Zen Basil Founder Shakira Niazi with Author of “Good Energy” Dr. Casey Means
The Finest Healthcare Money Could Buy—And Why It Almost Broke Me
Five years ago, when I turned 50: Full-Blown Obesity and Prediabetes—And I Didn’t Even Recognize It
* Overweight by more than 45 pounds.
* Clinically prediabetic.
* Trapped in a cycle I couldn’t seem to escape.
And the best advice my Stanford doctor could offer? Increase my medication.
Not one of them mentioned the root cause.
Not one of them explained metabolic health.
Not one of them talked about cellular function.
Then, I heard her name on the news.
Dr. Casey Means.
A Stanford-trained physician who believed food could heal.
I had no idea that my body was breaking down at the cellular level—
that my mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses that fuel every cell of life, were starving for real nourishment, not more prescriptions.
A Scientist With a Soul
That one headline changed everything.
I found her on Instagram.
And what I discovered wasn’t just a doctor.
She was a scientist with a soul.
Despite her degrees, accolades, and credibility,
she spoke with heart.
She taught with compassion.
She made the science make sense.
If it weren’t for her credentials as a medical doctor speaking publicly about food as medicine, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.
But I did.
She gave me something the healthcare system never had—
my power back.
Her simple, accessible advice—move more, get sunlight, eat whole foods—felt more real than any prescription.
It wasn’t just inspirational.
It was transformational.
Her teachings became the daily habits that reversed my prediabetes, obesity, joint pain, chronic fatigue…
and yes, even what felt like accelerated aging.
What three decades of medical appointments, tests, and medications couldn’t do,
these simple daily choices did.
She Did More for My Health Than She Will Ever Know
She didn’t treat me in the traditional sense.
She didn’t prescribe me anything.
But she educated me.
She empowered me.
She set me free.
Me—the girl who could barely pass high school biology—
now understands what mitochondria actually are.
And more importantly, how to nourish them with simple clean whole food ingredients that Casey had thought me, as the 5 pillars of Good Energy.
That’s what real medicine is.
Not fear.
Not dependency.
Freedom.
The Dream That Almost Killed Me
I spent most of my life chasing what I thought was the dream.
To afford the best doctors, the finest care.
I worked my way into elite zip codes, paid top dollar, and trusted the system.
But the truth is…
The system nearly broke me.
The Early 30s: Infertility and Shame
I conceived two healthy babies in my 20s with ease.
But in my 30s, when I tried for the daughter I had always dreamed of, I couldn’t get pregnant.
I went through endless tests, treatments, and heartbreak.
They told me my age was to blame.
The billion-dollar fertility industry told me I was "running out of time."
That I needed more procedures, more pills, more intervention.
I believed them.
Sadly, I even had forgotten that my own grandmother had conceived my late father at age 50 without any treatment. So, the idea that I’m too old at 30 should have been a red flag, but I trusted the system. After all, I thought we have the finest healthcare. They made me believe I was already “too old” at 30.
Now, at 54, I understand it was my cellular health, not my age.
But now I see the bigger picture.
I was never meant to have one little girl of my own—
I was meant to stand up for all the women being targeted by an $18 trillion machine.
I was meant to educate my two sons—
to raise them strong enough to stand beside me in this fight
to break the cycle.
The machine is not just the healthcare system.
It’s the food system.
The marketing system.
The media system.
All working together to break us down.
And because women make 80% of the purchasing decisions in America,
we are disproportionately targeted by their ads and PR tactics—
a war on our attention.
Mid-30s: The Pill for Life
Here is how I became a customer for life: By my mid-30s, I was:
* Exhausted.
* Gaining weight I couldn’t explain.
* Waking up more tired than when I went to bed.
I sought out one of the Top 10 endocrinologists in the country—
a Harvard and Stanford-trained professor.
It took six months to get on her calendar.
Her solution?
Synthroid.
At first, it seemed to help.
But every visit meant a higher dose.
And every dose deepened my dependence.
The Business of Creating Customers
I remembered something from business school:
“Create a customer—not to solve their problem completely, but to keep them coming back.”
Healthcare had done just that to me.
I had become a bundled customer:
* Thyroid meds.
* Fertility treatments.
* Weight loss consultations.
* Endless follow-ups.
All without a single conversation about root cause.
My Sister’s Struggle—The Same Trap
I watched my sister follow the same path:
* 100 pounds overweight.
* Fatty liver disease and she doesn’t even drink.
* Their solution? Surgery.
She felt horrible and blamed herself.
But It Was Generational Misinformation
Thirty years ago, my family was not genetically obese.
But today, we are labeled that way.
Today, seven of my siblings are overweight or obese.
They call it genetic.
But that’s a lie.
We weren’t born this way.
We were marketed this way.
But my brother and I—
in our 50s and 60s—are proving them wrong.
My Brother’s Wake-Up Call
He wasn’t addicted to sugar.
He didn’t even like dessert.
His weakness?
Meat. Lots of it.
So when his blood sugar spiked to 840,
he didn’t see it coming.
His doctor said:
“Two pills in the morning. Two pills at night. For life.”
But something inside him remembered our father—
who lived past 100 without a single pill.
He turned to me.
And today, his blood sugar has dropped over 200 points—
with no medication.
The Power of Real Food
My family’s transformation didn’t come from trendy powders or pricey treatments.
It came from:
* Real food.
* Real sunlight.
* Real movement.
* Real hydration, just water.
All things that cost nothing compared to the thousands we spent chasing false fixes.
What I Wish I Knew Sooner
My only regret is not learning this in time to help my mother.
She has spent the last five years in total dependence—bedridden.
Her body too far gone,
her spirit dimmed.
She deserved better.
We all do.
The Hard Truth
* 90% of Americans are metabolically unhealthy.
* 50% are prediabetic or diabetic. And sadly, 80% don’t even know it.
* 69% of adults over 40 are on prescription drugs.
* One-third of adults over 60 are on five or more medications.
And yet, we keep buying the lie that another pill, powder, or procedure will save us.
A Beautiful Twist of Fate
In a moment I never saw coming,
I introduced her to basil seeds, a forgotten superfood I had spent years trying to bring to market.
