A best-selling author and doctor recently sounded the alarm on rising disease rates in the United States, arguing Americans are getting sicker each year because they rely on highly processed foods while the healthcare system is profiting off the toxic dependency. “Good Energy” co-author Dr. Casey Means joined “The Brian Kilmeade Show” to discuss how the cycle of disease has spiraled through Americans’ reliance on ultra-processed food and how lifestyle habits have led to a spike in certain cancers and other disorders.
Means told host Brian Kilmeade, “This is the first year in history that we are expected to have over 2 million new cases of cancer in the United States, so we are throwing money at cancer research, and cancer rates are going up. The reason for this is because we’re focusing on the symptoms of cancer. We’re focusing on treating cancer after it develops. We spend virtually $0 on cancer prevention.” Means noted that “ultra-processed food” can be blamed for the variety of health issues Americans are facing, including a spike in colon cancer, particularly among young people. The lack of sleep and “synthetic toxins” that are embedded in everything from food to daily personal care products also have an impact on health and have been linked to disease, she argued.
Means, whose book has become a New York Times bestseller, said, “We know that much cancer, especially colon cancer, is tied to our terrible ultra-processed diets in the United States. It’s because of the environment that we’re living in, and unfortunately, there are trillions and trillions of dollars of incentives between this devil’s bargain of the food system and the health care system that both make money when we’re addicted to crappy food and then we’re getting treatment.”
She continued, “I think the thing that people really understand is that the financial incentives of our health care system right now, they make more money when patients are sick and it makes less money when patients are healthy,” she continued. “That’s why I had to leave the system because that is the financial reality of the American health care system.” Colorectal cancer is now among the leading causes of cancer deaths for young adults, according to a report from the American Cancer Society (ACS) earlier this year. As of 2024, it ranks as the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and the second leading cause in women.
Overall, the ACS expects that over 2 million new cancer cases and 611,720 cancer deaths will occur in the U.S. in 2024. Some primary risk factors include family history, obesity, smoking, heavy alcohol, a diet high in red and processed meats, inflammatory bowel disease and a personal history or family history of polyps, according to Dr. Aparna Parikh, medical director of the Center for Young Adult Colorectal Cancer at the Mass General Cancer Center.
Means argued that food companies manufacturing products that are “ultra-processed” are following an addiction-based business model to maximize their profits, which comes in at around $2 trillion and keeps sick customers coming back for more.