🧘‍♀️ Cultivating calm, plus lab testing deep dive

Welcome back, friends! Let’s dive into a recap of my episode with Bill Maher, some thoughts on the spirituality and stoicism of calm, a peek at my biomarkers to help YOU feel empowered to understand YOURS, and a bunch more! 

📺 Bill Maher recap!

I loved being a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher this week for a grounded discussion about the root causes of our healthcare crisis. You can watch the full episode on HBO or Max. Here are a few excerpts from my interview: 

😞 The state of health care in the U.S.

Bill Maher: “I always say, if doctors know everything, why do you always have to get a second opinion? And by the way, the second one never matches the first one. They're always guessing. I'm not saying they're corrupt, although there is some of that!”

Casey: “If they knew everything, then why would we be spending $4.5 trillion per year on health care costs and life expectancy going down in the United States? Why are 80% of health care costs going towards chronic illnesses that are rooted in diet and lifestyle, yet at the vast majority of American medical schools, doctors in training are not taking a single nutrition course?

If we were crushing it, we would not be spending 2X more than every other country in the entire world and have the lowest life expectancy of any developed country in the entire world. 

We are the sickest of the top 11 high-income countries in the world. We have the highest infant and maternal mortality rates. And our life expectancy is 10 years less than our friends in Japan and Switzerland.

Right now, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the average American man in America has a life expectancy of 73. It is 83 in Japan and Switzerland. This is something we should all be outraged about.

Americans are, I think, tired of being gaslit about the fact that there's not a problem right now. And when we look around us, we know there is.”

☀️ The future of public health could be bright 

Casey:

“RFK is on track to do three simple things: 

1. Get the corruption out of the U.S. health agencies.

2. Produce uncompromised evidence-based research for our health guidelines

3. Reverse the trends of the chronic disease epidemic in two years for children and adults. The goal is for us to show up for our 250th anniversary of America stronger than ever. 

I think my purpose on this planet is to really help people understand—both in health care and outside of health care—that we don’t have 50 issues torturing our lives right now. Fundamentally, we actually have one really big issue: the metabolic disease epidemic.

Our cells are metabolically dysfunctional, and this is caused by our environment. The modern world is really a mismatch with what our cells need to function properly. 

In the U.S., it’s not profitable to heal. It’s profitable to keep people sick, drug them, cut them, and bill them. That’s what we’ve learned to do.” 

🌲 A crisis of connection

Casey: “More than a health epidemic—which is what we have in this country, where health is getting destroyed—it’s a disconnection crisis.The health care crisis is just one branch of a much larger tree. We’re disconnecting the body into 100 separate parts and not seeing it as a unified system. We’re disconnecting the body from the environmental conversation, even though we’re one and the same.

We are totally connected to nature, and in destroying nature—through pesticides and the way we’re treating animals—our health is reflecting what we’re doing to the earth.

I think what’s hopeful, at least about RFK’s message, is that he’s spiritually connected to nature. He has spent his life litigating against environmental devastation. He has sued Monsanto. He sued GE for PCBs in water. He started the Waterkeeper Alliance. He hikes all the time. He speaks to ravens on his deck!”

“The broader point is that I think a deeper conversation about the spiritual connection between humans and the earth, and some compassion for our bodies and how they’re being destroyed by the modern world, is a conversation we need to be having.” 🌎️ 

💊 What did you learn in medical school?

Casey: “It's not an overstatement to say that in my four years of Stanford undergrad, four years of Stanford medical school, and four and a half years of surgical training, I did not learn a single thing about what is really making Americans sick. The true multifaceted root causes of the chronic disease epidemic that’s devastating and torturing American lives were never addressed.

No one taught us about the impact of ultra-processed food on our health or the incredible 80,000 synthetic toxins in our food, water, air, and personal care products. No one talked about the six billion tons of plastic produced since 1907 that have entered our food, water, and even our air, or the six billion pounds of synthetic pesticides sprayed on our global food supply every year.

Many children in America spend less time outdoors than a maximum-security prisoner, yet sunlight dictates a huge portion of our biology. 

These modifiable aspects of holistic living, which directly impact our cellular health, are simply not being talked about.

