Embedded Files
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Means
paula-casey-means-b1987
Father : Grady Edward Means Jr. (born 1946)
Siblings : Calley Larkin Means (born 1985)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Means
2025-05-10-wikipedia-org-casey-means.pdf
Casey Means
Casey Means
Casey Means
Means in 2020
Surgeon General of the United States
Nominee
Assuming office
TBD
President
Succeeding
Denise Hinton (acting)
Personal details
Born
Paula Casey Means
September 24, 1987 (age 37)
Relatives
Calley Means (brother)
Education
Casey Means (born Paula Casey Means; September 24, 1987) is an American medical doctor, entrepreneur and author.
Means graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine in 2014. She dropped out of her surgical residency and subsequently chose to practice functional medicine, a form of alternative medicine. Her medical license has been inactive since 2024. She co-founded the health company Levels. Means co-authored Good Energy, a wellness book with her brother, Calley, in 2024.
On May 7, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Means as surgeon general, following the withdrawal of Janette Nesheiwat's nomination. She is considered as one of the leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement.
Early life and education
Paula Casey Means[1] was born on September 24, 1987.[2] In a podcast interview in 2023, Means stated that she was named after Paul the Apostle, but legally dropped Paula from her name after graduating from medical school.[1] She is the first daughter of Grady and Gayle Means. Grady served as an assistant to vice president Nelson Rockefeller, worked on health and human welfare issues at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and was a managing partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.[3] Her brother, Calley, is a former food industry lobbyist.[4] Gayle died of pancreatic cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging her children to resolve "broken health incentives" in the U.S.[5][6]
Means graduated with honors from Stanford University, earning a bachelor's degree in human biology.[7] In 2014, she graduated from the Stanford University School of Medicine.[7][8] After medical school, she embarked on a residency in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery of Oregon Health and Science University with the aim of becoming a surgeon.[9] Six months before the end of the five year program, she dropped out of her surgical residency, having become disillusioned with healthcare in the United States.[7][10][11][12] During her studies, she supported research at New York University and OHSU.[13]
Career
Practice (2018–2024)
Means is a physician trained in otolaryngology.[14] After dropping out of residency, Means sought to leave the mainstream "traditional medicine".[5] She established a medical practice in Portland, Oregon.[15] Means dedicated her practice to functional medicine, a marketing term associated with medical practices that are not science-based.[16][17] Her state license was labeled inactive in January 2024.[18]
Businesses (2019–present)
Means is the co-founder and chief medical officer of Levels, a company that offers continuous glucose monitors. She is involved in her brother's company, Truemed.[19] Means sells sponsored dietary supplements, creams, teas, and other products on her social media accounts.[20][21]
Good Energy (2024)
Means and her brother, Calley, co-wrote Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health in 2024.[22] Eschewing evidence based practice, the book's central claim is that a single mechanism, which the authors call "Bad Energy", described as a common form of mitochondrial dysfunction caused by improper lifestyles (contrasted with scientifically-established, genetics-based mitochondrial diseases), cause disorders as diverse as depression, anxiety, acne, infertility, insomnia, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, as well as "most other conditions", because "it can show up in different cell types" and thus causes different symptoms.[23]
The book asserts that the underlying causes of this dysfunction are rooted in unhealthy modern lifestyles: "too much sugar, too much stress, too much sitting, too much pollution, too many pills, too many pesticides, too many screens, too little sleep, and too little micronutrients. These trends-with trillions of dollars behind them-are causing epidemic levels of mitochondrial dysfunction and underpowered, sick, inflamed bodies."[24]
