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Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Inside the Health Views of Casey Means, Trump's Surgeon General Nominee
Dr. Casey Means, left, and journalist Megan Kelly, attend a confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the Secretary of Health and Human Services post, at the Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 29, 2025. Credit - Ben Curtis—AP Not long before the 2024 election, Dr. Casey Means wrote a letter to her Good Energy newsletter subscribers with a health-related wishlist for the next Administration. In it were priorities that echo those of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services: investigating toxins in the food supply, incentivizing healthy food purchases with food stamps, replacing factory farming with regenerative farming. 'More than anything, I would like to see our future White House rally Americans to be healthy and fit,' wrote Means, a physician who President Trump nominated on May 7 for U.S. Surgeon General. Trump discarded his first pick, Dr. Janette Neshiewat, a day before she was scheduled to appear before a Senate committee. Means, who co-wrote the 2024 book Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health with her brother Calley Means, holds many beliefs on health that mirror Kennedy's. She writes frequently about how drugs are overprescribed and that many modern ailments are caused by preventable lifestyle conditions. She believes that children should be served more nutritious food in school lunches, and she voices skepticism about seed oils. And she believes there are far too many chemicals in the U.S. food supply. Those similarities are partly why she was nominated, President Trump said in a May 8 news conference. 'Bobby really thought she was great, I don't know her,' Trump said, after a reporter asked about the choice. Means' pinned post on X is a celebration of Kennedy's swearing-in ceremony at the White House, which she called a 'BEAUTIFUL AND MOMENTOUS DAY FOR AMERICA.' Read More: How Having a Baby Is Changing Under Trump Means and her brother Calley, a startup founder, are central figures in the Make America Healthy Again movement, and in the months leading up to the election, they appeared together on Joe Rogan's and Tucker Carlson's podcasts. Their father, Grady Means, worked in the administration of President Gerald Ford as an assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, a political centrist. In their 2024 book, the siblings make several points that would likely be embraced by Democrats. One is that nutrition and exercise play a huge role in our overall health (one of Michelle Obama's signature public health campaigns, Let's Move!, tried to reduce childhood obesity through exercise), and that the pharmaceutical and food industries have too much influence over everyday Americans. But some of Casey Means' ideas are more controversial. In her interview with Tucker Carlson, she said that birth control pills are overprescribed and that they signal a 'disrespect of life.' She said Ozempic has 'a stranglehold on the U.S. population' and convinces people that there is a magic pill that can save them from chronic health issues. And she questioned why babies in America were getting hepatitis B vaccines after birth, a practice that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends. She also calls into question the safety of childhood vaccines, writing in her newsletter, 'There is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children." Though many doctors do not align with Means' positions on medical issues, some say that the pick will help advance Americans' health. Read More: Trump Administration Cuts Funding for Autism Research—Even As It Aims to Find the Cause 'I'm glad to see a nominee for surgeon general who is focused on food and diet-related exercise,' says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. 'This is the top issue facing Americans' health.' Means criticized Mozaffarian in a past newsletter for leading a 2021 study that assessed the healthfulness of certain foods, denouncing it for being funded by companies that make ultra-processed foods. (He declined to comment on the criticism.) Means' perspective about the importance of health and exercise fits into the field of functional medicine, which focuses on identifying and treating the root cause of diseases rather than just treating symptoms. It disrupts traditional medicine's focus on prescription drugs—which is a good thing, says Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist and advocate for low-carb diets and functional medicine. 