#232 - How do you afford nutritious food when you live in a food desert and why investing in nutrition is an investment in yourself | Shawn Stevenson & Dr. Casey Means
Our environment and culture directly affect the food choices we make. Ultra-processed foods are convenient and cheap, and they’re the main source of foods in food deserts, typically located in underserved communities. Yet ultra-processed foods lead to worsening metabolic health. How do you afford and access nutritious food? Shawn Stevenson and Dr. Casey means discuss how Stevenson, author of “Eat Smarter Family Cookbook” grew up without easy access to whole foods, how he transformed how he eats despite his environment, and how those changes led to a reversal of poor health and chronic pain to an improved quality of life and even earning potential. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. 🎙 What Shawn Stevenson & Casey Means, MD, discuss: (10:00) — Ultra-processed foods are convenient and cheap (20:03) — Stevenson describes the moment when he changed his mindset (27:20) — The foods we put into our bodies affect us at the cellular level (32:17) — Focus on controlling the “controllables.” (35:30) — The family that eats together boosts their health together (41:23) — Schedule social meals (44:19) — The most common factor across Blue Zones is strong social bonds (49:19) — Cooking is an essential skill for health (1:03:16) — Investing in better health generates improved energy capacity (1:08:58) — Stevenson shares his tips for affording nutritious foods Transcripts & Show notes 🔗 Helpful links: Watch the conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rKptwQrvzuk?si=P9gfeK952dWjMrYA Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1
28 Sep 20231h 27min
#231 – Adaptation and why it’s important to our metabolic health, stress, and trauma | Dr. Casey Means & Dr. Molly Maloof - (Replay)
Obesity and chronic disease are fallouts from the lack of real human connection. Underneath biomarkers like glucose and physical aspects like mitochondrial dysfunctions are the root causes of disease: hijacked reward pathways, chronic stress due to constant threat mode, and the global human disconnect.Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnlIn this discussion between Levels’ advisor Dr. Molly Maloof and our co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Casey Means, they talk about: The most important measurable biomarker How we’re designed to live in groups The cycle of constant stress through threat signaling vs. high-reward pathways The big problem of global human disconnection How love and oxytocin helps to make us stronger, share resources, and create bonds Addiction and the power of the pause How to increase physical and emotional adaptationLevels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.🎙 What Levels’ advisor Dr. Molly Maloof and our co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Casey Means, discuss:00:00 - Intro(11:16) - Adapting and self-managing in the face of adversity(15:08) - The most important biomarker(22:14) - Moving your body to create energy(23:19) - Adapting beyond genetics(25:31) - Hijacking reward pathways(35:42) - Building metabolic flexibility(42:32) - Taking care of your mitochondria(45:00) - The holy grail of chronic disease(50:37) - Felt connection(57:26) - How deprivation is a pathway to happiness(1:04:28) - The power of the pause(1:21:10) - Letting go of control(01:40:40) - “Cook” your body less for better skinTranscripts & Show Notes🔗 Helpful links:Watch the conversation on YouTube: https://youtube.com/watch?v=XVSYGx9FknsFind us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1
21 Sep 20231h 54min
#230 - How the ketogenic diet may work as a medical therapy for various conditions such as migraine, epilepsy, mental health issues, and more | Beth Zupec-Kania, Denise Potter & Dr. Dominic D’Agostino
