Levels, the first biowearable system to give real-time biofeedback on nutrition and lifestyle through glucose monitoring, today announced that Dr. Robert Lustig has joined the company as an Advisor. Dr. Lustig is Professor emeritus of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), with over 40 years of clinical work and research focused on childhood obesity, diabetes, and systems issues that lead to metabolic disease. He is the author of five renowned books on metabolic health and the food industry, including the New York Times best-seller, Fat Chance: Beating the Odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease, as well as the recently published Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine. In addition to his books, Dr. Lustig has published over 200 scientific articles in peer reviewed journals.
Dr. Lustig is one of the leading voices in shedding light on the dangers of the processed food industry and the way in which the financial incentives of the US healthcare system contribute to rising levels of chronic disease. His UCTV lecture, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, has over 13 million views on YouTube since 2009, which highlights the damage caused by the processed and sugar-rich foods that make up the modern American diet. Dr. Lustig is an internationally recognized public health authority on the impact of ultra-processed food has on fueling common metabolic health issues like obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
“Levels is honored to join forces with Dr. Lustig to improve the state of metabolic health globally,” said Dr. Casey Means, Level Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer. “Through his prolific writing and research, Dr. Lustig has been fearless in exposing the public to the systems factors that drive our metabolic disease crisis and so much of human suffering. In addition, Dr. Lustig’s research and clinical work has driven the broader understanding of the biology of how metabolic disease develops in both the body and the brain, and how much of our chronic disease epidemic can be ameliorated by eating clean, unprocessed food. Our team at Levels has a deep respect for Dr. Lustig’s courage and independent thinking, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team as an Advisor.”
“You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know what the problem is. Levels is the one company dedicated to letting you know how our current food supply leads to metabolic problems in people,’ said Dr. Lustig. “Levels has taken the first step toward personalized nutrition, and hopefully not the last. I’m proud to be part of the vision.”
For more information, visit levelshealth.com.
LEVELS’ SOLUTION TO THE METABOLIC HEALTH CRISIS
More than 128 million Americans have prediabetes or diabetes. Of the 34 million people with diabetes, 25% don’t know they have it. Of the 88 million people with prediabetes, 90% of them don’t know they have it. Levels’ mission is to solve the metabolic health crisis by tracking glucose in real-time and providing granular visibility into how diet and lifestyle choices affect health.
In the same way fitness trackers quantify physical activity and exercise, Levels measures the impact of one’s diet and lifestyle on metabolic health by pairing continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology with intelligent software. The month-long Levels program includes two 14-day CGM sensors and access to the Levels app, which provides real-time analysis on how food, exercise, and other lifestyle decisions are impacting your health. Currently in closed beta, Levels has a 120,000+ person waitlist.
ABOUT DR. ROBERT LUSTIG
Dr. Robert Lustig, MD is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology and Member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He specializes in the field of neuroendocrinology, with an emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. His research and clinical practice has focused on childhood obesity and diabetes. Dr. Lustig holds a Bachelor’s in Science from MIT, a Doctorate in Medicine from Cornell University Medical College, and a Master’s of Studies in Law from U.C. Hastings College of the Law.
Dr. Lustig has fostered a global discussion of metabolic health and nutrition, exposing and debunking some of the leading myths that underlie the current pandemic of diet-related disease. He believes the food industry, by pushing processed food loaded with sugar and devoid of fiber, has hacked our minds to pursue pleasure instead of happiness fostering today’s epidemics of addiction and depression, and hacked our bodies to generate insulin resistance to foster our current diabetes pandemic. Yet by focusing on real food, we can beat the odds against sugar, processed food, obesity, and disease.
ABOUT LEVELS HEALTH
Levels makes it easy for people to see how their diet affects both their health and their lifestyle in a quantifiable way by measuring biomarkers in real time. We are expanding access to continuous glucose monitoring and making it mainstream, focused on people looking to find their optimal diet and improve their metabolic fitness. Our customers are losing weight, optimizing exercise performance, and developing ideal versions of their dietary philosophy of choice.
Casey Means MD (Stanford), Josh Clemente (SpaceX, Hyperloop), Sam Corcos (CarDash, YC), David Flinner (Google), and Andrew Conner (Google) founded Levels to reverse the trend of metabolic dysfunction. Almost 10% of the United States is diabetic and that number is increasing at an increasing rate—88 million Americans are prediabetic and 70% will be diabetic within 10 years. We’re starting with the performance and athletic market to build brand credibility and thought leadership and moving into mainstream health and wellness in 2021.