'What Casey brings to the spotlight is this perspective that we should really be focusing on health and keeping people healthy,' says Perlmutter, who has known Means for eight years. 'Our health care system now has very little to do with health. It has to do with treating disease.' Perlmutter appeared on a podcast episode for Levels, the tech company Means co-founded in 2019 that helps users track their real-time metabolic measures through the use of continuous glucose monitoring. (She is the company's chief medical officer; it is unclear whether she would step down from that role as surgeon general.) Means has also appeared on Perlmutter's podcast. In 2021, the two co-authored an op-ed in MedPage Today, a website for health professionals, criticizing the Biden Administration and federal guidelines for not recommending, in their view, a low-enough maximum threshold for daily added sugar. Means went to college and medical school at Stanford University. She began a medical residency in the department of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery at Oregon Health and Science University, but dropped out in her fifth year after realizing, she wrote in her book, that she wasn't learning the root causes of why people were getting sick. Read More: Medicaid Expansions Saved Tens of Thousands of Lives, Study Finds She was an editor for the International Journal for Disease Reversal and Prevention, a peer-reviewed publication that documents the science of nutrition and lifestyle, from 2019 to 2022. In that role, Means mainly edited poems, essays, and art work, according to Kim Allan Williams, the journal's editor in chief. 'I can't answer much except outside of her eye for art and literature. She was great at that!' he wrote in an email inquiring about her tenure there. Means has also dabbled in poetry in her newsletter. A poem she wrote in April (with the help of AI, she notes) called 'The Devil's Wellness Plan' begins: 'If I were the devil, I'd ditch the disguise—/No pitchfork, no flames, just marketing lies.' The poem touches on vaccinations, marketing, and medications, including stanzas that echo several talking points espoused by the MAHA and MAGA movements: 'I'd give boys man-boobs through toxic food,/And call masculine strength aggressive and lewd./I'd whisper, 'You're too much, too loud,'/And shame men's fire as something rude. I'd flood your screens with porn on demand,/Till touch means pixels, not holding a hand./I'd teach women that cooking is something to dread,/That birth needs control and a hospital bed.' Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
08-05-2025
- Health
- Time Magazine
Inside the Health Views of Casey Means, Trump's Surgeon General Nominee
Not long before the 2024 election, Dr. Casey Means wrote a letter to her Good Energy newsletter subscribers with a health-related wishlist for the next Administration. In it were priorities that echo those of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services: investigating toxins in the food supply, incentivizing healthy food purchases with food stamps, replacing factory farming with regenerative farming. 'More than anything, I would like to see our future White House rally Americans to be healthy and fit,' wrote Means, a physician who President Trump nominated on May 7 for U.S. Surgeon General. Trump discarded his first pick, Dr. Janette Neshiewat, a day before she was scheduled to appear before a Senate committee. Means, who co-wrote the 2024 book Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health with her brother Calley Means, holds many beliefs on health that mirror Kennedy's. She writes frequently about how drugs are overprescribed and that many modern ailments are caused by preventable lifestyle conditions. She believes that children should be served more nutritious food in school lunches, and she voices skepticism about seed oils. And she believes there are far too many chemicals in the U.S. food supply. Those similarities are partly why she was nominated, President Trump said in a May 8 news conference. 