In her book, "Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health," Dr. Casey Means shares insights and actionable steps to improve metabolic health. These habits are grouped into nine categories, with a focus on nutrition. The Casey diet emphasizes what to cut out and what to include in your diet to optimize cellular function and overall well-being.
Understanding Metabolic Health
Metabolism is the foundation of all health, converting food energy into human energy. When metabolism is not working correctly, it creates underpowered cells, leading to dysfunction and disease. According to research, a significant percentage of American adults have suboptimal metabolism, highlighting the importance of focusing on this core aspect of health.
The Nutrition Category: Eight Key Habits
Dr. Means's nutritional recommendations focus on eliminating certain harmful foods and incorporating nutrient-rich options. The first three habits focus on what to cut out of your diet. The other 5 habits guide us toward what we should include.
What to Eliminate
- Eliminate Refined Added Sugars: Avoid all foods, drinks, and condiments with refined or liquid sugars. This includes white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, demerara sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, molasses, agave nectar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, galactose, maltodextrin, lactose, caramel, barley malt, rice syrup, date sugar, beet sugar, invert sugar, and golden syrup. Always read labels for "added sugars" and avoid products containing them.
- Eliminate Refined Grains: Eliminate all foods with ultra-processed refined flour or grain. This includes standard breads (white, wheat, and whole wheat), rice (white and brown), pasta, bagels, tortillas, crackers, cereals, pretzels, doughnuts, cookies, cakes, pastries, pizza crusts, waffles, pancakes, croissants, English muffins, hamburger buns, hot dog buns, and muffins. Ingredients to watch out for on packaged foods include wheat flour, all-purpose flour, self-rising flour, bread flour, cake flour, pastry flour, whole wheat flour, semolina flour, farina, durum wheat flour, spelt flour, barley flour, rye flour, rice flour, oat flour, or buckwheat flour.
- Eliminate Industrial Seed Oils: Avoid all foods, drinks, and condiments with refined industrially manufactured seed oils. These include soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, and any oil that says "hydrogenated". Refined seed oils are commonly found in many store-bought salad dressings, mayonnaise, hummus, dips, potato chips, peanut butter, corn chips, crackers, granola bars, cookies, pastries, muffins, doughnuts, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, fish sticks, frozen pizza, french fries, packaged popcorn, tortilla chips, cheese puffs, snack mixes, vegetable chips, canned soups, instant noodles, cakes, brownies, pancakes, waffles, butter alternatives, packaged muffins, cookies, croissants, biscuits, and roasted nuts.
What to Include
- Eat Over 50 Grams of Fiber Per Day: Track fiber intake daily and aim to get 50 grams per day or more from food sources. If you are not used to getting 50 grams of fiber, it might cause bloating or stomach upset. As such, start small and slowly ramp it up towards 50 grams of fiber per day. Best sources to maximise fiber are beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, and certain fruits.
- Eat Three or More Servings of Probiotic Foods Per Day: Aim to get three or more servings of probiotic-rich foods that do not have added sugar every day. Sources include yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh, natto, kvass, and apple cider vinegar. Make sure that any yogurt and kefir is unsweetened and says "live active cultures" on the label. While kombucha is a probiotic-rich food, read the label very carefully. Most commercial kombucha brands are now using excessive amounts of sugar or fruit juice to sweeten, making conventional kombucha more like a soda than a health drink.
- Increase Omega-3 Intake to a Minimum of 2 Grams Per Day: Aim to get a minimum of 2 grams (2,000 mg) of omega-3 fats each day. Keep cans of wild-caught fish from Wild Planet in your pantry and add the fish on top of salads or on flaxseed crackers for a quick and nutritious snack. Keep seeds and nuts handy and sprinkle them on top of all your meals for an easy and delicious way to boost your omega-3 intake. If choosing to use omega-3 supplements, buy from a high-quality source.
- Increase Antioxidants, Micronutrients, and Polyphenols Through Plant Diversity: Incorporate thirty different types of organic plant foods into your diet each week, coming from organic or regenerative fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, herbs, and spices. Of these thirty different types per week, eat at least two servings of cruciferous vegetables per day. These include broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy, arugula, watercress, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, radishes, horseradish, rutabaga, kohlrabi, and cabbage. Chop cruciferous vegetables and let sit for thirty to forty-five minutes to activate a key Good Energy component, sulforaphane, and make it more heat stable.
- Eat at Least 30 Grams of Protein Per Meal: Aim to eat 30 grams of protein at each meal, for a total of at least 90 grams of protein per day. If using protein powders, choose organic and/or grass-fed or regenerative (if animal-based) with minimal ingredients, no added sugars, no colourings, no “natural flavours” or artificial flavours, no gums, and no ingredient names you aren’t familiar with.
Beyond Nutrition: Holistic Approach to Metabolic Health
While nutrition is a cornerstone, Dr. Means emphasizes a holistic approach to metabolic health, including movement, sleep, stress management, meal timing, light exposure, temperature regulation, and minimizing toxins.
The Trifecta: Mitochondria, Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress
Dr. Means highlights the importance of mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells. Mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, and oxidative stress are key factors underlying metabolic dysfunction. By improving mitochondrial function and managing inflammation and oxidative stress, we can enhance our overall health.
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Regular Exercise
Regular exercise, including endurance training, high-intensity interval training, resistance training, and even simple walking, is crucial for metabolic health. Incorporating movement into the fabric of everyday life helps our cells constantly dispose of glucose and use it throughout the day, positively impacting our metabolic health.
Quality Sleep and Stress Management
Prioritizing quality sleep and managing stress levels are essential for metabolic health. Insufficient or inconsistent sleep and chronic stress can negatively impact our metabolism, leading to dysfunction and disease.
Temperature Exposure
Deliberate cold exposure can stimulate mitochondria to work harder, while heat exposure activates heat shock proteins, both beneficial for our metabolism.
Fasting and Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)
Fasting, such as compressing eating windows by skipping breakfast or dinner, can improve metabolic health by reducing glucose and insulin levels. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) provides valuable insights into blood sugar levels, allowing individuals to adjust their diet and identify patterns related to insulin resistance.
Practical Steps to Improve Metabolic Health
- Understand Your Biomarkers: Get your basic metabolic biomarkers checked at your annual physical, including fasting glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, hemoglobin A1C, waist circumference, and blood pressure.
- Focus on Whole Foods: Eat unprocessed, whole foods for six weeks and observe the transformation in your biomarkers. Choose high-quality foods to load your body with nutrients.
- Increase Daily Movement: Walk at least 7,000 steps a day, ideally 10,000 or more, by setting a timer on your phone and taking regular walks.
- Reassess Your Biomarkers: After six weeks to two months, recheck your biomarkers to track your progress.
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