"Though Means holds a medical degree from Stanford Medical School, she dropped out of her medical residency and holds no active medical license. Instead, she has pursued a career as a wellness influencer, embracing "functional" medicine, an ill-defined form of alternative medicine."
"Last year, an analysis by The Washington Post found that Means earned over half a million dollars between 2024 and 2025 from making deals with companies described as selling "diagnostic testing," "herbal remedies and wellness products," and "teas, supplements, and elixirs.""
"The book provides dietary and lifestyle advice, including a recommendation to avoid processed foods, seed oils, fragrances, a variety of home care products, fluoride, unfiltered water, bananas (when eaten alone), receipt paper, and birth control pills. It includes a chapter titled "Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor.""
Casey Means, nominated for surgeon general, holds a Stanford medical degree but abandoned her residency and maintains no active medical license. She has instead pursued a career as a wellness influencer specializing in functional medicine and co-founded Levels, a company promoting continuous glucose monitoring without scientific evidence. Financial disclosures reveal she earned over half a million dollars from 2024-2025 through deals with companies selling diagnostic testing, herbal remedies, and wellness products. Means is closely aligned with anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement. She co-authored a book promoting dietary and lifestyle advice that recommends avoiding numerous substances and includes messaging discouraging trust in doctors.
#surgeon-general-nomination #medical-credentials #alternative-medicine #functional-medicine #wellness-industry
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