The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance

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Reversing The American Food Pyramid | Calley Means : 1395

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Jan 9, 2026

Guest

Calley Means

In this conversation, Calley Means, a passionate entrepreneur and policy advocate for food-system reform, joins Dave Asprey to challenge the traditional American food pyramid. They explore how chronic disease has become a profitable business, driven by ultra-processed food and flawed healthcare incentives. Calley discusses the significance of 'food as medicine,' advocating for changes that allow HSAs to cover healthier options. The duo emphasizes the urgent need for policy reform, personal health autonomy, and the importance of educating individuals to reclaim their health.

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ANECDOTE

Personal Loss That Sparked The Mission

Calley Means recounts her mother’s 40-year medical treadmill from high cholesterol to stage-four cancer after doctors treated symptoms, not root causes.
That personal loss propelled Means and Casey to focus on metabolic health and data like CGMs to empower patients.

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INSIGHT

Sick-Care Is Economically Rewarded

Calley Means explains institutions profit when people stay sick because chronic care is the dominant revenue model across healthcare.
He argues regulatory agencies and medical institutions are structurally incentivized to manage disease rather than prevent it.

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ADVICE

Use Medical Necessity Letters For HSA/FSA

Ask your doctor for a letter of medical necessity to make food, exercise, and supplements eligible for HSA/FSA tax-free spending.
Use that letter to redirect $ from future drug costs toward preventive metabolic interventions now.

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Calley’s Background and Good Energy Book

01:35 • 2min

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Mom’s Diagnosis and Medical Treadmill

03:22 • 2min

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Who Profits from Chronic Disease

05:08 • 3min

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Systems Thinking and Emergent Behaviors

08:19 • 3min

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TrueMed: Food as Medicine Through HSA/FSA

10:52 • 1min

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Making Biohacking Medical

12:07 • 1min

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Regulation, Data, and Bodily Autonomy

13:30 • 4min

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IRS Pushback on Food-as-Medicine

17:10 • 1min

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Politics, RFK, and Policy Meetings

Childhood Obesity as a Public Health Crisis

22:13 • 5min

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The Chronic Disease Industry Explained

26:47 • 5min

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Medical System Complicity and Research Influence

31:30 • 8min

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Pharma Payments, Media, and Ozempic

39:27 • 5min

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Changing Incentives vs. Running for Office

44:32 • 6min

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Bottom-Up Empowerment and Free Speech

50:59 • 4min

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Reforming Food Policy and Subsidies

55:18 • 6min

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Technology, Regenerative Farming, and Food Solutions

01:00:57 • 6min

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Hope, Actionable Steps, and Coalition Building

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Back in 2024 with Calley Means at South by Southwest, we sat down and talked about his mission to flip the old American food pyramid upside down for the greater good. Well guess what, the pressure is finally working! This rerun is the ultimate receipt that focus, repetition, and smart lobbying for human health can still move the needle!

Host Dave Asprey sits down with Calley Means, entrepreneur, policy advocate, and co-author of Good Energy. Together, they break down how the U.S. healthcare system became a sick-care system, why ultra-processed food dominates public policy, and how individuals can reclaim autonomy over their biology. From CGMs and metabolic health to food subsidies, lobbying, and free speech, this episode challenges deeply held assumptions about medicine, nutrition, and personal responsibility.

You’ll Learn:

• Why chronic disease is the most profitable business model in modern history

• How metabolic dysfunction drives obesity, diabetes, depression, and infertility

• Why ultra-processed food sits at the root of America’s health collapse

• How CGMs and metabolic data threaten entrenched healthcare incentives

• What “food is medicine” really means and where it gets weaponized

• How HSA and FSA dollars can legally support food, exercise, and prevention

• Why fixing incentives matters more than blaming individuals

• How reclaiming health autonomy is tied to free speech and human resilience

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

Episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (audio-only) where Dave asks the questions no one else dares, and brings you real tools to become more resilient, aware, and high performing.

Keywords: Calley Means Good Energy, Calley Means interview, Good Energy metabolic health, metabolic dysfunction America, ultra processed food policy, food is medicine debate, healthcare incentives crisis, chronic disease economics, insulin resistance epidemic, CGM health data access, metabolic health lobbying, seed oils sugar inflammation, glyphosate food system, HSA food exercise eligibility, health autonomy biohacking, metabolic freedom podcast, american food pyramid, rfk food pyramid, 2026 food pyramid

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