There’s a growing number of voices working to revolutionize our understanding of health

so that people feel empowered by science-based information that helps them live a healthier life. Dr. Casey Means is one of these loud voices, she explains the foundational science involved in our bodies at a cellular level and then offers simple (not easy, but simple – there’s a difference) steps towards optimal health. She is very much sounding the alarm that we as Americans are chronically unhealthy and getting worse each year – it is time for us to individually take our health back. I discovered Dr. Means nearly two years ago on a podcast entitled, “Eating Ourselves to Death,” with Bari Weiss as host. She blew me away with her straight forward, common sense perspective on health. It is a departure from mainstream medicine, she is focused not on treating symptoms, but on identifying root causes of symptoms. “There is an energy crisis in our bodies that is a root cause pathway of pretty much every chronic disease we’re seeing today. We are objectively ignoring it; the root causes are linked. And we are abjectly failing at managing it.” Dr. Means has shared this knowledge in Good Energy (cowritten with her brother, Calley Means). I highly recommend the book and listening to her discuss it on a multitude of podcasts, my favorite discussion was with Dr. Andrew Huberman.

A few take-aways from her book and podcast discussions:

She states that the biggest lie in health care is that medical leaders are absolutely silent on the things that are actually making us sick: food and lifestyle.

Listen to your body, symptoms are a gift. “We are told that symptoms are things to fear and immediately treat. But they are a gift. Every time a symptom crops up, I ask, “What is my body trying to tell me?”

Her top three pillars of healthy lifestyle:

Eat real, unprocessed, clean food as much as possible. (Avoiding ultra processed foods.)

Movement. The more you move your body the more you convert fuel to energy. It’s better to move throughout the day (small breaks, even 2 minutes makes a difference!) than only in one big workout at the end of a sedentary day. And short walks after meals are especially good for you.

Sleep. Getting adequate sleep is crucial to our body’s restoration and repair from our daily life.

While admittedly this is an ongoing journey for me and at moments all the information can be overwhelming, I am grateful for voices like Dr. Means that are giving us simple steps of action and the reasoning behind it, backed by research, that allows us to work towards better health. 

Here’s to good health!