'Bobby really thought she was great, I don't know her,' Trump said, after a reporter asked about the choice. Means' pinned post on X is a celebration of Kennedy's swearing-in ceremony at the White House, which she called a 'BEAUTIFUL AND MOMENTOUS DAY FOR AMERICA.' Means and her brother Calley, a startup founder, are central figures in the Make America Healthy Again movement, and in the months leading up to the election, they appeared together on Joe Rogan's and Tucker Carlson's podcasts. Their father, Grady Means, worked in the administration of President Gerald Ford as an assistant to Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, a political centrist. In their 2024 book, the siblings make several points that would likely be embraced by Democrats. One is that nutrition and exercise play a huge role in our overall health (one of Michelle Obama's signature public health campaigns, Let's Move!, tried to reduce childhood obesity through exercise), and that the pharmaceutical and food industries have too much influence over everyday Americans. But some of Casey Means' ideas are more controversial. In her interview with Tucker Carlson, she said that birth control pills are overprescribed and that they signal a 'disrespect of life.' She said Ozempic has 'a stranglehold on the U.S. population' and convinces people that there is a magic pill that can save them from chronic health issues. And she questioned why babies in America were getting hepatitis B vaccines after birth, a practice that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends. She also calls into question the safety of childhood vaccines, writing in her newsletter, 'There is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children." Though many doctors do not align with Means' positions on medical issues, some say that the pick will help advance Americans' health. 'I'm glad to see a nominee for surgeon general who is focused on food and diet-related exercise,' says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. 'This is the top issue facing Americans' health.' Means criticized Mozaffarian in a past newsletter for leading a 2021 study that assessed the healthfulness of certain foods, denouncing it for being funded by companies that make ultra-processed foods. (He declined to comment on the criticism.) Means' perspective about the importance of health and exercise fits into the field of functional medicine, which focuses on identifying and treating the root cause of diseases rather than just treating symptoms. It disrupts traditional medicine's focus on prescription drugs—which is a good thing, says Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist and advocate for low-carb diets and functional medicine. 'What Casey brings to the spotlight is this perspective that we should really be focusing on health and keeping people healthy,' says Perlmutter, who has known Means for eight years. 'Our health care system now has very little to do with health. It has to do with treating disease.' Perlmutter appeared on a podcast episode for Levels, the tech company Means co-founded in 2019 that helps users track their real-time metabolic measures through the use of continuous glucose monitoring. (She is the company's chief medical officer; it is unclear whether she would step down from that role as surgeon general.) Means has also appeared on Perlmutter's podcast. In 2021, the two co-authored an op-ed in MedPage Today, a website for health professionals, criticizing the Biden Administration and federal guidelines for not recommending, in their view, a low-enough maximum threshold for daily added sugar. Means went to college and medical school at Stanford University. She began a medical residency in the department of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery at Oregon Health and Science University, but dropped out in her fifth year after realizing, she wrote in her book, that she wasn't learning the root causes of why people were getting sick. She was an editor for the International Journal for Disease Reversal and Prevention, a peer-reviewed publication that documents the science of nutrition and lifestyle, from 2019 to 2022. In that role, Means mainly edited poems, essays, and art work, according to Kim Allan Williams, the journal's editor in chief. 'I can't answer much except outside of her eye for art and literature. She was great at that!' he wrote in an email inquiring about her tenure there. Means has also dabbled in poetry in her newsletter. A poem she wrote in April (with the help of AI, she notes) called 'The Devil's Wellness Plan' begins: 'If I were the devil, I'd ditch the disguise—/No pitchfork, no flames, just marketing lies.' The poem touches on vaccinations, marketing, and medications, including stanzas that echo several talking points espoused by the MAHA and MAGA movements: 'I'd give boys man-boobs through toxic food,/And call masculine strength aggressive and lewd./I'd whisper, 'You're too much, too loud,'/And shame men's fire as something rude. I'd flood your screens with porn on demand,/Till touch means pixels, not holding a hand./I'd teach women that cooking is something to dread,/That birth needs control and a hospital bed.'
