Mark Hyman wants you to believe he’s biologically 39 years old. The 66-year-old functional medicine guru and twelve-time New York Times bestselling author has built an empire on the promise that the right combination of supplements, lifestyle changes, and cutting-edge treatments can literally reverse aging. “We can reprogram our genes back to a younger you,” he states in one way or another in countless podcasts. “[At] 63 I could use certain transcription factors and turn my biological clock back to 25. Make my wrinkles go away, my hair turns black, my joints get healthier.”
But earlier this year, Hyman revealed something that threatens to undermine his entire brand: he almost died.
Not from old age. Not from some unavoidable disease. From sepsis—a severe infection that spread through his spine after what he vaguely described as “a pretty common injection” for back pain.
And he’s not alone. Jordan Peterson, the pop psychologist who promotes anti-wokeness as a key to mental well-being, was also hospitalized for sepsis as well. Peterson remains largely out of the public eye, and it’s unclear whether he’ll ever fully return.
Here’s where it gets interesting: both men share the same doctor—Adeel Khan, a regenerative medicine physician who runs a string of stem cell clinics out of Mexico, Dubai, and Japan. Khan’s patient roster reads like a who’s who of celebrity wellness: the Kardashians, Tony Robbins, and yes, both Hyman and Peterson.
Over the past two months, I’ve been investigating a story that these three highly public medical professionals have taken great pains to keep under wraps. It’s a story about how two of the most prominent wellness influencers in the world promoted Khan’s dubious stem cell therapies, then nearly died while under his care. And even after their close calls, they’ve remained largely silent—because admitting what happened would undermine the very grift pipelines that fund their lifestyles.
However, since their legal team has already been in touch, I would like to offer you a necessary disclaimer.
Important disclaimer: Everything I present here is my opinion based on investigative work using publicly available information, interviews, and independent analysis. I haven’t directly inspected private medical records, so my conclusions are circumstantial. References to “scams,” “fraud,” or “lies” should not be taken as definitive findings of fact or legal conclusions. No statement should be interpreted as a categorical declaration that any person has violated civil or criminal law unless a court has so ruled. I encourage you to examine the evidence and reach your own conclusions.
With that said, let me tell you what I found.