Instead, the American health care system is focused on silos. We have over 100 medical and surgical subspecialties, and what happens is we miss the forest for the trees when it comes to the root causes of what’s making Americans sick.

What happened on Election Day this year is that Americans came out and said, “We want to bend the curve of the chronic disease epidemic that is destroying American potential.”

🐄 On raw milk and over-regulation for the benefit of corporations

Casey: I think it’s important to pop up from some of these fringe, super-divisive issues, like raw milk and fluoride. Because the reality is, I think what people want is to fulfill the American dream and feel free.

Right now, there’s this obsession with eliminating risk. I think that’s what we saw with COVID. If you go to the HHS.gov website right now, the banner at the top says “Risk Less. Do More.” And it’s basically just an advertisement for getting vaccines. 

But I think we’ve distorted the conversation around risk. It’s like we’re being brainwashed to think that the best possible thing is zero risk. But that’s not living—that’s being imprisoned.

When it comes to a question like raw milk, I want to be free to form a relationship with a local farmer, understand his integrity, look him in the eyes, pet his cow, and then decide if I feel safe to drink the milk from his farm. 

It’s not about the raw milk itself. It’s about this bloating of specific regulations around food and agriculture that favors industry interests over human interests, which is antithetical to what the Founding Fathers wanted. Right now, there’s a war on small farmers through regulations that favor multinational corporations. Small farmers are being pushed out. There are four conglomerates for meat in the country, and they want regulations that squeeze small farmers out. This is a rigged system. We need better regulation on certain aspects (chemicals and pesticides) of food and agriculture that actually keep Americans safe, and fewer on the small farmers to work freely and American consumers to choose what food to buy and from whom.

Also, thanks to Fox News and Jesse Watters for resharing clips! 👇️ 

🧘 Peace and calm as the language of God 

In the weekly spiritual lecture at Self-Realization fellowship (SRF) that my fiancé and I go to, I heard a message from the monk that REALLY landed with me and I want to share it with you. He said (and I’m paraphrasing here…), that if we are constantly praying for our own will power to be aligned with God’s will, and then have the courage to act on that, we will feel peace, calm, and joy. 

⚡ The monk said, “peace, calm, and joy are the subtle cues of God’s energy with us. If we are feeling peaceful, we are in the frequency of God’s energy.”

If we are not feeling peaceful, we can and should move towards God, which basically means more prayer and meditation. If we are aligning our will power with God’s will, prana and life force will flow and we will have energy to do good work in the world. The prana that created every atom of the universe is in us. We are a part of that, not separate. By tuning into it, through prayer and meditation, we can do anything. He said, “if we follow God’s will, we will have all of Creation behind us.” Wow.

So our job then is to tune into how we really feel inside… Are we peaceful? Are we calm? Are we joyful? 

If not, we actually can choose to hand over the burdens to God and ask for help. We can ask for help in prayer. We can turn the senses inward to the place of quiet calm where we can tune in to truth. (Side note: this is also really efficient, in my opinion… if we’re tuning in with God/Source/Spirit/the quantum field, we can access knowledge that makes life the answers come more easily.)

The monks at SRF always say, “Speak to God in the language of your heart.” Our conversations with God/Source can be whatever we feel comfortable with. But in my experience, starting that conversation, and keeping the conversation active, is a huge unlock. I think part of our job in this PRECIOUS life is to get off autopilot, believe in the power within us, remember we are miracles, simply ask God for our willpower to be aligned with God, ask God for energy and motivation, ask God to be with us in difficult times, and then make the commitment to believe that anything is possible… even the best possible outcomes for the world and all beings. Peace on Earth starts with peace in our own hearts. And I’m not sure I can fully think my way to calm; I think I have to pray, breathe, and meditate my way to calm.

Interestingly, Marcus Aurelius had a very similar message for us in Meditations, one of my very favorite books. He says that if we are troubled and not at peace, that we’ve lost sight of the true path. That we have forgotten something important…

Below are two different translations of one of my favorite passages from Meditations, and I keep this message near me at all times, and recite it as a mantra if I feel negative emotion taking hold within me. Read them both and see how it feels. Does it resonate?

