What You Need to Know About 'Functional Medicine'—And Why Health Experts Are Concerned

If you've scrolled through wellness podcasts or health influencer accounts lately, you've probably heard the term "functional medicine." It sounds modern, scientific, and appealing—the idea that doctors can find the root cause of your health problems by running specialized tests and treating you with supplements and lifestyle changes. But a recent hiring at CBS News has put this alternative medicine approach under the spotlight, and not everyone is celebrating.

What Exactly Is Functional Medicine?

According to the Institute for Functional Medicine, this approach "restores healthy function by treating the root causes of disease" by identifying "underlying processes and dysfunctions that are causing imbalance and disease in each individual." In practice, this means practitioners often test your stool, hormones, and food sensitivities, then treat findings with supplements, nutrition, yoga, and acupuncture.

The problem? Many of these underlying diagnoses—like "leaky gut," which functional medicine doctors frequently discuss—aren't recognized by mainstream medicine. Scientists say "leaky gut" "cannot be accurately diagnosed by symptoms, blood work, or stool studies" and "is not a real diagnosis."

The CBS Controversy

Dr. Mark Hyman, one of functional medicine's most prominent advocates, was recently hired as a contributor to CBS News. Hyman has claimed he reduced his biological age by 20 years using cold plunges and other therapies, and he promotes the idea that conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia can be reversed with nutritional supplements—which he also sells on his online store.

Medical experts have raised serious concerns. Jonathan Jarry, a science communicator at McGill University's Office for Science and Society, warned: "By hiring Mark Hyman, CBS News will be misinforming its large audience on the subject of health." He predicts viewers will be told "true health is about testing for everything—at a cost—and gorging yourself on an array of unproven and unnecessary dietary supplements."

Is Functional Medicine Just Alternative Medicine With a New Name?

Critics argue that functional medicine is simply alternative medicine repackaged. The late oncologist Wallace Sampson characterized it as a collection of "abandoned concepts" undergoing "resurrection under a more modern slogan, 'Functional Medicine.'" An editorial from the American Council of Science and Health called it "just a different term for alternative medicine, holistic medicine, [or] integrative medicine," and accused Hyman specifically of promoting "junk science and magical thinking."

Oncological surgeon David Gorski has described functional medicine as "pure quackery."

The Vaccine Connection

Hyman's hiring is particularly notable because of his long alliance with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current health and human services secretary. For more than a decade, the two have campaigned against the vaccine preservative thimerosal, which contains a form of mercury. They've claimed it causes autism—a claim the scientific consensus has rejected for decades.

A March 2025 editorial in the journal Autism analyzed large, international studies involving more than 700,000 children from countries including Denmark, the US, and the UK. The researchers found "no significant relationship with autism" and an "overwhelming scientific consensus and robust evidence debunking any link between the MMR vaccine and autism." Despite this evidence, Kennedy ordered the removal of thimerosal from vaccines last July.

What This Means for You

The rise of functional medicine reflects a real frustration many people feel with conventional healthcare—the sense that doctors don't always listen or dig deep enough into root causes. That's understandable. But when alternative approaches lack scientific backing and make claims that contradict rigorous research, it's worth pausing before spending money on expensive tests and supplements. If you're interested in exploring functional medicine or any alternative approach, it's smart to ask your regular doctor what the evidence actually shows—and whether the treatments are backed by peer-reviewed studies, not just testimonials.