Dr. Mark Hyman’s Function Rolls Out in New York and New Jersey
Dr. Mark Hyman’s preventative medicine company wants to provide its members with a proactive approach to healthcare
Function has officially rolled out in New York and New Jersey, upgrading the way individuals approach their health. With over 70% of medical decisions depending on lab results, the traditional healthcare system can fall short, typically testing only about 20 biomarkers in standard annual physicals. Function aims to change that with a platform offering access to over 100 comprehensive lab tests, providing a proactive approach to healthcare.
Dr. Mark Hyman, a co-founder and the Chief Medical Officer of Function Health, is focused on using food as medicine to support longevity, energy, and mental clarity. A practicing family physician, Dr. Hyman is the founder and director of The UltraWellness Center, Founder and Senior Advisor for the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, a fifteen-time New York Times best-selling author, and Board President for Clinical Affairs for The Institute for Functional Medicine.
In a conversation with Athletech News, Dr. Hyman explained the principles he developed to prioritize wellness, particularly with food and hydration.
“In the morning, I make sure to drink enough water infused with electrolytes, which plays a crucial role in regulating key functions such as nerve and muscle activity and maintaining proper hydration levels,” Dr. Hyman said. “Then, I have a protein shake for breakfast. It keeps me balanced and energetic. I like to toss in a handful of frozen berries for the extra phytonutrient kick.”
Dr. Hyman’s Personal Approach
His approach to nutrition has evolved over the years, emphasizing the importance of nutrient-dense meals.
“Lunch often includes a salad rich in healthy fats from vegetables, providing vitamins A, E, and K,” Dr. Hyman noted. “For dinner, I usually have regeneratively raised steak, pastured chicken, or small cold-water fish with a Japanese sweet potato and roasted vegetables. I also made sure to stop eating at least three hours before bed to give my body time to process everything properly.”
Exercise is another cornerstone of Dr. Hyman’s wellness philosophy. “My personal exercise regimen consists of outdoor activities, like hiking, playing tennis, or biking four to five times a week, as well as high-intensity resistance training and yoga,” he said.
“I always tell people to start where they are. If they were doing nothing, even a 30-minute walk is a great place to begin. For optimal fitness, I suggest 30 minutes of cardiovascular conditioning five to six times a week and 30 minutes of resistance training four times a week. Stretching, flexibility, and stability training are also essential to staying fit and functional.”
Dr. Hyman’s transition to a preventative approach to medicine came from his personal experiences with the healthcare system.
“My journey struggling with metal toxicity opened my eyes to the many shortcomings of traditional healthcare,” he explained. “I saw that our system prioritized outdated processes and profits, with people only visiting doctors on a reactive basis. That experience inspired me and the other founding members of Function to create a new way for people to manage their health and live their best lives.”
Critical Biomarkers & Lifespan vs. Healthspan
Function’s approach ensures users have access to critical biomarkers across multiple health categories, including metabolic, cardiovascular, immune health, and toxin load. “Most chronic diseases start quietly, and early screening and evaluation of key biomarkers are essential to improve outcomes and lower healthcare costs,” Dr. Hyman stated. “The biomarkers we selected for Function were chosen because they deeply look at your metabolic health, cardiovascular health, immune health, and more. Abnormalities in these biomarkers often precede disease by decades.”
Critics of preventative health often point to the risk of overwhelming the healthcare system with unnecessary follow-ups, but Dr. Hyman emphasized that the benefits outweighed these concerns. “The benefit of Function’s proactive approach significantly reduced crowding and healthcare costs in the long term,” he noted. “By encouraging users toward health personalization with accurate data points, we empower them to self-manage their lifestyle choices and not rely on an outdated healthcare system.”
Function’s platform delivers test results in an easy-to-understand dashboard, complete with detailed clinician summaries. For $499 per year—equivalent to $42 per month or $1.37 per day—users gain access to lab tests that cover heart, hormones, thyroid, nutrients, cancer signals, immunity, aging factors, and more. “It’s about understanding what your body needs and making informed decisions,” Dr. Hyman emphasized. “We want people to be active participants in their health journey.”
Beyond lab testing, Function addresses another gap in today’s medical and nutritional education: the lack of focus on personalized health and nutrition’s role in preventive care. “Medical and nutritional education often fall short, focusing on general guidelines rather than tailored approaches,” Dr. Hyman said. “At Function, we drove a shift toward personalization, equipping people with the tools and insights to take meaningful, informed action based on a deep understanding of their own health.”
Dr. Hyman also called out misconceptions about dietary fat, which persisted despite evidence of its essential role. “Many misconceptions about fat linger, fueled by outdated science and cultural narratives,” he explained. “Modern research shows that fat can be a healthy part of our diet, but overcoming this stigma requires continued education.”
Function is also aligned with key trends in wellness, such as prioritizing healthspan—the years spent in good health—over lifespan. Consumers increasingly sought to extend the quality of their lives through balanced nutrition, exercise, and consistent health monitoring.
“Lifespan was just the total number of years you lived, but healthspan is about how many of those years are spent in good health,” Dr. Hyman said. “Function aims to maximize healthspan, helping people live fully and vibrantly for as long as possible.”
In a landscape cluttered with quick-fix solutions, Function aims to offer a sustainable approach grounded in science. “True health takes patience and commitment,” Dr. Hyman concluded. “A balanced, consistent approach leads to sustainable results. At Function, we are committed to empowering people with the tools they needed to live their best, healthiest lives.”