Reversing The American Food Pyramid | Calley Means : 1395
The Human Upgrade: Biohacking for Longevity & Performance
Dave Asprey
4.6 • 7.3K Ratings
🗓️ 9 January 2026
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Back in 2024 with Calley Means at South by Southwest, we sat down and talked about his mission to flip the old American food pyramid upside down for the greater good. Well guess what, the pressure is finally working! This rerun is the ultimate receipt that focus, repetition, and smart lobbying for human health can still move the needle!
Host Dave Asprey sits down with Calley Means, entrepreneur, policy advocate, and co-author of Good Energy. Together, they break down how the U.S. healthcare system became a sick-care system, why ultra-processed food dominates public policy, and how individuals can reclaim autonomy over their biology. From CGMs and metabolic health to food subsidies, lobbying, and free speech, this episode challenges deeply held assumptions about medicine, nutrition, and personal responsibility.
You’ll Learn:
• Why chronic disease is the most profitable business model in modern history
• How metabolic dysfunction drives obesity, diabetes, depression, and infertility
• Why ultra-processed food sits at the root of America’s health collapse
• How CGMs and metabolic data threaten entrenched healthcare incentives
• What “food is medicine” really means and where it gets weaponized
• How HSA and FSA dollars can legally support food, exercise, and prevention
• Why fixing incentives matters more than blaming individuals
• How reclaiming health autonomy is tied to free speech and human resilience
Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.
Episodes are released every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (audio-only) where Dave asks the questions no one else dares, and brings you real tools to become more resilient, aware, and high performing.
Keywords: Calley Means Good Energy, Calley Means interview, Good Energy metabolic health, metabolic dysfunction America, ultra processed food policy, food is medicine debate, healthcare incentives crisis, chronic disease economics, insulin resistance epidemic, CGM health data access, metabolic health lobbying, seed oils sugar inflammation, glyphosate food system, HSA food exercise eligibility, health autonomy biohacking, metabolic freedom podcast, american food pyramid, rfk food pyramid, 2026 food pyramid
Thank you to our sponsors!
- Essentia | Go to https://myessentia.com/dave and use code DAVE for $100 off The Dave Asprey Upgrade.
Resources:
• Get My 2026 Biohacking Trends Report: https://daveasprey.com/2026-biohacking-trends-report/
• Join My Low-Oxalate 30-Day Challenge: https://daveasprey.com/2026-low-ox-reset/
• Dave Asprey's Latest News | Go to https://daveasprey.com/ to join Inside Track today.
• Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/discount/dave15
• My Daily Supplements: SuppGrade Labs (15% Off)
• Favorite Blue Light Blocking Glasses: TrueDark (15% Off)
• Dave Asprey’s BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com
• Dave Asprey’s New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated
• Upgrade Collective: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com
• Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com
• 40 Years of Zen: https://40yearsofzen.com
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
2:11 – Mom’s Cancer Story
4:24 – Healthcare System Incentives
10:14 – TruMed and Food as Medicine
15:51 – FDA and IRS Pushback
17:25 – Political Solutions and RFK
19:49 – Childhood Obesity Crisis
21:49 – The Chronic Disease Industry
26:54 – State of Emergency Proposal
29:07 – Healthcare Industry Mindset
31:30 – COVID and Metabolic Health
32:28 – Taking Back Health Autonomy
34:16 – Medical System Collusion
35:56 – Research Corruption
37:21 – Pharma Bribes and Conflicts
40:17 – Ozempic and Civil Rights Groups
42:35 – Personal Mission and Mom’s Legacy
50:16 – Media Power and Free Speech
54:00 – Weaponizing Social Justice
55:16 – Systemic Poisoning of the Population
57:37 – Technology as a Health Solution
1:03:20 – Regenerative Farming and Robotics
1:06:34 – Controlling the Food Supply
1:10:18 – Closing Thoughts
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey. |
| 0:06.1 | Formerly, Bulletproof Radio. |
| 0:09.1 | You're listening to the Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey. |
| 0:21.6 | Five years ago, the mainstream had never heard of peptides or even red light therapy, but now everyone's doing them. That's how fast biohacking moves. The protocols dominating 2026 are in testing right now in labs and clinics, sublingual peptides, exosome injections, vagus nerve devices. |
| 0:39.7 | By the time the mainstream catches on, early adopters already have years of optimization |
| 0:43.9 | advantage. That's why I created the 2026 biohacking trends report. It's free, it's actionable, |
| 0:50.2 | and it shows you what's working now before everyone else figures it out, including |
| 0:54.9 | sublingal peptides and rapid recovery without needles. Exosome therapies, which are outperforming |
| 1:01.0 | stem cells in some clinical trials. Vagus nerve devices to calm your nervous system in minutes. |
| 1:07.1 | And plus, you can learn about emerging protocols that you won't hear about in the mainstream media for another year or maybe ever. |
| 1:13.6 | This is what the cutting edge are already using for more energy, sharper focus, and extended health span. |
| 1:19.7 | The window to get ahead is now. By 2027, this will be old news. |
| 1:24.5 | Grab the 2026 biohacking trends report free at Dave Asprey.com or click the link in the bio. |
| 1:30.1 | Stay ahead of the curve or spend years catching up. |
| 1:33.8 | So, Kelly, thanks for coming in for South by. |
| 1:36.7 | Oh, thank you. |
| 1:37.7 | And it's great to be here with some great danger coffee. |
| 1:39.5 | Ah, you're very welcome. |
| 1:41.1 | It also helps that your company is based here. |
| 1:43.2 | So that might be something else. |
| 1:45.3 | Guys, Kelly means MD is author of a book called Good Energy. |
| 1:50.4 | And in it, he makes the argument that big pharma and big food is doing great things for society. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dave Asprey, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Dave Asprey and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.