Who is Dr. Mark Hyman, the Jewish doctor who promoted RFK Jr.?
Hyman, known for his 10-day detox diet, could become part of the Department of Health and Human Services under Kennedy and Trump
Dr. Mark Hyman, center, was the guest speaker at an event sponsored by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, a staunch critic of the food industry, on March 19, 2024. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for EWG
By Lauren Markoe November 20, 2024
Among the prominent and early promoters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services was a celebrity physician who once touted his book as “the Jewish doctor’s guide to Christian weight loss.”
Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The 10-Day Detox Diet, is a family physician who talks about “food as medicine” and has leaned into his Jewishness on social media to promote some of his 15 books, blogs and podcasts. Now, his name is popping up on shortlists for leadership positions under Kennedy at the department, which is responsible for monitoring the nation’s food and drug supply, administering Medicare and advancing medical research.
Trump on Tuesday named Dr. Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon and Emmy-nominated star of daytime television’s The Dr. Oz Show to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Oz, like Hyman, has drawn the ire of the medical community for, among other things, promoting the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, which infectious disease experts called ineffectual and dangerous.
Kennedy himself is widely reviled within the medical establishment for his anti-vaccine activism and other science-contradicting pronouncements. Hyman, 64, has been blasted by public health experts who say he peddles pseudoscience to enrich himself.
Among other accusations, they have charged Hyman with making unsupported claims about the benefits of the expensive dietary supplements he sells and fearmongering about the rare accumulation of heavy metals in the body. They criticize him for writing the preface for Kennedy’s discredited book linking vaccines to autism. And they say Hyman’s “functional medicine” center in Lenox, Massachusetts — and another he advises at the widely respected Cleveland Clinic — do little more than charge patients for unnecessary tests.
It is unclear what role at HHS Hyman might be in contention for. The Trump transition team did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. In response to an email, a representative for Hyman said he had a packed schedule and might not be able to respond before Thanksgiving.
Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer and son of the slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, ran for president as a Democrat and then an independent before dropping out of the race to endorse Trump. He ran on a “Make America Healthy Again” platform that called out the “food industrial complex,” much as Hyman has over the course of his career.
On the social platform X (formerly Twitter), where he has nearly 300,000 followers, Hyman has shared photos of himself with RFK Jr. in recent weeks.
Hyman’s approach to diet is mostly aligned with what mainstream doctors tell patients about nutrition: Eat more plant-based foods, less meat and fewer highly processed products.
In 2014, he co-authored a bestseller with the evangelical megachurch pastor Rick Warren called The Daniel Plan. It is based on a diet described in the Book of Daniel, in which the Hebrew prophet eschews rich foods, and presents healthy eating as a spiritual practice. “I’m Jewish,” Hyman said, promoting the book on an episode of The View, “and this is the Jewish doctor’s guide to Christian weight loss.”
Hyman also makes reference to his religion as he’s promoting healthy living online. In an October Instagram post that shows him rock climbing, he explained Yom Kippur to non-Jews with a reference to a speech Kennedy’s father gave after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
“What we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another,” Hyman quoted from the speech. “And a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be Black.”
Hyman has also shared posts about “Israeli night” dinners he cooks at his home, and said that his favorite cookbook is Jerusalem by Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi and Palestinian chef Sami Tamimi.
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