The ketogenic diet is often used as a tool for weight loss and to improve metabolic health. However, it is increasingly being considered, studied, and used as a medical therapy for chronic physical and mental health conditions, and it can be tailored to patients’ specific needs. Beth Zupec-Kania, Denise Potter, and Dr. Dominic D’Agostino discuss the benefits of the ketogenic diet, how they customize keto for patients with dietary preferences like veganism, how to ease into the change with a pre-keto diet, and how the keto diet may be able to help people reduce or eliminate medications under the supervision of medical professionals. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. 🎙 What Beth Zupec-Kania, RDN, CD; Denise Potter, RDN, CDCES; and Dominic D’Agostino, PhD, discuss: (14:50) — Using the ketogenic diet as therapy for various conditions (27:49) — Eating a ketogenic diet often helps people improve their nutrient intake (29:39) — The ketogenic diet can be customized to fit a person’s needs (33:42) — Medium-chain triglycerides can help increase fat intake (35:32) — Gluten is inflammatory (38:18) — Beth encourages patients to do a pre-keto program (46:12) — Looking at macros on keto (48:24) — A ketogenic diet can drive metabolic health changes (57:49) — The benefits of the ketogenic diet that go beyond weight loss (1:22:00) — Can keto help people reduce their medications? Transcripts & Show notes 🔗 Helpful links: Watch the conversation: Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1
14 Sep 20231h 28min
#229 - Nature Wants Us to Be Fat | Dr. Casey Means & Dr. Richard Johnson - (Replay)
Dr. Casey Means, Chief Medical Officer of Levels speaks with Dr. Richard Johnson about his book, "Nature Wants Us to Be Fat," as well as his insights on the "survival switch" that drives our body to store fat in response to certain conditions like high fructose, dehydration, umami flavors, and more, and how this all relates to our current metabolic disease epidemic. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. 🎙 What Dr. Casey Means & Dr. Richard Johnson discuss: (04:25) - The fat switch (11:39) - Metabolic syndrome is linked to survival (13:36) - The switch is good for short term survival, bad for long term (17:40) - Sugar triggers the switch (19:39) - Sugar leads to metabolic syndrome, not extra calories (23:40) - Fructose depletes energy (31:28) - Vitamin C is protective against obesity (35:12) - High glycemic foods help our bodies make fructose (44:29) - Whole fruit is healthy because of the fiber (53:48) - Salt can trigger fructose production Transcripts & Show Notes 🔗 Helpful links: Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1
7 Sep 20231h 12min
#228 - Why nutrition matters for brain health and how to modify your diet | Dr. Georgia Ede & Dr. Dominic D’Agostino
The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that has proven benefits for brain health. Research shows that the keto diet helps ease symptoms of some mental health conditions, including depression and bipolar disorder. But no diet, even keto, is one-size-fits all. Dr. Georgia Ede and Dr. Dominic D’Agostino discuss how diet and brain health are connected, how diet and gut health affect brain health, and how a ketogenic or other low-carbohydrate diets can be tailored to people’s specific needs. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. 🎙 What Georgia Ede, MD & Dominic D’Agostino, PhD, discuss: (06:51) — Dr. Georgia Ede describes her interest in nutritional science for mental health (16:45) — Metabolic health is tied to brain health (23:16) — A ketogenic diet vs medications for mental health (27:19) — A ketogenic diet can be tailored to prevent side effects (32:51) — Gut health and mental health are connected (39:00) — Diet is highly individual (42:02) —CGM can teach people how foods and diet strategies affect their health (44:57) — Following a low-carbohydrate diet will generally reduce insulin levels and triglycerides (47:40) — Some psychiatric symptoms have links to higher C-reactive protein levels (48:42) — Dr. D’Agostino summarizes one of Dr. Ede’s studies on the ketogenic diet and mental health (56:59) — A ketogenic diet may also help ease some menopause symptoms Transcripts & Show notes 🔗 Helpful links: Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/kBjBEjV0vqU Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1
31 Aug 20231h 18min
#227 – How 3 chronic conditions are connected to high blood sugar and what you can do | Dr. Ben Bikman & Dr. Casey Means - (Replay)
