On this episode of the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Dr. Casey Means examines the shortcomings of modern healthcare in addressing early signs of metabolic dysfunction and the importance of self-monitoring for preventing chronic illnesses. She explores how our lifestyle choices around diet, sleep, and movement significantly impact metabolic health.
Means also introduces emerging technologies, such as continuous glucose monitors and direct-to-consumer lab tests, that empower individuals to gain deeper insights into their unique metabolic needs. Furthermore, the discussion touches on the role of policy changes—including restrictions on pharmaceutical advertising and removing added sugars from school lunches—in fostering a healthier environment for metabolic well-being.
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Casey Means critiques the modern medical system's failure to address early signs of metabolic dysfunction, which contributes to chronic illnesses. She highlights the need for individuals to understand the healthcare system's economic incentives and take ownership of their health by monitoring symptoms as the body's communication.
Means emphasizes using these technologies to make informed lifestyle choices tailored to individual metabolic needs.
Means and Jay Shetty advocate for:
1-Page Summary
Casey Means and Shetty address the glaring gaps in the current healthcare system, especially when it comes to chronic health issues, and underscore the necessity of personal empowerment and self-trust in health management.
Casey Means critiques the modern American medical system for not operating on the paradigm that most chronic symptoms and diseases can be traced back to metabolic dysfunction. She indicates that the healthcare system often fails to notice early warning signs of metabolic diseases, including chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress, which contribute greatly to chronic health issues.
The United States is experiencing a rampant chronic illness epidemic across all age demographics. Despite over $4 trillion spent annually on healthcare, the population's health continues to decline, as seen in increased rates of chronic conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Means shares her personal narrative, questioning why her mother, despite being on medication and deemed healthy by reputed institutions, was suddenly diagnosed with cancer. She criticizes the healthcare system for managing symptoms rather than addressing root causes and highlights a "devil's bargain" between the healthcare system and ultra-processed food industries, which she believes perpetuates chronic illnesses.
Mean suggests that daily lifestyle choices can lead to a healthier self if they align with the body’s cellular needs, including food quality, sunlight exposure, and physical movement. She also emphasizes the need for individuals to acknowledge the healthcare system's economic incentives that prefer treating symptoms rather than curing diseases.
She calls for an approach to healthcare that measures quality by healing and proper body function, not just medication adherence. This awareness of the underlying economic realities of healthcare is crucial for people to take control of their health and possibly even educate their doctors.
Means views chronic symptoms as a form of communication from the body, urging people to consider them as indications of the body's needs. She suggests seeing every symptom as an opportunity to understand the body better and to address underly ...
Issues with the current healthcare system and the need for empowerment and self-trust
Understanding the various lifestyle factors that impact metabolic health is essential for maintaining overall well-being. Diet, sleep, and physical activity play a crucial role in sustaining metabolic function.
Diet is a significant influence on metabolic health. Means highlights that an overwhelming proportion of American calories, about 70%, come from ultra-processed industrialized food, which negatively impacts cellular function. She stresses the need for nutritious, unprocessed food that is organic and free from pesticides.
She warns against what she refers to as the "unholy trinity of foods" that are detrimental to cellular health—sugar, refined grains, and industrial seed oils. The worst advice she’s heard is "all good things in moderation," arguing that substances like refined sugar and synthetic toxins should not be consumed at all. This emphasizes the importance of reducing the intake of these harmful substances to improve metabolic health.
Research shows that the speed at which we eat can impact our metabolic health. Those who eat the slowest are four times less likely to develop metabolic syndrome compared to their faster-eating counterparts. This underlines the value of mindful eating habits.
Americans are getting significantly less sleep now than they did a century ago. Consistency in sleep quality, quantity, and timing is a crucial pillar of health that impacts metabolic function.
Social jet lag, the difference in sleep timing between workdays and weekends, can double the risk of metabolic disorders. Means advocates for sleep consistency to ensure that metabolic genes, pathways, and hormones follow their 24-hour cycle efficiently. Reducing social jet lag is essential to prevent an increased risk of metabolic issues.
Means further emphasizes the importance of a consistent sleep pattern to align the body's internal clock with the external environment. Consistent sleep and wake times contribute to regulated circadian rhythms and support proper metabolic functions.
Lifestyle factors that impact metabolic health
In discussions with Casey Means and Jay Shetty, new technologies are highlighted as breakthrough tools that can greatly enhance our understanding of individual metabolic health and empower us to make informed lifestyle choices.
Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are becoming a revolutionary tool for individuals to gain real-time insights into how their bodies react to different foods. Casey Means, co-founder of Levels Health, emphasizes the importance of access to CGMs, which can demonstrate the impact of not just diet, but also lifestyle factors like sleep, on key metabolic biomarkers. She illustrates how using a glucose monitor revealed that walking post-meal could help preempt glucose spikes. This knowledge empowers individuals to make dietary and lifestyle adjustments that support metabolic health.
Access to CGMs through companies like Levels Health is transforming the way people understand their metabolism in reaction to their diet. The devices offer continual feedback, serving as a tool to guide individuals towards healthier eating habits by showing immediate data on metabolic responses to specific foods.
Casey Means discusses the emergence of direct-to-consumer lab testing as a valuable resource for individuals to assess a comprehensive array of metabolic markers. This approach equips people with a detailed view of their metabolic health without necessarily needing a doctor’s permission. Jay Shetty shares his experience with a company that allows the testing of over 200 biomarkers for under $500 a year, providing a detailed snapshot of the body’s internal state. Such functional health tests can reveal conditions such as chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Armed with knowledge from these tests, individuals can understand and address underlying health issues beyond just treating symptoms. Functional medicine interpretations included with these tests help decipher the results, a stark contrast to traditional medical practice which often focuses on prescribed medication over empowering individuals with actionable lifestyle c ...
The role of new technologies in understanding and improving metabolic health
In light of the crisis of poor metabolic health, experts like Casey Means and Jay Shetty are advocating for policy changes to address systemic contributors to this growing problem.
Casey Means advocates for an executive order to ban pharmaceutical advertisements on television, aiming to diminish the influence these companies have on the public's health information. She points out that a significant portion of advertising revenue for mainstream media comes from the pharmaceutical industry, which results in biased content that discourages public health empowerment and fosters dependence on pharmaceutical interventions. Shetty echoes this concern, noting the contrast between the advertised benefits of pharmaceuticals and their severe side effects. He questions the impact of removing such ads, particularly on the economy and GDP.
Means argues that the confusion generated around health and nutrition benefits the system by creating dependency on pharmaceutical solutions. This confusion is said to be intentionally cultivated, and pharmaceutical advertisements play a vital role in sustaining it.
Casey Means suggests a policy where departments receiving federal funding should be prohibited from accepting money from pharmaceutical companies to prevent conflicts of interest. She highlights the significant influence that pharmaceutical funding can have on academic research and the loyalties and objectives of researchers. By eliminating the possibility of dual funding, taxpayer interests would become a priority, ensuring that research and health guidelines are free from pharmaceutical industry bias ...
Policy changes needed to address systemic issues that contribute to poor metabolic health
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