The authors also assert that diseases such schizophrenia and depression are caused by the pseudoscientific "leaky gut syndrome", and falsely claim that "researchers can identify a person with depression or schizophrenia just by analyzing their gut bacteria composition".[25]
Surgeon General nomination
Through her social media impact and close association with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Means is considered one of the leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement.[26][27][28] Means and her brother, Calley, served as close advisers for Kennedy's 2024 presidential campaign, helping to negotiate his eventual endorsement of Donald Trump.[20] By October 2024, she had been considered as a potential appointee to lead a food and health agency in Trump's second presidency, according to The Washington Post.[29] The Wall Street Journal wrote the following month that she had been mentioned by Kennedy, Trump's then-nominee for secretary of health and human services, for surgeon general or commissioner,[4] as well as assistant secretary for health, according to Politico.[30] Means and her brother, Calley, served as advisers to Kennedy by that month.[31]
By January 2025, the Meanses appeared unlikely to join the Department of Health and Human Services, but remained connected to Kennedy.[32] On May 7, the Trump administration began planning to withdraw Janette Nesheiwat's nomination as surgeon general after her résumé was questioned and Laura Loomer, a far-right political activist, stated that Nesheiwat was "not ideologically aligned" with Trump.[33] Hours later, Trump announced that he would nominate Means as surgeon general.[8] Trump said he did not know Means but nominated her based on Kennedy's recommendation.[34]
Views
After withdrawing from her residency, Means became a practitioner of functional medicine.[15][35] She believes that the real origin of most diseases is metabolic dysfunction caused by ultra-processed foods, environmental factors,[36] and lack of sunlight and exercise.[37][35] In a 2024 interview, she compared "Type 2 diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's, dementia, cancer, [and] chronic kidney disease" to different "branches" of a tree, the "trunk" of which she believes to be metabolic dysfunction.[15]
Her views have been criticized by science communicator Jonathan Jarry of the McGill Office for Science and Society, who wrote that "[Means] is not a metabolic health expert" and "theories claiming to have found a single cause for all diseases never pan out".[38] Jarry points to her book as an example of "scienceploitation", using preliminary research on mitochondrial dysfunction to promote dubious products or policy.[39] In addition to proponents of evidence-based medicine such as Jarry, her appointment has been criticized by anti-vaccination campaigners who favoured health influencer Kelly Victory, such as Americans for Health Freedom's Mary Talley Bowden, Steve Kirsch and Suzanne Humphries. Nicole Shanahan was also critical of the nomination, claiming there was an understanding that the Meanses would not play a role in the Trump administration.[27]
Means has criticized the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act[40] and has falsely claimed that the third leading cause of death in the United States is "medical error and medication".[38] According to New York, she has "raised long-settled questions about the safety and efficacy of vaccines despite not representing herself an anti-vaxxer".[35]
Means has referred to infertility as a crisis[41] and has been critical of hormonal contraception on both medical grounds—questioning how it affects women's health—and moral grounds—referring to it as a "disrespect of life".[35]
References
^
^
^
^
a b c Jarvie 2025.
^
^ "MD191266 - Means, Casey, MD - OR License Verification". OMB.OREGON.GOV. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
^
a b c Stone 2024.
^ Hall, Harriet (August 16, 2017). "Functional Medicine: Pseudoscientific Silliness". Skeptic.
^
^ "Trump administration taps wellness influencer for surgeon general". Al Jazeera. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
^ Means & Means, 2024.
^ Means & Means 2024, p. 40.
^ Means & Means 2024, p. 165.
^
^ Samuels, Brett (May 8, 2025). "Trump chose new surgeon general pick on RFK Jr.'s recommendation". The Hill. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
^
a b c d Dickson 2024.
^ Andrew Huberman (May 6, 2024). "Dr. Casey Means: Transform Your Health by Improving Metabolism, Hormone & Blood Sugar Regulation". Huberman Lab (Podcast). Retrieved May 7, 2025.
^
a b Jarry 2024.
