What does Dr. Mark Hyman eat in a day?: A Detailed Look at His Pegan Diet

October 8, 2025 •

4 min read

Approximately 50% of American women over 71 don't get enough protein, a nutrient Dr. Mark Hyman prioritizes in his daily regimen. For those wondering, what does Dr. Mark Hyman eat in a day?, his diet centers on the 'Pegan' philosophy: high-quality plants, healthy fats, and consciously sourced protein.

Quick Summary

Dr. Mark Hyman's daily diet is built on Pegan principles, emphasizing anti-inflammatory whole foods, healthy fats, and high-quality protein while limiting processed foods, sugar, gluten, and most dairy.

Key Points

Pegan Diet: Dr. Hyman follows a Pegan diet, a blend of paleo and vegan principles that focuses on whole foods, with 75% of the plate being plants and healthy fats.
Protein-Rich Breakfast: He often breaks his fast with a high-protein shake containing berries, protein powder, and healthy fats, especially after exercise, to support muscle mass and longevity.
'Fatty' Salad for Lunch: His typical lunch is a large salad with arugula, nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and wild-caught fish like salmon or sardines.
'Condi-Meat' Dinner: Dinner consists primarily of cooked vegetables and a small, side-portion of high-quality animal protein, such as grass-fed beef or pastured chicken.
Strategic Supplementation: A foundational supplement stack of a multivitamin, Vitamin D with K2, Omega-3s, magnesium, and probiotics is a daily regimen to fill nutritional gaps.
Intermittent Fasting & Sleep Hygiene: He practices intermittent fasting and stops eating at least three hours before bed to optimize metabolic function and sleep.
Longevity Practices: His routine extends beyond diet to include resistance training, hot/cold therapy (sauna and cold plunges), stress management (meditation, journaling), and good sleep hygiene.

Dr. Mark Hyman, a leading voice in functional medicine, views food not just as fuel, but as a powerful tool to program our biology for health and longevity. His personal daily nutrition plan is based on the 'Pegan' diet, a philosophy he developed that merges the best principles of paleo and vegan eating. This approach prioritizes whole, unprocessed foods and is designed to combat inflammation, balance blood sugar, and optimize overall cellular function. By focusing on food's informational content rather than just its calories, Hyman crafts his meals to send specific, health-promoting signals to his body. This article breaks down the structure of his daily intake, from morning routines to evening supplements, revealing the practical application of his nutritional philosophy.

A Day of Eating: A Sample Menu

Dr. Hyman's meals are structured around real, whole foods, emphasizing a high percentage of plants and healthy fats, with smaller amounts of high-quality animal protein. He often incorporates intermittent fasting into his routine, eating within a compressed window and typically having his first meal later in the day after exercise.

Breakfast

His first meal is designed to be highly nutrient-dense and protein-rich, especially after a workout, to support muscle synthesis and provide sustained energy.

Morning Shake: He frequently opts for a 'healthy aging shake'. This is often made with macadamia nut milk, a handful of frozen berries, two scoops of high-quality protein powder (such as grass-fed goat whey or collagen), creatine for cognitive and muscular health, healthy fats like MCT or Brain Octane oil, and a prebiotic/probiotic blend for gut health.
Alternative: On other days, he might have simple poached eggs with avocado and olive oil.

Lunch

Hyman's midday meal is typically a large, vegetable-heavy salad, packed with healthy fats to boost nutrient absorption.

The 'Fatty' Salad: A base of arugula or other greens, topped with avocado, toasted pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, and a source of high-quality, wild-caught fish like salmon, mackerel, or sardines. The dressing is a simple mix of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Dinner

Dinner is centered on vegetables, with a smaller portion of animal protein serving as a 'condi-meat'.

Plate Composition: The majority of the plate is filled with a variety of cooked vegetables, such as roasted shiitakes, cruciferous greens, and often a Japanese sweet potato.
Protein: A 4–6 ounce serving of regeneratively raised steak, pastured chicken, or low-mercury fish.
Timing: He stops eating at least three hours before bed to allow his insulin and glucose levels to lower, promoting better sleep quality.

The Pegan Philosophy vs. Standard Diets

Dr. Hyman's Pegan diet differentiates itself from its parent diets (Paleo and Vegan) and the Standard American Diet (SAD) in several key areas. The focus is on quality and balance, rather than strict exclusion.


