Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, left her prestigious surgical residency more than seven years ago.
Since then, Means has helped shape the Make America Healthy Again movement as a best-selling author of the book credited with being the MAHA bible, “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health.” She centers her message on optimizing metabolic health, which means maintaining a healthy lifestyle in an attempt to ward off, and potentially treat, diseases. As a health technology entrepreneur with a large social media following, she has also said that Americans should question the advice they get from medical authorities. Her approach has also resonated with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who called her the “perfect choice” for surgeon general who has “a touchstone with every mother in this country.” Means’s confirmation hearing was delayed after she gave birth in the fall.
Means attended Stanford for her undergraduate education and medical school, racking up academic honors, writing scientific papers, and working on research at top institutions. The Department of Health and Human Services called Means a “world-class physician and scientist.” She currently has a medical license in Oregon that she voluntarily placed in inactive status, according to the Oregon state medical board, which means she cannot practice medicine in the state as of the beginning of 2024.A Washington Post review of her financial disclosures reporting income between 2024 and the summer of 2025 found she has been paid more than $536,000 for partnerships with companies that sell “diagnostic testing,” “herbal remedies and wellness products” and “teas, supplements, and elixirs.”
Some medical experts said they worry that Means will use her influence if confirmed to promote policy recommendations that are not grounded in evidence. They said she goes too far when she writes in her book that “the ability to prevent and reverse” a variety of ailments, including infertility and Alzheimer’s, “is under your control and simpler than you think.” Her website says as of early January: “Means is considered controversial because her work challenges the economic and cultural foundations of U.S. healthcare, agriculture, and food systems.”
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