LEVELS – A Whole New Level

High cholesterol is one of the most widely discussed—and established—risk factors in medicine. But reams of research now show that while it is key to cardiovascular risk, it is not the whole story.

In this episode of A Whole New Level, editorial director Mike Haney sits down with Dr. Ronald Krauss, one of the world’s leading lipid researchers and a pioneer in understanding how different forms of LDL—and the physiological factors around them—affect cardiovascular risk.

Dr. Krauss explains why the basic link between cholesterol and heart disease is well established among experts—but also why the standard cholesterol panel often misses the deeper metabolic story. Drawing on decades of research, he walks through how lipoproteins, particle size, triglycerides, and metabolic health interact to determine whether cholesterol actually becomes dangerous.

Along the way, the conversation explores why cardiovascular disease remains the leading killer despite statins and decades of research—and how factors like obesity, insulin resistance, and inflammation reshape the lipid landscape in ways that traditional tests may not capture.

The result is a clearer framework for understanding cardiovascular risk: not just how much cholesterol is in the blood, but how it’s being transported, how long those particles circulate, and what metabolic conditions are driving them.

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠⁠⁠https://levels.link/wnl⁠⁠

In this episode, we cover

• Why the cholesterol–heart disease link isn’t actually controversial among researchers
• Cholesterol vs. lipoproteins: why the particles carrying cholesterol matter more than the number itself
• Small dense LDL: how triglyceride metabolism produces the most harmful particles
• ApoB and particle counts: why many researchers prefer measuring particles instead of cholesterol mass
• Lipoprotein(a): the genetically driven risk factor affecting up to a third of the population
• Metabolic syndrome: the cluster of conditions that amplifies cardiovascular risk
• Why carbohydrates and metabolic dysfunction can drive harmful lipid patterns
• The saturated fat debate: why food context and metabolic health matter more than simple fat categories

🎙 What Dr. Ronald Krauss & Mike Haney discuss:

[01:09] — Why the cholesterol–heart disease link is largely settled science

[02:27] — Why cardiovascular disease remains the world’s leading killer

[04:42] — Inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in vascular disease

[06:12] — The discovery of small dense LDL and why particle size matters

[07:14] — Lipoprotein(a) as a major inherited cardiovascular risk factor

[09:18] — “Residence time”: why particles that circulate longer cause more damage

[11:24] — ApoB vs LDL-C: measuring particles instead of cholesterol mass

[13:31] — The HDL paradox: why raising HDL hasn’t improved outcomes

[15:28] — Metabolic syndrome and the five markers that amplify risk

[17:16] — Why the saturated fat debate misses the bigger metabolic picture

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links

Watch the conversation: ⁠https://youtu.be/sS0orvd2TFs

Find us on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠⁠

📲 Connect

Connect with Dr. Ronald Krauss on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronald-krauss-81a38021/

You can’t outrun a bad diet—but it turns out you might not even be able to outrun a good one. In this episode of A Whole New Level, evolutionary anthropologist Dr. Herman Pontzer joins Mike Haney to dismantle the "armchair view" of metabolism and explain why more exercise doesn't necessarily mean more calories burned.

Drawing on his groundbreaking research with the Hadza hunter-gatherer community and global meta-analyses, Dr. Pontzer explains the Constrained Energy Model: the phenomenon where our bodies hit a metabolic ceiling and begin "trading off" energy from vital systems like immunity and reproduction to account for physical activity. This conversation reframes weight loss not as a simple math problem of "calories in vs. calories out," but as a dynamic, evolutionary balancing act.

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠⁠https://levels.link/wnl⁠

In this episode, we cover:

• The Myth of Additive Energy: Why adding a 300-calorie run to your day doesn’t actually result in 300 extra calories burned over the long term.
• The Hadza Paradox: How hunter-gatherers who walk miles every day burn the same amount of total energy as sedentary Westerners.
• Metabolic Trading: How your body "pays" for exercise by dialing down inflammation, stress responses, and reproductive hormones.
• The Business of the Body: Why the human body acts less like a simple machine and more like a corporation reallocating a limited budget.
• The "Set Point" Debate: Whether our bodies are tracking pounds on a scale or the flow of energy in the gut.
• Practical Weight Management: Why diet is the primary tool for weight, while exercise is the primary tool for everything else.

