Today I am writing about what I learned from an interview with Dr Gabrielle Lyon and Dr Casey Means about the missing piece to better health.

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon is a functional medicine physician specializing in the concept of muscle-centric medicine, which focuses on the largest organ in the body, the skeletal muscle, as the key to health and longevity. She is Board certified & fellowship-trained. Special Operations Health and Muscle-Centric Medicine®, with a focus on performance and optimization.

Dr. Casey Means is a former surgeon and a physician who has shifted her focus to prioritize metabolic health. Trained initially as an ENT at Stanford, Dr Casey Means noticed a troubling trend of rising health problems in the population despite increased healthcare expenditure and decided to redirect her career towards addressing these issues at their core — metabolic dysfunction.

Major Lessons and Advice from Dr Casey Means:

1. Metabolic Health Decline in the US:

- Dr. Casey Means addresses that only 6.8% of Americans are considered metabolically healthy, a significant decline from previously estimated figures.

- Prioritizing metabolic health is crucial as it can drastically reduce the chances of dying from major mortality causes in the US.

2. Critique of Healthcare Focus:

- Dr. Means criticizes the healthcare system’s focus on symptom management rather than addressing the root causes of diseases, which she identifies as metabolic dysfunction.

3. Personal Epiphany and Mission:

- She shares her personal revelation during surgical training about the mismatch between healthcare efforts and patient outcomes.

- Dr. Means was inspired to change her career trajectory following the tragic event of her mother’s death due to pancreatic cancer, which she believes was preventable through better understanding and managing metabolic health.

4. Healthcare Industry Challenges:

- Dr. Means observes that despite more healthcare dollars being spent, more research conducted, and medical specialization advancement, the population’s health continues to decline.

- She advocates for a change towards understanding and treating the cellular and metabolic origins of illnesses.

5. Fundamentals of a Healthy Diet:

- Dr. Means emphasizes focusing on dietary components that support cellular function, such as healthy proteins, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotic sources, and fiber.

- She encourages maintaining a kitchen stocked with these components to facilitate healthier meal choices.

6. Walking and Physical Activity:

- Walking is highlighted as a surprisingly effective and straightforward method to improve health, with research showing significant reductions in all-cause mortality for individuals who walk 7,000 to 12,000 steps per day.

- Instead of viewing exercise as a task to complete, she urges for a cultural shift towards integrating movement throughout the day, such as using a treadmill desk.

7. Supplements for Mitochondrial Health:

- Dr. Means suggests certain supplements, including high-quality multivitamins, omega-3 fats, urethane (from Timeline Nutrition), and antioxidants, to support mitochondrial function, which is key for metabolic health.

8. Lifestyle and Environmental Changes:

- She underlines the importance of lifestyle factors such as spending more time outdoors, improving sleep consistency, and reducing exposure to screens and fear-inducing media for overall health benefits.

9. Healthcare Education and Industry Motives:

- Dr. Means warns against initiatives that may appear positive but ultimately steer people towards unhealthier choices due to underlying profit motives.

- She stresses that health is not as complicated as it is made out to be and cautions that the confusion this creates benefits industries at the cost of public health.

10. Critique of Current Health Initiatives:

- Dr Means is critical of certain health initiatives like “Meatless Mondays,” believing they may impede comprehensive health education.

- She appreciates organizations like Eat Real, which advocates for unprocessed food in school meals, and emphasizes the importance of considering the source of health initiatives.

Dr Casey Means’ key message is to simplify the approach to health by focusing on diet, movement, sleep, and environmental factors that contribute to robust metabolic functioning. She advocates for critical examination of healthcare systems and broader cultural shifts toward sustainable, movement-oriented, and less processed lifestyles.