Axios
08-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Ivanka Trump plans new focus on access to fresh produce
Ivanka Trump on Thursday will announce a new focus on access to fresh produce and healthy food, as part of growing national attention to "the role of nutrition in chronic disease and overall well-being," according to a preview provided to Axios. Why it matters: Ivanka Trump, a West Wing official during her father's first term, has mostly stayed out of the spotlight during Trump 2.0. Thursday's appearance marks her return to the national conversation, using her celebrity to spotlight an urgent policy issue. During a fireside chat on Thursday at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, President Trump's oldest daughter will discuss how "private-sector solutions and whole-harvest sourcing are helping expand access to fresh food, support farmers, reduce waste and drive lasting impact across communities," according to the preview. She'll be interviewed onstage by Arianna Huffington — founder and CEO of Thrive Global — who tells Axios that Ivanka Trump's "decision to focus on democratizing access to healthy food comes at an unprecedented moment in our country's healthcare journey, where we're finally recognizing the scale of the crisis in chronic diseases." Ivanka Trump is a co-founder of Planet Harvest, a " profit-for-purpose" company she started with her friend Melissa Melshenker Ackerman, a produce supply-chain expert who is the company's co-founder and CEO. "We launched Planet Harvest to reimagine how American produce moves— not just through the supply chain, but across communities," Ivanka Trump said in a statement to Axios. "By connecting fresh and surplus harvests with those who can benefit from them, we're supporting farmers, reducing food waste, expanding access and using good nutrition to improve health." Driving the news: Ivanka Trump is in Bentonville for Thursday's Heartland Summit, an annual event that showcases Northwest Arkansas as a hub of growth and innovation. The summit was co-founded by Walmart heirs Olivia Walton, Tom Walton and Steuart Walton. Philanthropist Alice Walton, daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, has made health care a signature issue, along with the arts. The summit is hosted by Heartland Forward — a think tank, based in Bentonville, that focuses on the 20 states in the middle of the country. The big picture: Make America Healthy Again, a movement led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has become a signature issue of the Trump administration and the MAGA base. Former first lady Michelle Obama, through her Let's Move! initiative, promoted healthier foods for schools to help reduce childhood obesity, and access to healthy, affordable food for families. Zoom in: Planet Harvest says it uses "real-time data and smart logistics to match the right produce with the right buyer at the right time," and "collaborates with food manufacturers to turn surplus crops into innovative products — such as dried, no-sugar-added cherries."
Miami Herald
27-03-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Forget, Trump, Michelle Obama wants to take down Pepsi, Coca-Cola
Michelle Obama continues to go strong with her health-focused agenda even after serving as the First Lady of the U.S., which ended in 2017. During her time in the White House, the former first lady launched "Let's Move!," an initiative to raise a healthier generation of kids and fight obesity in the U.S. by promoting healthy eating habits and physical activity. Don't miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet's FREE Daily newsletter "This isn't just a policy issue for me. This is a passion. This is my mission. I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition," said Mrs. Obama in a statement. Related: Popular delivery app wants you to finance lunch In 2014, she also introduced the School Wellness Standards, which proposed local school wellness policies to ensure that unhealthy food is eliminated from school cafeterias and replaced with healthier options. Plezi Nutrition, co-founded by Mrs. Obama, announced the launch of a new, better-for-you sports drink, making it the company's third product launch since its inception in 2023. The new Plezi Hydration aims to be healthier than the rest to stand out among its strongest rivals. It contains about half the sugar and sodium, over seven times the potassium, and fewer calories than its competitors. To provide some variety and adapt to consumer's preferences, this new beverage is available in ready-to-drink 16.9-ounce bottles and comes in three different flavors: Lemon Lime, Tropical Punch, and Orange Mango Twist. Depending on their location, customers can purchase Plezi Hydration and all its other products on Amazon, Albertsons, Safeway, Walmart, and more. Related: Forget McDonald's, Walmart adds a new restaurant partner "At Plezi, we're always thinking about how we can change the game when it comes to nutrition," said Mrs. Obama in a statement. "We're excited to provide a delicious, healthier option for everyone who's trying to get active and stay hydrated," she added. However, as great and healthy as this drink claims to be, the ingredients list is quite long. It contains filtered water, pear, apple, and watermelon juice from concentrate, soluble vegetable fiber, citric acid for freshness, potassium citrate, natural flavors, vegetable juice color, sea salt, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and stevia leaf