Function Health uses AI to address widespread nutritional deficiencies

Function Health is developing a system to democratize healthcare by providing low-cost, affordable preventive and health optimization care. The company utilizes AI to process massive datasets of individual human biology, including lab testing, genomics, and imaging. Mark Hyman, associated with the company, argues that AI is the only technology capable of understanding the petabytes of biological data now available, enabling a shift from reactive to proactive medicine. Function Health data indicates that 70% of its users, who are generally more health-conscious than the average American, are deficient in one or more nutrients at minimum levels. For example, while labs set the vitamin D cutoff at 30 ng/dL to prevent rickets, Hyman suggests 50 is healthier, and notes that 90% of people are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. The company’s basic membership includes over 110 biomarkers covering heart, immune, hormonal, and metabolic systems. Add-on tests include a brain health panel for early Alzheimer’s detection, the Gallery multi-cancer detection test for over 50 cancers, and an Azure Scan total body MRI. Hyman notes that the cost of genomic sequencing has dropped from a billion dollars to $300, and whole-body MRI scans are available for $499 compared to $2,500 for a knee MRI. He argues that the intersection of systems biology, massive data availability, and AI represents a historic moment that will fundamentally shift medicine from treating disease to preventing it, despite pushback from the medical industrial complex.