And always, remember that the algorithm and media makes money when we’re angry and divisive. Don’t fall into its trap. Even against the greatest challenges and struggles, I believe peace and calm (and acting with our heart) are powerful. I’m working on all of this myself every day.  

🩸 What I’ve learned this year about my own health from Function Health 

I've been a Function Health member since December 2022 because it addresses a major flaw in American healthcare: gaining access to comprehensive lab testing without pleading with doctors or facing unpredictable bills from insurance or labs. Function Health provides a 360° picture of your health based on 100+ blood biomarkers, enabling you to be mega-empowered in your health journey, monitor thousands of conditions early, and track progress over time. 

You can sign up for early access here: Function Health. I think a Function membership is the very best way to get a comprehensive picture of your health, and the best possible gift you could give to a loved one.

For $499 per year, Function Health offers:

• The most comprehensive lab testing: An initial draw of 100+ biomarkers and a follow-up panel of 60+ biomarkers within 3–6 months.

• Flexibility in add-on tests: Testing covers the heart, hormones, nutrients, toxins, heavy metals, thyroid, metabolic health, and more, with optional add-ons like Galleri Multi-Cancer detection.

• Convenience: Easy scheduling at 2,000+ Quest lab locations across the U.S. for blood draws.

• Actionable insights and education: Functional Medicine education tailored to your results, with personalized guidance on diet, lifestyle, and supplements and backed by the top doctors in longevity, like Dr. Mark Hyman (who is a co-founder)!

• Data visualization: Beautiful dashboards to track trends over time—all securely stored and accessible anytime.

This is an unmatched value—$499 for two lab visits and 150+ biomarkers is unheard of. It’s also an incredible holiday gift, empowering loved ones with knowledge and tools for better health.

You can get early access here for yourself, or gift it to a loved one for the holidays, here: Function Health. 

To help you understand how powerful this membership is, I want to show you what Function has helped me learn about my health. This year, Function Health helped me stay proactive during a whirlwind book tour for Good Energy. Long flights, disrupted routines, and high stress were reflected in my results, showing areas to focus on. Below are some of the “wins” in my labs, as well as areas for improvement: 

Wins:

• Liver function improved: After quitting alcohol in January 2024 (a journey you can read ALL about here), my liver biomarkers (ALT, AST, GGT) dropped into increasingly optimal ranges, indicating reduced strain on this absolutely vital organ. The liver plays a critical role in detoxifying the body, metabolizing fats, and balancing hormones, so supporting its function is essential for overall health. Knowing my liver is happy makes me happy!

• Homocysteine dropped: Elevated homocysteine can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. My homocysteine levels were initially higher than I would like at 8.8, but by adding methylated B vitamins and a diet rich in folate and B12, I lowered this marker into a healthy range, reducing long-term risks. 

• Vitamin D improved to optimal range: This "sunshine vitamin" is crucial for metabolic health and insulin sensitivity, immune function, and mood regulation. My initially low levels (based on Function data from 2023) improved significantly over the course of a year with a targeted regimen of midday outdoor walks (with skin exposed) and Vitamin D + K2 supplementation.

• Magnesium levels improved: Magnesium is vital for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including muscle function, energy (ATP) production, nerve signaling, and stress regulation. My 2023 levels were too low at 3.9, and improved to normal ranges with consistent supplementation.

• Selenium is optimal: Selenium supports antioxidant protection, mitochondrial enzyme activity, immune health, and thyroid hormone production. My levels, bolstered by Brazil nuts and prenatal vitamins, ensure these critical functions are operating smoothly and help me feel confident that my supplement regimen is at the right dose.

• hsCRP and autoimmune markers remained excellent: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a key marker of systemic inflammation, which contributes to chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. My markers stayed negligible (<0.2 mg/dL between 2023 and 2024), signaling a low-inflammation, high-resilience state, despite a busy year. Score!

Challenges:

• 😞 Biological age rose (19.7 to 23.1): This measure estimates how your body is aging biologically compared to your actual chronological age (mine is 37), based on biomarkers like inflammation and metabolic health. Stress and high demands likely contributed, but I’m confident actionable changes will bring it back down and turn back the biological clock. I’m still thrilled my biological age is 23!!