Works cited
Articles
Astor, Maggie; Mandavilli, Apoorva (October 31, 2024). "Trump's Transition Team Head Says R.F.K. Jr. Converted Him to Vaccine Skeptic". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Blum, Dani (November 26, 2024). "Does the United States Have an Infertility Crisis?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Butler, Kiera; Merlan, Anna (May 8, 2025). "Trump's New Surgeon General Pick Wants to "Raise the Vibration of Humanity"". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Cancryn, Adam; Lim, David (November 19, 2024). "Trump transition closes in on picks for top health posts". Politico. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Cancryn, Adam; Lim, David (January 15, 2025). "Trump transition puts up guardrails around RFK Jr". Politico. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Collins, Kaitlan; Owermohle, Sarah; Howard, Jacqueline (May 7, 2025). "White House withdraws another key nomination with last-minute pivot to MAHA influencer for US surgeon general". CNN. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Cueto, Isabella (October 7, 2024). "With boost from RFK Jr. and Tucker Carlson, two chronic disease entrepreneurs vault into Trump's orbit". Stat. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Diamond, Dan; Roubein, Rachel; Weber, Lauren (October 18, 2024). "Trump, RFK Jr. vow to 'Make America Healthy Again,' raising hopes and doubts". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Dickson, E. J. (December 16, 2024). "The Siblings With RFK Jr.'s Ear". The Cut. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Egwuonwu, Nnamdi (May 7, 2025). "Trump abruptly pulls surgeon general nominee and names new pick with ties to RFK Jr". NBC News. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Essley Whyte, Liz (May 7, 2025). "Trump Picks a 'MAHA' Movement Leader for Surgeon General". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Feinberg, Andrew (May 7, 2025). "Trump picks conspiracy theorist 'wellness influencer' Casey Means with no medical license to replace Fox contributor as Surgeon General". The Independent. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Florko, Nicholas (May 8, 2025). "The MAHA Takeover Is Complete". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on May 9, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
Jarry, Jonathan (February 14, 2025). "Kennedy's Coalition of Quacks Wants to Feed America a Diet of Lies". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Jarry, Jonathan (November 15, 2024). "Mitochondrial Dysfunction Is a Bit of a Fad". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Jarvie, Jenny (May 8, 2025). "Meet the L.A. holistic doctor and wellness influencer who is Trump's choice for surgeon general". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Jewett, Christina; Creswell, Julie (November 15, 2024). "Kennedy's Vow to Take On Big Food Could Alienate His New G.O.P. Allies". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Kim, Seung Min; Perrone, Matthew (May 7, 2025). "Donald Trump taps wellness influencer close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon general". Associated Press. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Miranda Ollstein, Alice; Cancryn, Adam (November 22, 2024). "Kennedy's 'MAHA transition team' includes anti-vax activists". Politico. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Muller, Madison; Wingrove, Josh (May 7, 2025). "Trump Taps Means as Surgeon General After Pulling First Pick". Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Nirappil, Fenit; Roubein, Rachel (May 7, 2025). "Trump taps MAHA influencer for surgeon general, replacing first pick". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Pager, Tyler (May 7, 2025). "The White House is planning to withdraw the nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be surgeon general, according to a person familiar with the decision". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Pager, Tyler (May 7, 2025). "Trump Withdraws Surgeon General Nomination and Announces New Choice". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Peterson, Kristina; Essley Whyte, Liz (November 13, 2024). "The Siblings Behind RFK Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' Campaign". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Semuels, Alana (May 8, 2025). "Inside the Health Views of Casey Means, Trump's Surgeon General Nominee". TIME. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Stone, Will (June 14, 2024). "In 'Good Energy,' a doctor lays out how to measure and boost your metabolic health". NPR. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Stone, Will (May 7, 2025). "Trump picks Casey Means for surgeon general, after first nominee withdraws". NPR. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Svirnovskiy, Gregory (May 7, 2025). "Trump picks Casey Means for surgeon general". Politico. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Tin, Alexander; Walsh, Joe (May 7, 2025). "Dr. Casey Means, Trump's new surgeon general nominee, is RFK Jr. ally and MAHA advocate". CBS News. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Trevenon, Stacy (November 19, 2012). "Book presents the 'Endgame' as a winner". Coastside News. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Venugopal Ramaswamy, Swapna (May 7, 2025). "Trump changes mind on surgeon general pick, tapping wellness influencer close to RFK Jr". USA Today. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Documents
"License Verification Details". Oregon Medical Board. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
"License Definitions". Oregon Medical Board. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
Podcasts
Esselstyn, Rip (November 30, 2023). "Casey Means, MD - Improve Your Metabolic Health with a "Food as Medicine" Prescription". PLANTStrong (Podcast). Retrieved May 7, 2025.