Feature	Pegan Diet (Dr. Hyman)	Paleo Diet	Vegan Diet	Standard American Diet (SAD)
Plant-based Foods	75% of plate, with emphasis on non-starchy vegetables and low-glycemic fruits like berries.	Focus on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.	100% plant-based.	Low, often focusing on starchy, high-glycemic options.
Meat & Protein	High-quality, sustainably sourced animal products (grass-fed, pasture-raised, wild-caught) as a small, supporting element ('condi-meat').	Includes meat, fish, and eggs from animal sources.	Excludes all meat, fish, eggs, and dairy.	High in processed and conventionally raised meat.
Fats	Prioritizes minimally processed, healthy fats from nuts, seeds, avocado, olives, and cold-pressed olive oil.	Includes healthy fats from meat, nuts, and seeds.	Plant-based fats from nuts, seeds, and oils.	Dominated by processed seed oils high in omega-6 fats.
Dairy	Avoids cow's milk dairy, but may include small amounts of organic goat or sheep products.	Excludes all dairy.	Excludes all dairy.	High consumption of cow's milk and processed dairy.
Gluten & Grains	Strictly avoids gluten. Allows small amounts of gluten-free grains and legumes if well-tolerated.	Excludes all grains and legumes.	Includes most grains and legumes.	High in refined gluten-containing grains (flour).
Sugar	No refined sugar. Uses small amounts of low-glycemic natural sweeteners like maple syrup or honey.	Excludes refined sugar.	Excludes refined sugar.	Very high consumption of refined and added sugars.

Foundational Supplements and Longevity Practices

While whole foods form the base of his health, Dr. Hyman believes supplements are necessary to fill nutritional gaps in our modern world. He also incorporates specific lifestyle practices to activate his body's natural longevity pathways.

Hydration: He starts his day with a large amount of electrolyte-infused water to rehydrate the body after sleep.
Daily Supplement Stack: His foundational regimen includes a high-quality multivitamin, vitamin D with K2, Omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium glycinate (taken at night), methylation support (B6, B12, folate), and dairy-free probiotics.
Exercise: A routine of high-intensity resistance training 4–5 days a week, often with resistance bands, to support muscle strength and balance.
Mind-Body Connection: He prioritizes meditation, journaling, and stress management techniques.
Hot/Cold Therapy: He incorporates daily practices like sauna and cold plunges to activate physiological stress responses that aid longevity.
Sleep Hygiene: He emphasizes getting adequate, consistent sleep for repair and recovery.

Conclusion: The Principles Behind the Plate

Ultimately, what does Dr. Mark Hyman eat in a day? is an expression of his core functional medicine principles. His Pegan diet is not a rigid set of rules but a flexible framework emphasizing real, unprocessed, anti-inflammatory food. By prioritizing nutrient-dense vegetables, healthy fats, and high-quality protein, he aims to optimize his biology at a cellular level, turning on genes that promote health and turning down those that contribute to disease. This holistic approach, combined with strategic supplementation and consistent longevity practices, serves as a testament to his belief that our food choices hold the power to shape our health destiny.

For more information on his nutritional philosophy, see his book, Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Pegan diet is a dietary philosophy created by Dr. Hyman that combines elements of the paleo and vegan diets. It emphasizes whole, unprocessed foods, with a strong focus on plants (about 75%), healthy fats, and a smaller quantity of high-quality animal protein, while eliminating dairy, gluten, and refined sugar.

Yes, Dr. Hyman eats meat, but he advocates for high-quality, responsibly sourced animal products, such as grass-fed beef, pastured chicken, and wild-caught fish. He recommends consuming these proteins in smaller quantities, viewing them as a supporting part of a meal that is mostly vegetables.

Dr. Hyman typically has a high-protein shake for breakfast, particularly after exercising. This shake is made with ingredients like macadamia milk, berries, protein powder, and healthy fats. He also sometimes eats eggs with avocado.

In general, Dr. Hyman avoids both dairy and gluten due to their potential inflammatory effects. While he strictly avoids gluten, he might allow small amounts of organic goat or sheep dairy products occasionally.

Dr. Hyman's core nutritional belief, rooted in functional medicine, is that food acts as information for our bodies, influencing gene expression and overall health. His diet focuses on addressing root causes of health issues by consuming whole, anti-inflammatory foods and eliminating processed, sugary, and inflammatory items.

Dr. Hyman takes a foundational stack of supplements that includes a high-quality multivitamin, Vitamin D with K2, Omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium glycinate, B-vitamin complex for methylation support, and probiotics.

Yes, Dr. Hyman frequently practices intermittent fasting, often delaying his first meal until later in the morning or early afternoon. He also avoids eating within three hours of bedtime to optimize metabolic function.

Dr. Hyman recommends healthy fats that are minimally processed, such as those from nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and cold-pressed olive or avocado oil. These fats are crucial for nutrient absorption and cellular health.