Hyman

Mark Hyman is a podcast host and researcher working in the fields of functional and integrative medicine. His published research investigates functional medicine approaches to managing chronic conditions such as diabetes and inflammatory arthritis. Additionally, his work covers nutrition and "food as medicine," healthcare reform, and the impact of environmental toxins on metabolic disease.

4 claims checked on air: 1 overstated 3 supported

What they said on air

0:42:55supportedhighWhy 1 in 2 Seniors Get Alzheimer's (And How to Be the Except

Aging naturally causes anabolic resistance, making the body lose muscle and absorb and utilize dietary protein less efficiently.

"As we age, we naturally lose muscle and become less efficient at absorbing and utilizing protein. There's actually a term for this: anabolic resistance." (said at 0:42:55)

The speaker's statement accurately summarizes age-related sarcopenia and anabolic resistance. Anabolic resistance is the established physiological term for the reduced capacity of skeletal muscle in older adults to stimulate muscle protein synthesis in response to dietary protein/amino acid ingestion and other anabolic stimuli.

1:01:44overstatedvery lowWhy 1 in 2 Seniors Get Alzheimer's (And How to Be the Except

C15 (pentadecanoic acid) strengthens cells to support healthy aging.

"active ingredient, C15, that strengthens your cells to support healthy aging. Don't take my word for it; look at the science." (said at 1:01:44)

While published in vitro and preclinical research suggests that pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) incorporates into lipid membranes, enhances membrane stability, inhibits ferroptosis, and shares cell-signaling pathways (such as AMPK activation and mTOR inhibition) with longevity-associated compounds, these findings stem primarily from cell-culture phenotyping assays, animal models, and theoretical reviews (the 'Cellular Stability Hypothesis'). Robust clinical trial evidence demonstrating that C15:0 supplementation strengthens human cells to promote healthy aging in humans is currently lacking, making the claim overstated.

1:03:52supportedmoderateWhy 1 in 2 Seniors Get Alzheimer's (And How to Be the Except

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can continue to progress and worsen even after repetitive head trauma has ceased due to an ongoing feed-forward neuroinflammatory process.

"You can induce that shift from head trauma, for example. That's why these football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, encephalopathy continue to worsen once they've stopped after playing football. Look at Muhammad Ali: quit boxing, stopped the head trauma, but continues to worsen once this process has taken hold." (said at 1:03:52)

CTE is recognized as a progressive neurodegenerative disease triggered by repetitive head impacts, where primary trauma initiates secondary chronic cascades—prominently sustained neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and tau misfolding—that drive progressive neurodegeneration even after active exposure to head trauma ceases.

1:05:45supportedmoderateWhy 1 in 2 Seniors Get Alzheimer's (And How to Be the Except

Research by Steve Cole shows that social disconnection and loneliness activate a pattern of gene expression that drives inflammation.

"I talk about this guy Steve Cole, who's come up with this whole science of how disconnection and loneliness actually activates a whole gene expression pattern that drives inflammation." (said at 1:05:45)

Research led by Steve W. Cole and colleagues in social genomics established that chronic perceived social isolation (loneliness) and social disconnection are associated with a distinct leukocyte gene expression profile known as the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA). This pattern is characterized by increased expression of pro-inflammatory genes (mediated by NF-κB/Rel transcription factor signaling) and down-regulation of antiviral (Type I interferon) and antibody-related genes across both human observational cohorts and primate experimental models.

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