a16z general partner Erik Torenberg speaks with Justin Mares, founder and CEO of Truemed. They discuss why American health outcomes are so poor compared to the rest of the developed world, how crop subsidies created a food system that "systematically outputs unhealthy people," and what it would take to treat the chronic disease crisis as a national security issue. Mares explains how TrueMed allows people to spend tax-free HSA and FSA dollars on lifestyle interventions like gym memberships, sleep aids, and healthier food—and why he believes this could redirect hundreds of billions of dollars toward prevention. They also explore the case for psychedelics as mental health therapy and why peptides could disrupt the pharmaceutical industry.
Resources:
Follow Justin Mares on X: https://x.com/jwmares
Follow TrueMed on X: https://x.com/truemed
Timestamps:
00:00 — Introduction
0:44 — The Environment That Makes Us Sick
04:19 — What Went Wrong in the 1970s
6:10 — The Subsidy Problem
8:49 — Universal Ozempic Won't Save Us
12:21 — Building Truemed
15:59 — The Zoo Animal Theory of Human Health
18:33 — The Chronic Disease Crisis as National Security
27:52 — Psychedelics as Mental Health Therapy
35:49 — Why Peptides Will Disrupt Pharma
35:27 — Why Peptides Will Disrupt Pharma
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