Posts
Means, Casey [@CaseyMeansMD] (September 24, 2024). "Today is my 37th birthday" (Tweet). Retrieved May 7, 2025 – via Twitter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/well/diet-glucose-monitor.html?searchResultPosition=12
2021-12-21-nytimes-diet-glucose-monitor.pdf
Can Technology Help Us Eat Better?
Can Technology Help Us Eat Better?
A new crop of digital health companies is using blood glucose monitors to transform the way we eat.
Share full article
285
Credit...
Leann Johnson
Published Feb. 8, 2021Updated Dec. 21, 2021
Sign up for the Well newsletter, for Times subscribers only. Essential news and guidance to live your healthiest life. Get it in your inbox.
A new crop of digital health companies is offering consumers an unusual way to transform the way they eat, with the promise of improving metabolic health, boosting energy levels and achieving a personalized road map to better health. Their pitch: Find the foods that are best for you by seeing how they impact your blood sugar levels.
The companies, which include Levels, Nutrisense and January, provide their customers continuous glucose monitors — sleek, wearable devices that attach to your arm and measure your body’s glucose levels 24 hours a day, no skin pricks required. The devices transmit that data to your smartphone, allowing you to see in real time how your glucose levels are affected by your diet, sleep, exercise and stress levels.
The devices can show users in real time which of their favorite foods and snacks can make their blood sugar levels spike and crash, leaving them feeling tired and sluggish after meals. They can reveal how engaging in regular exercise, or simply going for a short walk after a big meal, helps to improve blood sugar control. And for some people, the devices can provide warning signs that they may be at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and other forms of metabolic disease.
Continuous glucose monitors were originally developed decades ago to help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar. For people with Type 1 diabetes, the devices, which require a doctor’s prescription, are considered the standard of care, freeing them from the burden of having to prick their fingers multiple times a day to check their blood sugar. But now digital health companies are using the devices to market programs that tap into the growing demand for personalized nutrition, a multibillion-dollar industry.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’ve had trackers for many other things like sleep, stress and fitness,” said Dr. Casey Means, a surgeon who co-founded Levels and serves as its chief medical officer. “But a continuous glucose monitor measures an internal biomarker like a tiny lab on our arms. This is the first time it’s been used for a mainstream population for the specific purpose of making lifestyle decisions.”
While most people know that eating sugary junk foods like cookies, cake and soda can wreak havoc on their blood sugar levels, studies show that people can have a wide range of responses to many foods. In one intriguing study from 2015, researchers in Israel followed 800 adults for a week, using continuous glucose monitors to track their glucose levels. They found that even when people ate identical foods — such as bread and butter or chocolate — some people had substantial blood sugar spikes while others did not. The researchers concluded that a variety of factors unique to every person, such as your weight, genetics, gut microbiome, lifestyle and insulin sensitivity, determine how you respond to different foods.
In general, health authorities consider a healthy fasting blood sugar level — measured after an overnight fast — to be below 100 milligrams per deciliter. It is normal for blood sugar to rise after meals. But in a 2018 study, researchers at Stanford found that when they had 57 adults wear continuous glucose monitors for two weeks, many people considered “healthy” by normal standards saw their blood sugar soar to diabetic levels on frequent occasions, a signal that they might be on the road to developing Type 2 diabetes. Other research shows that such large blood sugar swings are linked to heart disease and chronic inflammation, which is increasingly thought to underlie a wide range of age-related ailments, from heart disease, diabetes and cancer to arthritis, depression and dementia.
“The nice thing about using a C.G.M. is that it’s an early way of catching what’s going on, and it gives you a chance to change your behavior before you’re diabetic,” said Michael Snyder, a senior author of the 2018 study and a professor in genetics at Stanford.
Nationwide, about 88 million adults, or more than one in three Americans, have pre-diabetes, a precursor to Type 2 diabetes that causes chronically high blood sugar levels. But according to the federal government, more than 84 percent of people with the condition do not know that they have it.
