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Dr. Josh Axe

Doctor. Author. Founder. Teacher.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS, has helped millions rethink health through root-cause nutrition, natural medicine, functional-health education and faith.

New York Times bestselling author20+years in practice15M+peak monthly readers50M+podcast downloads

Read Dr. Axe's full biography

In his words

Why this became my life's work.

“My passion for natural medicine became deeply personal when my mother healed from cancer naturally. Years later, a serious spinal injury made me apply many of the same principles to myself, and I was able to reverse the irreversible. Now, I use these same healing protocols with my patients.”

— Dr. Josh Axe

Portrait of Dr. Josh Axe

It started with two people who weren't supposed to heal.

Dr. Josh Axe dancing with his mother
Josh with his mother
Dr. Josh Axe with his mother at a market
Cancer-free, with more energy than she'd known in decades
Watching my mom heal

My mother's cancer, twice — and the decision that changed our family.

When Josh was a teenager his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through conventional treatment and survived — but the treatment left her depleted, and for the next ten years she battled serious health problems, including chronic fatigue, depression and a weakened immune system.

Then, twelve years after her first diagnosis, the cancer came back. In 2006, during the final year of his medical training in functional medicine and chiropractic care, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and given a 40% chance to live. This time she made a different decision: she forwent conventional treatment and went all-natural — a protocol built on nutrient-dense foods, vegetable juicing, herbs, and prayer. Within months her scans showed the tumors shrinking, and she went on to be declared cancer-free — living with more energy and joy than she had known in decades. Watching her transformation set the course of his life.

Healing from a spinal disease
2022 — bedridden and unable to walk for 12 months
Portrait of Dr. Josh Axe
Today — fully recovered
Healing from a spinal disease

Told he would never walk normally again — and what he did instead.

In 2022, Dr. Axe developed a life-threatening spinal infection. He was bedridden and unable to walk for 12 months. After meeting with an infectious disease specialist, he was told he would never walk normally again, that he would need his spine fused — and that he could die.

He refused to accept that verdict. His recovery combined prayer and surrender with regenerative medicine — including stem cells and peptides — hyperbaric oxygen, nutrition, and relentless rehab. Applying the same root-cause principles to himself that he had used with his mother and thousands of patients, he reversed what he had been told was irreversible. The experience inspired his book Heal Your Cells — focused on helping people reverse the “irreversible” and heal with the power of cellular medicine.

A doctor on a mission.

Dr. Axe has spent two decades helping people heal naturally — first in his Nashville clinic, then through DrAxe.com, one of the most-visited natural-health sites in the world, and Ancient Nutrition, which he co-founded. His approach is simple: find the root cause, use food as medicine, and pair ancient wisdom with modern science.

Dr. Josh Axe, DNM, DC, CNS, is a doctor of natural medicine, doctor of chiropractic and clinical nutritionist who has dedicated his career to helping people heal through the power of food, herbs and lifestyle medicine. He holds a Master of Science in Leadership from Johns Hopkins University and is widely recognized as a leading expert in personalized nutrition, functional medicine and cellular healing.

He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. His major books in order: Eat Dirt (2016), Keto Diet (2019), Ancient Remedies (2021), Think This Not That (2024), The Biblio Diet (2025), and Heal Your Cells (2026), co-authored with Dr. Will Cole. The Biblio Diet is a New York Times bestseller, co-authored with Jordan Rubin. Heal Your Cells is also a New York Times bestseller, co-authored with Dr. Will Cole.

In 2017, he appeared as a regular on The Dr. Oz Show and started his PBS TV show. Dr. Axe co-founded Ancient Nutrition in 2018.

Today his clinical work continues through The Health Institute virtual practice, co-owned with Dr. Will Cole, and The Longevity Clinic in Franklin, Tennessee.

Education & credentials

  • DC Doctor of Chiropractic
  • DNM Doctor of Natural Medicine
  • CNS Certified Nutrition Specialist
  • MS Master of Science, Johns Hopkins University
  • 20+ yrs Clinical practitioner with 20+ years of experience in functional medicine
How I think about health

Five principles that guide my work.

1Look upstream.

Symptoms are information. Ask what they're pointing to before you try to quiet them.

2Food comes first.

Nutrition is one of the most powerful daily inputs we have. Start there.

3Test when you can.

Don't guess when objective information can help you decide.

4Ancient wisdom + modern science.

Use both, thoughtfully, and be honest about the strength of the evidence.

5Heal the whole person.

Body, mind, relationships, purpose and faith matter — and they affect each other.

In the media

A trusted voice on the biggest stages.

Dr. Josh Axe with Dr. Oz on The Dr. Oz Show stage
The Dr. Oz ShowRecurring expert guest
National PBSPrimetime health programs
Dr. Josh Axe speaking on stage at CAL JAM
Keynote stagesFeatured health speaker
Apple PodcastsA top-10 health show
Reviewed by specialists in endocrinology, functional medicine, cardiology, nutrition and longevity.Our protocols and source library are reviewed against current clinical evidence by our medical advisory board. Dr. Axe AI grounds its answers in that reviewed library and shows the sources behind every response.
Meet the Medical Advisory Board
Every article and protocol shows who reviewed it and when.Meet the people behind the work · Editorial & Medical Review Standards
Two decades in the arena

The road so far.

2008Opens his natural medicine clinic and founds DrAxe.comA functional-medicine practice in Nashville that grows to more than 1,000 patient visits a week, and the site that carries that clinical knowledge to the world.
2012Works with Team USA athletesNutrition and performance support at the London Games.
2014DrAxe.com reaches 10M+ peopleOne of the most-visited natural-health resources in the world.
2016Writes Eat DirtEat Dirt makes the case for healing the gut first.
2017The Dr. Oz Show · PBSAppears as a regular on The Dr. Oz Show and starts his PBS TV show.
2018Founds Ancient NutritionBone broth protein and collagen go mainstream.
2019Keto DietPublishes Keto Diet.
2022Reverses the “irreversible”A spinal infection leaves him bedridden for 12 months; told he'll never walk normally again, he recovers fully.
2023Johns Hopkins UniversityGraduates with a Master of Science.
2024Founds The Health InstituteVirtual root-cause clinical care, delivered anywhere by a practitioner team on shared protocols.
2025The Biblio DietA New York Times bestseller, co-authored with Jordan Rubin.
2026The Longevity Clinic · Heal Your Cells · Ask Dr. Axe AIOpens The Longevity Clinic in Franklin, Tennessee; publishes Heal Your Cells, a New York Times bestseller co-authored with Dr. Will Cole; DrAxe.com relaunches as an AI-native health platform.
Today50M+ downloads, 15M+ peak monthly readersHealth, personal growth and faith — every week, on every platform.
Read the full story, year by year The detailed biography covers his patients, companies, books, media and faith — with sources.
Beyond the work

My goal is simple.

“I want to help you understand your body better, take responsibility for the things you can change, and build a life of greater health, strength, purpose and faith.”

— Dr. Josh Axe · Nashville, Tennessee