🎙 What Dr. Herman Pontzer & Mike Haney discuss:

[0:01-0:52] The Additive Model vs. The Constrained Energy Model

[1:24-2:48] Dr. Pontzer's Book Burn

[3:33-4:21] Defining Energy Balance

[5:15-6:50] Where the "Armchair View of Metabolism" Breaks Down

[7:07-8:50] Comparing the Additive Model to the Constrained Energy Model

[16:14-18:12] Energy Accounting: Where Daily Calories Go

[18:13-20:57] The Body as a Business Metaphor

[22:13-23:47] Specific Ways the Body Compensates for Increased Exercise

[24:19-25:27] Modifying the Constrained Energy Limit (Diet and Weightlifting)

[47:54-51:23] Diet is Key for Weight Management

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links

Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/6GUWQuT-vRc⁠⁠

Find us on YouTube: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠

📲 Connect

Connect with Dr. Herman Pontzer on X: https://x.com/HermanPontzer

Heart disease risk isn’t just about cholesterol. In this episode of A Whole New Level, Dr. Matthew Budoff explains why coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring may be the most important test most people aren’t getting—and why imaging your arteries directly can reveal risk that blood tests alone can miss.

Drawing on decades of research and data from the landmark MESA study, Dr. Budoff explains how calcium scoring predicts real cardiovascular events, how plaque actually forms and progresses, and why some people with high cholesterol never develop plaque—while others with “normal” labs do.

This episode focuses on how to measure your actual cardiovascular risk, not just estimate it.

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl

In this episode, we cover:

• Why CAC scoring is one of the strongest predictors of future heart events
• Why cholesterol is critical—but only explains about half of heart disease risk
• Why some people with very high LDL have zero plaque—and others with normal labs have dangerous plaque
• Why CAC is best understood as the “tip of the iceberg” of total plaque burden
• When to escalate to CT angiography and advanced imaging
• How plaque regression is possible—and what interventions actually drive it
• The future of cardiac risk prediction: Lp(a), inflammation, and AI-driven plaque analysis

This conversation reframes heart risk around what’s actually happening inside your arteries—not just what shows up in bloodwork.

🎙 What Dr. Matthew Budoff & Mike Haney discuss:

[01:35] — Coronary calcium is the strongest predictor of heart events

[02:38] — What a high calcium score actually means for risk

[04:00] — Why rising calcium is not “healing.”

[11:07] — The role of fat tissue and inflammation in plaque formation

[16:37] — Why do many people with high cholesterol have no plaque

[17:55] — Why imaging is the only way to truly know your risk

[37:07] — Calcium as the “tip of the iceberg” of total plaque burden

[~52:00] — Why CAC is the practical first step before advanced imaging

[~1:02:00] — When CT angiography adds critical information

[~1:14:00] — How plaque regression actually happens in the real world

[~1:22:00] — The next frontier: Lp(a) and inflammation as treatment targets

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links

Watch the conversation: ⁠https://youtu.be/os-RNhIS3jQ

Find us on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠

📲 Connect

Connect with Dr. Matthew Budoff on X: https://x.com/BudoffMd

https://www.calciumscan.com/

In this episode of A Whole New Level, Christopher Gardner, PhD, joins Mike to discuss his decades in nutrition research, the challenges of conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on diet, and how to communicate complex science to the public. Gardner has led some of the most rigorous research ever comparing dietary approaches in real-world conditions, so his insights about what works (cutting processed food and sugar) and what doesn’t (obsessing about macronutrients) are worth a listen.

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl

In this episode, we cover:

• What a nutritional interventionist is – someone who studies people who are asked to change their diet, tracking them and taking samples to see what might have changed.
• How to square widely-accepted lessons about nutrition (i.e., junk food=bad) with the high degree of individuality in diets that work.
• The concept of "equipoise" in study design, which means making sure both diets being compared are well-represented versions of that diet (e.g., a "kick butt diet A and a crappy diet B" is avoided).
• The dilemma of communicating single-study results to the public and the role of the Netflix documentary on Gardner’s famous twin study in making science engaging.
• Dr. Gardner's experience on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and the methodology used to reach conclusions.
• The focus on ultra-processed foods and the need to message the consensus points of eating more whole foods and vegetables, and avoiding added sugar and refined grains.
• The learnings from the DIETFITS study, which compared low-carb and low-fat diets among 600 people for a year, and why there was more variation among people within a diet than between the two diets.

🎙 What Dr. Christopher Gardner & Mike Haney discuss:

[00:33] Nutritional Interventionist Role

[02:17] Shortcomings of Nutrition RCTs

[03:59] Garlic Study Example

[16:48] Concept of Equipoise in Study Design

[21:54] Value of Communicating Single Study Results

[28:02] Industry Funding and Transparency

[33:11] Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Methodology

[38:48] Ultra-Processed Foods and the Evidence

[48:27] Simplicity vs. Complexity in Nutrition

[50:24] Consensus on Foundational Diet Components

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links

Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/ZQ0G_jfwKoM

Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1

📲 Connect

Connect with Christopher Gardner, PhD, on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cgardnerphd/?hl=en

In this episode of A Whole New Level, Dr. Eric Ravussin, PhD, explains the physiology of energy expenditure, metabolic adaptation, and why the body strongly defends its prior weight. Drawing on decades of research, including the Biggest Loser study, CALERIE, and work with metabolic chambers, Ravussin walks through what actually happens when we lose weight—and why willpower alone isn’t enough.