Editors’ Picks
Editors’ Picks
ADVERTISEMENT
Dr. Snyder’s research led him to co-found January. The company provides its customers with continuous glucose monitors and then uses artificial intelligence to help them make decisions about what to eat, including predictions about how they might react to different foods before they even eat them.
The programs, which are not covered by insurance, are not cheap. The starting price for Levels is $395, which includes a telemedicine consultation and two Abbott FreeStyle Libre glucose monitors that are programmed to run for 14 days each. Nutrisense offers its customers a variety of packages that range in price from $175 for a two-week program to $160 a month for an 18-month commitment. And January charges $288 for its “Season of Me” introductory program that includes two glucose monitors and access to the company’s app for three months.
But are they worth it?
To get a better sense, I signed up to use the Levels program for one month. As a health reporter who writes about nutrition, I try to follow a fairly healthy diet and exercise regimen with plenty of fresh foods and few junk foods or sugary snacks, so I wasn’t expecting to learn much from the program. But I kept an open mind.
To get started, I filled out a brief health questionnaire online. Then Levels shipped me two FreeStyle Libre glucose monitors, which were prescribed by a doctor affiliated with the company. As instructed, I attached the device — a small patch with a tiny sensor about the size of a human hair — to the back of my arm. The sensor measures “interstitial fluid” beneath the skin, which it uses to estimate blood sugar levels.
The monitor helped me identify foods that I had no idea were spiking my blood sugar, like protein bars and chickpea pasta. But through trial and error, it also helped me find alternatives. One day I ate a salad with grilled salmon and noticed that it caused my blood sugar to soar. I soon realized why: I had drenched my salad in balsamic vinegar, which, it turns out, contains a lot of sugar. The next day I repeated the meal but with red wine vinegar, which contains no sugar. The result? My continuous glucose monitor showed there was no blood sugar spike or crash.
ADVERTISEMENT
Dr. Means said that people are often surprised to learn just how much sugar is hiding in their foods, especially in things like sauces, condiments and dressings. But not everyone is the same, and people learn tricks, such as pairing carbs with protein or fats — for example, by adding almond butter to oatmeal or an apple — to blunt the blood sugar response to certain foods.
The monitor also reinforced the value of exercise. I noticed on days when I went for a run, or even a 15-minute walk, that the physical activity helped to keep my blood sugar in a steady range after meals.
I reached out to Dr. Aaron Neinstein, an endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Neinstein prescribes continuous glucose monitors to most of his patients with diabetes and has used them himself to monitor his blood sugar and make changes to his diet. By wearing a C.G.M. he found, for example, that a particular type of soup that he regularly ate at his hospital cafeteria was causing a “surprisingly sustained elevation” in his blood sugar levels, leading him to cut back on it.
Dr. Neinstein said there was evidence from rigorous studies that wearing a C.G.M. benefits people with Type 1 diabetes, leading to improved blood sugar control. He predicted that by 2025 every person with any form of diabetes would be using a C.G.M. But he said he hoped there would be more research looking into whether they can improve health in people without diabetes before they become more widely adopted by the general public.
“Anecdotally, I have seen it have benefit in people without diabetes,” he said. “But I think it’s really important that it be rigorously tested. It’s an expense to people and to the health care system, so we really do need to have evidence of benefit.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Dr. Neinstein said he encourages people who try programs like Levels to treat their glucose devices as part of a personal science experiment.
“There is so much unhealthy food all around us, and we’re in an epidemic of metabolic disease,” he said. “If people can use these devices to test different foods and get a little feedback on what are the behaviors that are making them less healthy, then that seems like a valuable thing to me.”
A correction was made on Feb. 22, 2021: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the January introductory package includes a heart rate monitor; it does not.
When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn more
Anahad O’Connor is a staff reporter covering health, science, nutrition and other topics. He is also a bestselling author of consumer health books such as “Never Shower in a Thunderstorm” and “The 10 Things You Need to Eat.”
A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 9, 2021, Section D, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: Checking Your Blood Sugar? It’s on Your Phone. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Page updated
Report abuse