• 🏋️ Free and total testosterone declining: Stress, poor sleep, and not enough resistance training can be all factor into lower testosterone levels, amongst other things. The Function Health portal emphasizes that “Testosterone is a vital hormone for women. It’s produced in the ovaries and adrenal glands and helps regulate mood, maintain the health and growth of bones, encourage a healthy libido, and boost muscle mass.” Based on these downtrending results, I’ve been emphasizing heavy resistance training at least 3 days per week, dialing in more consistent sleep and less time zone changes.

• 🧁 Insulin, glucose, A1c, and triglycerides ticked up: These markers are essential for metabolic health and it is one of my top health priorities for these ALL to be in the most optimal range, as they have been previously. Unfortunately, they all went a little bit in the wrong direction this year. I’m not beating myself up about this, it was a big year. Now I know, thank goodness! Insulin regulates blood sugar, A1c reflects long-term glucose levels, and triglycerides measure fat in the blood. All four are interconnected, and my plan to address the uptick is to add more consistent resistance training, more midday walks, and more consistent sleep during the next few months.

• 🪙 Copper was slightly low: Copper is necessary for iron metabolism, immune function, and energy production. I’m prioritizing copper-rich foods like nuts, seeds, and dark leafy greens to bring this into range and support these critical processes. 

• 📈 Cortisol increased: Known as the "stress hormone," elevated cortisol can disrupt sleep, suppress the immune system, and lead to weight gain. Based on my significantly increased cortisol on my recent Function Health labs and their recommendations in the portal, I am incorporating more stress-reducing strategies, including more consistent prayer and meditation, and supplements including Rhodiola, Ashwagandha, and magnesium.

It’s hard to imagine life in this modern world before access to this critical information through Function Health. I feel totally empowered to keep making small (and some large) tweaks in my diet, lifestyle, choices, supplements, and routines before I end up with a chronic illness. Based on some of the trends of my Function data this year, it is clear to me that I need to set better boundaries with my work; these comprehensive labs give me the confidence and grounding to know how to shape my choices for a healthy and happy life. As I think about motherhood in the coming years, I also feel so grateful to be able to have a 360° picture of my hormones, AMH levels (which indicate ovarian reserve), and nutrient markers so I can optimize before this next phase of life!  

Function Health makes optimizing health accessible, empowering you to take action. 

This is the best holiday gift, AND it is a gift that doesn’t contribute to landfills! Gift it to yourself or someone you love: Function Health.

Have a great week everyone! 💗 

Dr. Casey

In Case You Missed It

🗞️ Profile in Wall Street Journal

Read it here. 

Something that made me laugh in the article is that one of the ways they tried to subtly attack me was to have a section called “Claim in Dispute” where they said the following:

“Casey Means has championed relying on “divine gifts of intuition and heart intelligence” rather than “blindly ‘trusting the science.’ ”

The idea that it’s controversial that we should both trust unbiased scientific information and our divine intuition is a sign of darkness in our culture. The reality is that we are each a miracle - statistically and in all ways. We are a swirl of energy and matter in constant exchange with everything in the cosmos. We live in a quantum universe and our biology is controlled by a star ☀️. We are spiritual beings having a dualistic experience in the material realm.

Of course we should trust our heart intelligence and divine intuition instead of blindly (emphasis on blindly) trusting “the science.” (As a side-note, “the science” is a weird new mind-control term that silences the industry-sponsored narrative and is in fundamental opposition to the actual scientific method which is about questioning, wrestling with ideas, and testing hypotheses. Science is not a religion, but industries are trying to make it one.).

It’s a dark time when we allow ourselves to be told to not trust ourselves… To not trust the spirit in us… To not trust our magic. Medicine has always been an art and a science, until recently, to our great detriment. Pure scientific inquiry and unbiased, ethical peer reviewed research is a gift to the world. I am on Pubmed near constantly reading scientific literature. But we are going to randomize control trial ourselves to extinction if we don’t wake up and trust ourselves, nuance, intuition, and our spiritual strength.

