Who is Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s pick for US Surgeon General, as of May 7? That’s a good question. Means is already pretty popular within Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) universe, but those outside the MAHA world have greeted her nomination with a high degree of skepticism.
Means is best known for her book, Good Energy, which she cowrote with her brother, Calley Means. But she rose to fame after her appearance on The Tucker Carlson Show podcast in August of 2024. Since then she and her brother have become trusted allies of RFK Jr. and health advisors to the White House.
But there’s much more to the “Who is Casey Means?” question than that. Here’s what you need to know.
Is Casey Means a doctor or an influencer?
She is actually both. Per The New York Times, Means trained as a head and neck surgeon at Stanford University but dropped out of her training in order to practice “functional medicine.” Functional medicine is an alternative medicine described as a focus on the “root causes” of disease. However, it is not evidence-based medicine and has been criticized for its intentionally vague parameters, which allow for pseudoscientific claims to get a veneer of legitimacy.
In addition to her book, Good Energy, Means has a weekly newsletter and a successful Instagram page, which often includes sponsored posts for dietary supplements, teas, creams, and other products, per the Associated Press. Means is also the cofounder of Levels, which makes wearable glucose monitors.
Per the Oregon Medical Board, her license is currently inactive.
What is she known for?
In Good Energy, Means claims that most of the chronic illnesses suffered by Americans are caused by “bad energy,” by which she means metabolic or cellular dysfunction. She believes there is a direct link between processed foods and a wide host of disorders including infertility, erectile dysfunction, and Alzheimer’s, per the AP, and she is generally distrustful of the medical establishment, especially the pharmaceutical industry.
In recent newsletters Means has linked gluten consumption to mental illness, promoted creatine to treat infertility, and talked about her “ideation session” with ChatGPT about a “healthier future.”
It’s true there are studies linking processed and ultraprocessed foods with poor health, but most doctors caution that these studies are limited and we cannot yet draw a conclusive link between processed foods and chronic diseases, per The New York Times. Additionally, some processing, such as pasteurizing milk, definitely makes food healthier.
Does she believe in vaccines?
Means is not as hardline anti-vax as RFK Jr., but she has offered her support for some of his beliefs. Per the Times, Means wrote in one newsletter, “There is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children.”
What are her thoughts about autism?
In general, Means has classified autism as another health crisis plaguing Americans. And in her interview with Joe Rogan, she has echoed some debunked theories that vaccines cause autism. “Yeah, I bet that one vaccine probably isn’t causing autism, but what about the 20 that they are getting before 18 months?” she said. Autism advocates and people with autism have made it clear that the condition does not need a cure.
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