Fatty Liver Is the New Smoking—And 90 Million Americans Have It

Mark Hyman

Apr 7, 2025

Episode description

What if your fatigue, weight gain, hormone imbalances, and brain fog all traced back to a silent disease that affects 1 in 3 people—and you didn’t even know you had it?

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Elizabeth Boham and Dr. Yousef Elyaman to talk about a condition that’s quietly becoming one of the biggest threats to our health: fatty liver disease—now renamed Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD).

It’s not just a liver issue. It’s deeply connected to heart disease, cancer, infertility, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and even hormone dysfunction. The most alarming part is it’s often missed in traditional medicine because there’s no easy drug to prescribe.

We break down:

The real root causes—from sugar and starch overload to gut imbalances, toxins, alcohol, and chronic inflammation
The surprising early warning signs your body might be giving you
Why standard labs often miss it, and the tests you actually need
The step-by-step functional medicine approach to reverse fatty liver naturally—using targeted nutrition, lifestyle upgrades, and proven supplements

I also share the latest science on inflammation, why it’s the common thread between fatty liver and nearly every chronic disease, and how to calm it down at the root.

This is the episode I wish every patient (and doctor) could hear—because fatty liver is reversible when you catch it early, and the ripple effects of healing it are massive.

If you care about your energy, hormones, brain health, or longevity… this one’s for you.

Dr. Elizabeth Boham is Board Certified in Family Medicine from Albany Medical School, and she is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and the Medical Director of The UltraWellness Center. Dr. Boham lectures on a variety of topics, including Women’s Health and Breast Cancer Prevention, insulin resistance, heart health, weight control and allergies. She is on the faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Dr. Yousef Elyaman is the founder and Medical Director of Absolute Health, a primary care functional medicine practice in Ocala, Florida. He is the 100th President of the Marion County Medical Society and the Functional Medicine Director at The Guest House Ocala, a trauma and substance abuse center. Dr. Elyaman also serves as the Medical Director for HumanN, a leading nutraceutical company, and is a Consultant for Quest Diagnostics Laboratory in their Wellness Division. He is teaching Faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine on their Cardiometabolic module. Dr. Elyaman belongs to the first graduating class of the Institute for Functional Medicine. He is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and holds certifications in functional and integrative medicine as well. His leaders

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Address SIBO to prevent liver toxicity

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can cause bacteria to ferment food and release toxic metabolites that directly poison your liver.

#liver

#SIBO

Incorporate NAC, lipoic acid, and milk thistle to heal your liver

Key supplements for healing the liver include N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to boost glutathione, lipoic acid, and milk thistle.

#liver

#supplement

Motivate lifestyle changes by addressing liver health

Patients are often more motivated to change their lifestyle when told they have a liver problem than when warned about a future heart attack.

#liver

#motivation

Get accurate cholesterol assessment with lipoprotein fractionation test

Less than 1% of cholesterol tests are the right kind; you need a lipoprotein fractionation test to see the dangerous small, dense particles caused by fatty liver.

#cholesterol

#testing

Eliminate high-fructose corn syrup for liver health

The single most impactful dietary change you can make is to avoid every food product with high-fructose corn syrup, as it is uniquely toxic to the liver.