F*ck the Hippocratic Oath
Seven years ago, Casey Means was on a path to finishing up a highly competitive residency and becoming a well-paid surgeon. But she resigned, becoming a health products entrepreneur and popular online personality who has frequently suggested that Americans should question the advice they get from medical authorities…
Now Means, 38, is poised to become the next surgeon general of the United States, one of the nation’s most recognizable and trusted medical posts.
She left the medical mainstream and rose to be RFK Jr.’s surgeon general pick
The Washington Post October 9, 2025
In the fall of 2025, America’s public health narrative has taken a sharp turn—not toward science, but toward smoothies, mitochondria, and metabolic manifestos. The nomination of Dr. Casey Means as Surgeon General, under the Trump administration and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., marks a moment not of reform, but rupture. It’s a shift from evidence-based medicine to ideological wellness, from peer-reviewed science to kale-fueled conviction.
Dr. Means, a Stanford-trained ENT surgeon, left her residency on her 30th birthday, disillusioned by what she described as a system focused on procedures and billing rather than healing. She never completed her training, does not hold an active medical license, and is not board-certified in any specialty. Yet she has emerged as the administration’s top pick to guide national health policy—a choice that has alarmed six former Surgeons General, who issued a joint statement warning that Kennedy’s leadership poses an “immediate and unprecedented threat” to public health (Washington Post).
Means’s rise is closely tied to her brother, Calley Means, with whom she co-authored Good Energy: Harness the Power of Metabolic Health to Live Better Longer. The book argues that chronic conditions such as infertility, Alzheimer’s, depression, and obesity stem from metabolic dysfunction caused by poor diet, environmental toxins, and disrupted sleep. It’s a sweeping thesis that reframes illness as a mismatch between our biology and modern life. But it also leans heavily on anecdote, lifestyle advice, and broad claims that often lack peer-reviewed support (Good Energy).
Calley Means is not a physician. His background includes work as a political strategist and consultant for food and pharmaceutical companies—work he now describes as “regrettable.” He claims to have helped shape narratives that downplayed the health risks of ultra-processed foods. Today, he positions himself as a whistleblower, exposing the economic incentives that, in his view, keep Americans sick. He co-founded TrueMed, a startup that helps people use Health Savings Accounts for wellness expenses like gym memberships and supplements (TrueMed). His public commentary often veers into the conspiratorial, including claims that Tylenol use in pregnancy may cause autism—a statement widely discredited by medical experts (NBC News).
Together, the Means siblings present a unified front: Casey brings the medical training and metabolic focus, while Calley supplies the systems-level critique and policy ambition. Their collaboration is part exposé, part wellness gospel, and part ideological crusade. But critics argue that their influence—now elevated to the highest levels of public health—could undermine trust in science, destabilize institutions, and worsen America’s chronic disease crisis.
Under Kennedy’s leadership, the CDC has seen mass resignations and firings. Vaccine advisory boards have been repopulated with individuals lacking basic qualifications, some of whom promote conspiracy theories. Kennedy has removed scientists and replaced them with wellness influencers and detox evangelists. The FDA’s new messaging emphasizes “natural immunity” and “clean living” over vaccination and evidence-based prevention (Washington Post).
President Trump has embraced the MAHA movement—Make America Healthy Again—with characteristic bravado. He’s promised to “liberate Americans from medical tyranny,” a phrase that now includes skepticism of vaccines, epidemiology, and the concept of peer review. His health policy is a blend of populism, pseudoscience, and metabolic mysticism (Fox News).
The consequences are already visible. Public confusion around vaccines and chronic disease is growing. Trust in medical institutions is eroding. And the Surgeon General’s office, once a bastion of sober public health guidance, is now a platform for kale-powered ideology and mitochondrial metaphors.
When the nation’s top health advisor is selected not for clinical expertise but for ideological alignment, we must ask: Are we being governed by science—or by smoothies?
FTS
Join us on our podcast Specifically for Seniors, where satire meets substance and storytelling sparks civic engagement. Each episode dives into topics like authoritarianism, political spectacle, environmental justice, humor, history and even fly fishing and more—layered with metaphor, wit, and historical insight. We feature compelling guest interviews that challenge, inspire, and empower, especially for senior audiences and civic storytellers. Listen to the audio on all major podcast platforms, watch full video episodes on YouTube, or explore more at our website. Let’s keep the conversation sharp, smart, and unapologetically bold.