From gallbladder issues to tinnitus to fatty liver disease and more, many chronic conditions have links to high blood sugar and insulin resistance. Dr. Ben Bikman and Dr. Casey Means discuss the connections between insulin resistance and ear-nose-and-throat conditions, how insulin resistance increases the risk for gallbladder stones, what non-alcoholic fatty liver disease does to the body, and how you can mitigate these chronic health conditions for improved quality of life.Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnlLevels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.🎙 What Dr. Ben Bikman & Dr. Casey Means discuss:(00:00) – Intro(07:16) – A ray of hope in declining health(09:25) – Metabolic connections for tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss(11:57) – Undiagnosed metabolic disorders later surface in disease(13:13) – Insulin resistance and GERD(20:37) – How insulin resistance contributes to gallblader stones(27:39) – NAFLD and clearing the liver of fat buildup(33:47) – Two types of fat cell disorders: hypertropy and hyperplasia(40:42) – Two foods to avoid for optimized health(46:16) – When a low carb diet spikes blood glucose(48:12) – The data power that a CGM gives you(50:32) – A unique perspective on healthy glucose levels Transcripts & Show notes🔗 Helpful links:Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/szGl8F1zl6IFind us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1How hearing loss relates to metabolic health | Blog post: https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/how-hearing-loss-relates-to-metabolic-healthWhy too many focus on glucose, but not insulin | Blog post: https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/why-too-many-focus-on-glucose-but-not-insulin
24 Aug 20231h
#226 - How do weight-loss medications affect metabolic health? And will Ozempic and other GLP-1s actually solve the obesity crisis? | Dr. Rob Lustig & Dr. Casey Means
Medications, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and more, have become increasingly popular for weight loss. These drugs are glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, and they mimic a hormone that, among other things, tells the brain a person is full so they eat less. But are they safe, and do they help improve metabolic health? Dr. Rob Lustig and Dr. Casey Means discuss these weight-loss drugs and their effects on the body, and why such medications likely won’t solve the obesity crisis, for which the food industry is culpable. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl 🎙 What Rob Lustig, MD, & Casey Means, MD, discuss: (06:10) — The mechanisms of action for weight-loss medications (09:01) — Dr. Casey Means shares her perception of the popularity of GLP-1 medications (13:12) — GLP-1 RAs lead to fat loss but also muscle loss (18:05) — Do GLP-1 RAs improve metabolic health? (20:43) — Dr. Lustig discusses the high cost of GLP-1 RAs (27:47) — Dr. Lustig makes the case for fixing the food problem (35:46) — How can patients use GLP-1 RAs as a jumpstart? (44:20) — Dr. Lustig shares his concerns about the use of GLP-1 RAs in children Transcripts & Show Notes Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. 🔗 Helpful links: Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/AKNnxKAaONc 📲 Connect: Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1
17 Aug 202351min
#225 - How sugar harms kids’ bodies and brains and what parents can do to foster healthier eating habits | Austin McGuffie & Dr. Robert Lustig (Replay)
We know sugar is bad for kids, so why do parents continue giving it to them? Sugar damage kids’ health and drives behavioral issues. Infants get introduced to sugar early through commercial baby food, and the problem continues with school and birthday treats, soda, and the ultra-processed foods that have taken over the family pantry. Austin McGuffie & Dr. Robert Lustig discuss the rising rates of Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children, sugar addiction in kids, the problems with the food industry, and what parents can do to revamp their kids’ diets and promote a lifelong healthy relationship with nutritious food.Sign Up to Get Your Ultimate Guide to Glucose – https://levels.link/wnl(00:00) – Intro(07:18) - Sugar is damaging kids’ mitochondria(16:48) - The more dangerous fat(21:50) - Kids need better nutrition education(25:36) - Infants get introduced to sugar early(27:48) - Fat was removed, but sugar was added(32:51) - Sugar causes behavioral issues(36:08) - Kids can have sugar addiction(38:34) - Diet soda is bad too(44:48) - Educate the child and the parents(48:47) - Get rid of sugary drinksTranscripts & Show NotesWatch the Video – https://youtu.be/I3d7zCHFW2c
10 Aug 202356min