extract. As the former First Lady, Mrs. Obama has a long list of celebrity friends on her speed dial. So, it is no surprise that the company has partnered with NBA star Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha, to promote the new energy drink. View the original article to see embedded media. Not only are the Currys ambassadors for the brand, but they are also co-founders of Plezi Hydration and contributed to creating the product, packaging, and marketing, which explains why Curry's name is printed on the bottle. This latest launch is Plezi's way of entering into a new beverage category that has gained traction with its competitors over the last few months. More Retail News: Target makes bold move to answer Walmart, AmazonMajor healthcare company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Popular skincare brand takes advantage of egg crisis Hydration and better-for-you products seem to be the latest trends companies are beginning to follow to stay relevant in the ever-evolving consumer market. Within the last few months, Celsius (CELH) launched a Hydration line, Coca-Cola (KO) unveiled BodyArmor, PepsiCo (PEP) released Gatorade Hydration Booster, and Unilever (UL) acquired Liquid I.V. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Melania Revives Anti-Cyberbullying Campaign, Gets Torched For Still Being Married To Trump
Americans aren't impressed by Melania Trump and her anti-cyberbullying campaign. The first lady formally announced Monday that her 'Be Best' initiative to protect children from abusive behavior online is officially returning to the White House after a four-year break between administrations, with deepfakes and revenge porn now part of the focus. Trump said during a press conference with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that her 'commitment to the 'Be Best' initiative underscores the importance of online safety,' and that it's 'imperative that we safeguard children from mean spirited and hurtful online behavior.' While that effort is commendable on paper, social media users pointed out that the first lady is still married to President Donald Trump — who has lashed out at women, children, world leaders, political opponents and celebrities on social media for years now. Last week, Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a White House meeting on national television. 'Can she start with eliminating the online abusive behavior of her husband?' one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter, with another commenting: 'Married to the biggest bully on the planet and she thinks anyone is gonna take her seriously lmao.' 'Oh, Melania's back with her 'Be Best' drivel, dusting off the world's most ironic campaign—like a broken record nobody asked for,' wrote another. 'Abusive behavior online? Guess she forgot her husband's Twitter tantrums turned cyberbullying into an art form.' Melania Trump: The widespread of abusive behavior in the digital domain affect the daily lives of our children, families, and communities… My commitment to the Be Best initiative underscores the importance of online safety — Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2025 People also pointed out that Romania lifted travel restrictions last week for Andrew Tate, the British-American social media influencer accused of rape, human trafficking and money laundering, after members of Trump's White House reportedly took an interest in the case. Donald Trump himself was also found liable in 2023 of sexually abusing and defaming author E. Jean Carroll, who accused him in 2019 of raping her in a department store in the 1990s. Trump said at the time that she was 'totally lying' — and has repeatedly insulted her since. 'Be Best' was formally launched in 2018, and instead of creating new programs such as former first lady Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move!' campaign against childhood obesity, it promoted existing initiatives to fight cyberbullying and opioid use and support children's well-being. The awareness campaign did not result in any legislation, and Melania Trump went on only one international trip to promote 'Be Best.' A planned expansion of the campaign in 2019 reportedly never materialized. With the sexual misconduct allegations against her husband firmly etched into history as the first lady reintroduces 'Be Best' to the country, social media users reacted with bafflement, laughter and ire. And husband and his friend Elon... are the worst abusers of abusive online behavior and ass. — — • 𝗖 𝗛 𝗘 𝗘 𝗞 𝗬 • — (@andreagail_k) March 3, 2025 Oh, the irony—promoting online kindness while living with the king of Twitter tantrums. — Emilia Henderson (@Emilia_thinks) March 3, 2025 Be Best is the dumbest sounding shit I've ever heard. More accurate call it Do Nothing. — Viva La Résistance (@DerekJT83) March 3, 2025 Let's be honest even she is in on the grift will somehow be a way for Trump to punish people who talk negatively about him online. — Russian_TimPool (Parody) (@BRAINFARTS_) March 4, 2025 Our youth is being affected by your husband, negatively. He bullies people online almost DAILY, our youth sees that, and they think it's normal and ok to bully others. Please start with your husband. Ask him to 'Be Best.' — FunWarrior (@biggestfan89) March 4, 2025 Fake Melania Returns To 'Late Show' With Blistering Mic Drop On Trump 2.0 Trump Berates Zelenskyy In Oval Office, Makes Putin's Points For Him Landlord Found Guilty Of Murder, Hate Crime In 2023 Attack On Palestinian American Boy
