A Blueprint to Overhaul the American Food & Pharma Systems – Calley Means

Dave Asprey

Mar 21, 2024

Episode description

Today, Calley Means joins the show to march onward on his war path to changing the incentives of modern health. He’s a champion of food and lifestyle practices as medicine—and, in May of this year, he’s putting out a new book on the subject which we outline today, called Good Energy.

His sister, Dr. Casey Means, is the co-author of Good Energy. You know her from a past appearance on this show and as the founder of Levels so this mission really is a family affair in the best way possible.

Going from a food lobbyist to the other side of the fence, Calley is a deeply serious and dedicated champion for the people. But he brings much more to the table today than a polished delivery and a new book; he is also the co-founder of True Medicine, which works to connect tax-advantaged spending to healthy food and exercise.

It’s helped hundreds of thousands of people access affordable care by leveraging the convoluted systems currently in place to block them from doing so—no easy task.

In this conversation, Calley lays the foundation for our food culture as it stands today—bleak, corrupt, poisoned, sick, and getting sicker. We deconstruct the layers of federal agencies and historical precedent that have brought us to this point, and we’re direct in our suggestions (demands) on how to fix it.

And all the facts are laid bare. Dots are connected in broad daylight, on network television, and within the algorithms that power our social feeds. Our kids are at stake, and the only option is to take affirmative action on what we know is right.

(00:01:19) Calley’s Inspirations & Metabolic Mission

(00:11:16) Redefining the Meaning of Medicine

(00:19:21) Is America a Viable Place To Raise Healthy Kids?

(00:30:41) Meaningfully Changing Healthcare Incentives

(00:42:56) Now What—How Does Society Make Positive Change?

(00:49:34) The Media’s Role in Society’s False Narratives

(00:56:49) Undoing the Damage of the Food Pyramid

Sponsors

ARRC LED | The perfect device for daily home use. For more information visit arrcled.com.

Resources

Dave Asprey’s NEW Book ‘Smarter Not Harder’ is out now: https://daveasprey.com/books

Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health

Truemed: truemed.com

The Human Upgrade is produced by Crate Media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c

Episode description

It’s helped hundreds of thousands of people access affordable care by leveraging the convoluted systems currently in place to block them from doing so—no easy task.

(00:01:19) Calley’s Inspirations & Metabolic Mission

(00:11:16) Redefining the Meaning of Medicine

(00:19:21) Is America a Viable Place To Raise Healthy Kids?

(00:30:41) Meaningfully Changing Healthcare Incentives

(00:42:56) Now What—How Does Society Make Positive Change?

(00:49:34) The Media’s Role in Society’s False Narratives

(00:56:49) Undoing the Damage of the Food Pyramid

Sponsors

ARRC LED | The perfect device for daily home use. For more information visit arrcled.com.

Resources

Dave Asprey’s NEW Book ‘Smarter Not Harder’ is out now: https://daveasprey.com/books

Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health

Truemed: truemed.com

The Human Upgrade is produced by Crate Media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Expose pharma's exploitation of social justice for profit

The NAACP is a registered lobbyist for Ozempic, illustrating how pharmaceutical companies fund civil rights groups to weaponize social justice issues for profit.

#GLP1

#risk

Recognize FDA's pharma funding to understand regulatory influences

The FDA is not primarily funded by taxpayers, as 75% of its drug review budget comes directly from the pharmaceutical industry it regulates.

#risk

Request letter of medical necessity for tax-deductible healthy food and exercise

Ask your doctor for a letter of medical necessity for healthy food and exercise to make them tax-deductible using your HSA or FSA accounts.

#exercise

#nutrition

Recognize COVID-19 as a foodborne illness linked to diet and metabolic health

COVID-19 can be considered a foodborne illness because poor metabolic health, driven by diet, was the primary factor determining who died from it.

#COVID-19

#metabolism

Recognize birth control pill's impact on pharmaceutical business model

The birth control pill created the modern pharmaceutical business model by proving people would take a pill for decades, paving the way for chronic disease treatments.

#birth-control

Eliminate chronic disease research to improve national health

The trillions of dollars spent on chronic disease and nutrition research have been a net negative for the country's health, and we would be healthier if it was all eliminated.

#chronic-disease

#research

Expose pharmaceutical payments to doctors for transparency

Pharmaceutical companies make hundreds of thousands of legal, publicly documented payments to doctors, such as Novo Nordisk's 420,000 payments to promote Ozempic.

#risk

Leverage technology to create healthier processed foods

New technologies like Zero Acre Farms' fermentation can create metabolically healthy oils that are cheaper than seed oils, allowing processed food to become healthier without increasing cost.