Healthy Diet and Lifestyle Better Medicine than Pills and Surgery

Americans spend approximately $43 trillion annually on medical treatments for conditions like heart disease, cancer, and depression. One doctor believes that up to 80% of these illnesses could be prevented by addressing their root causes. Medical reporter Lori Johnson explores this perspective, detailing Dr. Casey Means' journey. Witnessing her mother's prolonged health struggles and early death, despite rigorous medical care, inspired Dr. Means to pursue a medical career aimed at preventing such outcomes.

After working as a head and neck surgeon, Dr. Means grew disillusioned with mainstream medicine's focus on managing rather than healing patients. She attributes the rising rates of chronic illnesses in America to a failure to address metabolic dysfunction, which she identifies as a fundamental issue affecting cells' energy production down to the mitochondria. Dr. Means advocates for prioritizing diet as the primary strategy to prevent or reverse metabolic dysfunction. While acknowledging the challenges within the current healthcare system, where nutrition and lifestyle are often overlooked in medical education, Dr. Means promotes functional medicine, emphasizing healthy habits over medications and surgery.

She warns against processed foods, which constitute a significant portion of the American diet, contributing to health issues. Refined seed oils like soybean oil, prevalent in processed foods, are particularly harmful due to their inflammatory properties and potential for oxidative stress. Dr. Means advises avoiding these oils and opting instead for natural, minimally processed foods cooked at home. She underscores the difficulty of adopting such dietary changes but highlights the greater challenge of living with chronic disease.

In addition to sugar, Dr. Means points out the risks associated with refined seed oils like soybean oil, which are widely used despite their inflammatory effects and potential for oxidative damage at a cellular level. She suggests alternatives such as olive oil, known for its polyphenol content and health benefits within the Mediterranean diet. Dr. Means recommends choosing olive oils stored in dark bottles to prevent oxidation, ideally from single sourced olives and cold-pressed for maximum nutritional value. For high-heat cooking, avocado oil is her preferred option, while coconut oil and grass-fed butter are suitable choices for moderate consumption due to their saturated fat content.

Overall, Dr. Means' insights from her book "Good Energy" underscore the critical role of diet and lifestyle in preventing chronic diseases, advocating for a shift toward more comprehensive medical education and patient care practices.

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