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl

In this episode, we cover:

• Why BMI is an incomplete measure of obesity
• The difference between preclinical and clinical obesity
• How energy expenditure really works (and why larger bodies burn more calories)
• What metabolic adaptation is—and why it persists long after weight loss
• Why exercise alone rarely leads to sustained weight loss
• How GLP-1 drugs intersect with appetite, metabolism, and muscle mass

🎙 What Dr. Eric Ravussin & Mike Haney discuss:

[04:40] — Rethinking obesity diagnosis

[07:00] — Clinical vs. preclinical obesity

[11:38] — What ‘energy expenditure’ actually means

[15:42] — What metabolic adaptation really is

[17:56] — Why bigger bodies burn more calories

[26:16] — Lessons from the Biggest Loser study

[31:19] — What CALERIE taught us about calorie restriction

[40:02] — Why slow, modest weight loss matters

[45:10] — Weight loss vs. weight maintenance physiology

[53:08] — GLP-1 drugs: promise and limitations

[57:49] — Why you can’t exercise your way to weight loss

[1:01:33] — The biggest myth about obesity

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links:

Watch the conversation: ⁠https://youtu.be/UaE0C_l7GMw

Find us on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠⁠⁠

📲 More about Dr. Eric Ravussin: https://www.pbrc.edu/research-and-faculty/faculty/Ravussin-Eric-PhD.aspx

According to investigative science journalist Gary Taubes, much of what we “know” about nutrition is built on weak evidence, bad assumptions, and decades of groupthink. In this episode of A Whole New Level, Taubes joins Mike Haney to examine how nutrition science went off the rails—and why he remains convinced the carbohydrate–insulin model still offers the most coherent explanation for obesity.

Taubes explains how observational studies became policy, why randomized trials are often ignored, and why questioning the calorie-balance model remains controversial despite mounting contradictions. The conversation is less about winning an argument and more about how science should actually work—especially when public health is at stake.

⁠Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠⁠https://levels.link/wnl⁠⁠⁠

🎙 What Gary Taubes & Mike Haney discuss:

[4:10] — How Gary Taubes became interested in “bad science.”

[9:45] — Why nutrition science relies too heavily on epidemiology

[15:30] — Correlation vs. causation in diet research

[22:10] — The problem with the calorie-balance model

[29:40] — Introducing the carbohydrate–insulin model

[36:55] — Why insulin resistance changes everything

[44:20] — Why low-fat advice dominated for decades

[52:10] — What randomized trials actually show

[1:00:05] — Why dissent is treated as heresy in nutrition

[1:08:30] — How bad science survives criticism

[1:16:45] — What good nutrition science would require

[1:23:20] — Why this debate still matters

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links:

Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/74WAhHgEk_0⁠

Find us on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠⁠

📲 Connect with Gary Taubes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-taubes-942a6459/

https://garytaubes.com/

Hormones influence far more than reproduction—they shape energy, mood, metabolism, sleep, and long-term health. In this episode of A Whole New Level, Dr. Anjali D’Souza joins Mike Haney to explain how women’s hormones actually work, why so many symptoms are dismissed as “normal,” and how to interpret labs in a way that reflects real physiology.

They discuss why standard hormone panels often miss functional problems, how nutrient status and lifestyle affect hormone signaling, and how symptoms like PMS, fatigue, and brain fog provide meaningful data—not noise.

They discuss:

• Why hormones affect how you feel day to day, not just fertility
• The difference between “normal” lab ranges and optimal function
• How progesterone, estrogen, and cortisol interact
• Why PMS is often a signal—not a mystery
• How nutrition, stress, and sleep influence hormone effectiveness

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠⁠https://levels.link/wnl⁠⁠

🎙 What Dr. Anjali Dsouza & Mike Haney discuss:

[3:45] — Why hormones influence energy, mood, and vitality

[7:30] — “Normal” labs vs. how you actually feel

[11:40] — Why hormone symptoms are often dismissed

[15:05] — Hormones as a lever to move from “fine” to “amazing.”

