LEVELS – A Whole New Level

Preconception health is one of the most powerful—yet overlooked—windows for influencing a child’s lifelong wellness. While fertility is often discussed in the context of age or medical intervention, emerging research suggests that the months leading up to conception are a critical "time capsule" for epigenetic health.

In this episode of A Whole New Level, Levels Founder and CEO Josh Clemente sits down with Dr. Anne Shippy, a board-certified internal medicine physician and author of The Preconception Revolution. Dr. Shippy brings a unique, systems-based approach to fertility, moving beyond basic labs to uncover the root causes of infertility and chronic disease.

Dr. Shippy explains why the "check engine light" of infertility is often a signal of deeper metabolic or environmental imbalances—and why age isn't always the primary driver of reproductive success. Drawing on her engineering background and years of clinical practice, she walks through how toxins, mitochondrial function, and the microbiome interact to shape the health of both parents and their future children.

Along the way, the conversation explores the practical "mini-experiments" couples can run to optimize their biology—from tightening blood sugar control with CGMs to auditing the "chemical soup" of modern life. The result is an empowering framework for generational health: shifting the focus from reactive treatments to proactive, data-driven preparation.

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

In this episode, we cover
• The Preconception Window: Why the 3–12 months before pregnancy are a critical window for epigenetic influence
• The Engineering Approach: Applying systems-based, data-driven models to the biochemistry of the body
• Environmental Toxins: How PFAS, phthalates, and microplastics in packaging disrupt hormone health
• Sperm Health Trends: Understanding the 50% decline in sperm counts and the role of lifestyle in reversing damage
• Mitochondrial Function: Why cellular energy production is the foundation of egg and sperm quality
• IVF as a Last Resort: Why tuning up the body’s "hospitable environment" should come before invasive procedures
• The Role of Glucose: How stable blood sugar improves fertility and passes on better epigenetics to the baby

🎙 What Dr. Anne Shippy & Josh discuss
[03:35] — Making the career shift from IBM chemical engineer to functional medicine
[05:54] — Using CGMs as a series of experiments to optimize preconception health
[10:04] — Success stories: Reversing "failed" IVF and infertility in the early 40s
[14:48] — Why the children’s health crisis and the fertility crisis share the same root causes
[17:22] — The "Time Capsule": How the egg and sperm pass on epigenetic snapshots
[20:02] — The minimum timeline: Why three months is the baseline for biological change
[22:22] — The impact of processed food packaging on hormone and sperm health in just 21 days
[24:50] — Advanced testing: Moving beyond Quest labs to microbiome and toxin panels
[29:57] — The "Big Three" environmental shifts: Clean air, clean water, and clean food
[42:22] — The "Lightning Round": Prioritizing changes from synthetic fragrances to alcohol and exercise

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/QG4Jxxu_gyE
Find us on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/levelshealth?sub_confirmation=1⁠⁠⁠⁠

📲 Connect
Connect with Dr. Ann Shippy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annshippymd/
https://annshippymd.com/

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