🎙️Extend podcast with Dr. Darshan Shan!

🎙️Tune in HERE: Spotify and Apple

🗞️ Good Energy in British Vogue

Read it here: Metabolic Health is the Next Big Wellness Trend

🎙️Grounded Wellness podcast

I was SO LUCKY to get to go visit the beautiful regenerative farm where Primally Pure and Primal Pastures are based, and sit OUTSIDE in the sunshine with Bethany McDaniel. We talk about metabolic health, farming, and how I tried to stay healthy and grounded during a crazy year. There were sheep, geese, and puppies running around, I tried my FIRST liver smoothie on camera, and made a ton of new friends and am a new fangirl of the entire Primally Pure/Primal Pastures world (you’re amazing Bethany McDaniel!). 

Watch on Youtube or listen on Spotify.

📚️ Books that just might change your life

Three of my friends are coming out with books soon and I want to share about their work as these topics are SO IMPORTANT and these are really, really good humans👇️ 

1. Abundant Ever After, by Cathy Heller. Cathy is a goddess friend and her message resonates with me profoundly about how to live a limitless and spiritual life. Abundant Ever After is a transformative guide blending Jewish mysticism, meditation, and practical tools to help readers embrace spiritual abundance, align with their worthiness, and unlock a life of joy, meaning, and limitless possibilities. Manifestation is real. Why wouldn’t we want to learn?

2. This Book Will Save Your Life: The New Medical Cure for Opioid Addiction, by Dr. Russell Surasky. Dr. Surasky is a fearless truth seeker, medical communicator, and board-certified neurologist, and his book reveals groundbreaking neuroscience-based treatments for opioid addiction, emphasizing its nature as a treatable brain disease and providing urgent, life-saving solutions for individuals and their loved ones. This book is inspired by his personal story of losing his own brother to opioid addiction. As someone who was also inspired to write a book after the preventable loss of a loved one, I especially honor Russell for transforming pain into light.

3. Make Change That Lasts: 9 Simple Ways to Break Free from the Habits That Hold You Back by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee. Make Change that Lasts by my friend Dr. Chatterjee combines ancient wisdom and modern health insights to help readers consciously navigate life's challenges, break unhelpful habits, and cultivate lasting happiness and resilience from within. This is about the WHY behind our health behaviors, and helps us get to the root of what is holding us back from true health. We all know what we should do to be healthy, but that’s different than actually doing it consistently. This book will guide the way to unpacking exactly how to make change that lasts.

🥗 Love.life and a beautiful future for real healthcare

Love.life is the future of community based health and wellness, and I was so lucky to be invited to take a tour of this amazing company and learn about its mission from its leadership team, including Whole Foods Market Co-Founder and former CEO, John Mackey, and Betsy Foster, a former executive of Whole Foods. I have no formal relationship with the company at all but just was so in awe of what they are doing I really wanted to share about it with you all, as it gives me HOPE for the future of medicine, just as Function, Next Health, and Levels do. One of their lead Functional Medicine doctors is Dr. Jaclyn Tolentino - a person that I HUGELY admire and respect. Love.life is a gigantic complex in a shopping center (meeting people where they already are!) that includes an integrative medicine doctor’s office, state-of-the-art gym and fitness center, physical therapy and personal trainers, a DELICIOUS organic seed-oil free cafe, pickleball courts, a spa, and a recovery and wellness center (think sauna, cold plunges, cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen, etc). It brings everything together that generates health: community, food, fitness, doctors, integrative practitioners, and technology. I LOVE INNOVATORS, so I loved seeing this. If you live in LA, please at least make a trip to the cafe for a meal- it’s out of this world. (Hint: GET THE OCEAN BOWL!).

🍳One tip for a non-toxic life 

I get asked every single day what cookware/pans I use at home that is non-toxic. The answer is exclusively cast iron. The main brand I use is Lodge, and the basic skillets are the pans I use every single day. I have them in several sizes. They last forever, easy to clean. I have no relationship with the company, but I absolutely love these products.

On this note, reply to this email if you want me to make a non-toxic healthy gift guide!