[18:20] — Progesterone, estrogen, and the menstrual cycle

[22:10] — Why PMS isn’t random—it’s data

[27:35] — Cortisol, stress, and hormone disruption

[33:10] — Nutrient status and hormone effectiveness

[38:45] — Why labs don’t show tissue-level hormone function

[44:30] — Lifestyle changes that support hormone balance

[50:15] — Rethinking how we assess women’s hormone health

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links:

Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/MweLkjvNimo

Find us on YouTube: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠

⁠https://dcimedicine.com/dr-anjali-dsouza/⁠

⁠https://www.levels.com/blog/dr-anjali-dsouza-wants-to-help-women-level-up-their-health⁠

📲 Connect with Dr. Anjali Dsouza: https://www.instagram.com/anjalidsouzamd

In this episode, Dr. Jesse Mills, Director of the UCLA Men’s Clinic, joins Mike Haney to explain what’s driving that shift and what today’s data-driven approach to men’s health looks like.

He breaks down the testosterone “revolution,” what’s really happening in low-T diagnoses, and how lifestyle, sleep, and stress management can influence hormones as much as prescriptions can.

They discuss:

- How men’s health became its own medical discipline

- What testosterone really does—and how to know if it’s low

- Primary vs. secondary hypogonadism and how to tell the difference

- When testosterone replacement is appropriate (and when it’s not)

- Why younger men are now embracing prevention and optimization

And listen to Dr. Mills’ new podcast, The Male Room with Dr. Jesse Mills, wherever you get your podcasts.

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl⁠

🎙 What Dr. Jesse Mills & Mike Haney discuss:

[2:10] — How men’s health became its own field

[8:05] — The generational shift in openness

[10:40] — The difference between real medicine and ‘men’s clinics’

[12:00] — Testosterone 101

[18:45] — When low testosterone is reversible

[26:50] — Why we need ‘forensic endocrinology’

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links:

Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/Zs2CZC2GueA

Find us on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠

📲 Connect with Dr. Jesse Mills: https://x.com/grurology?lang=en

Your annual labs can reveal far more than most people realize—if you know how to interpret them. In this episode of A Whole New Level, Dr. Rich Joseph walks through how to read basic blood work like the CBC, electrolytes, and urinalysis, and how to use those numbers as feedback loops, not pass/fail judgments.

He explains which values matter most, what trends reveal over time, and how to connect lab data to sleep, training, nutrition, and stress.

• What the Complete Blood Count (CBC) actually measures
• How to identify early signs of iron or B-vitamin deficiency
• What white blood cell patterns reveal about immunity and stress
• How electrolytes reflect cellular energy, hydration, and training load
• Why urinalysis is underrated (and how to read it quickly)
• How to use lab trends—not single snapshots—to guide health decisions

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl

🎙 What Dr. Rich Joesph & Mike Haney discuss:

[03:12] — Why basic labs still matter

[07:58] — How to read the CBC: Red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets

[18:45] — MCV and what it tells us about iron vs. B-vitamin deficiency

[24:40] — White blood cells as a window into stress and recovery

[44:10] — Electrolytes and cellular energy

[1:01:22] — Urinalysis: the overlooked lab with real value

[1:09:55] — Using labs as feedback over time

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links:
Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/cpwB4-_7o-w

Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1

📲 Connect with Dr. Rich Joseph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-joseph-md-mba-61448b33a/

Your immune system isn’t just about fighting infections—it’s a mirror of your overall metabolic health.

In this episode of A Whole New Level, Dr. Sharon Bergquist, physician and Director of Emory’s Healthy Aging and Resilient Aging Center, joins Mike Haney to unpack the science of immune resilience—how chronic inflammation, white blood cell patterns, and metabolism intertwine to shape long-term health.

Dr. Bergquist explains why inflammation isn’t always bad, how the immune system ages, and what you can do daily to build resilience.

They discuss:

• The link between metabolic dysfunction and chronic low-grade inflammation
• How white blood cell counts reveal immune status and stress levels
• Why gut and liver health are central to immune balance
• Practical habits that calm inflammation and support immune recovery
• What it really means to have a “resilient” immune system

Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl

🎙 What Dr. Sharon Bergquist & Mike Haney discuss:

[3:24] — How inflammation protects—and harms—your body

[10:11] — Why immune health depends on metabolism

[17:42] — White blood cells as a window into immune function

[24:38] — How the gut and liver shape immunity

[32:27] — Why modern lifestyles fuel inflammation

[40:55] — How to measure your own inflammation

[48:33] — The science of immune aging (inflammaging)

[56:22] — Building immune resilience through daily habits

[1:03:44] — Why immune balance is better than immune ‘boosting’

[1:11:08] — The hopeful message: immunity is adaptable

Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health.

Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health.

🔗 Helpful links:
Watch the conversation: https://youtu.be/k1XpdFGVx1o

Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1

📲 Connect with Dr. Sharon Bergquist on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist 

Dr. Sharon Bergquist: https://drsharonbergquist.com/