December 9, 2023
As mentioned in several podcasts throughout the year, I’ve recently come across what I believe to be the best book on cardiovascular health that I’ve ever read.
Before this point, my top book recommendation would have been Dr. Thomas Cowan’s Human Heart, Cosmic Heart, ideally paired with a listen to my own big show on all the different ways to test, analyze, and medically quantify your heart health, which you can listen to in the episode titled “The Best Way To Test How Healthy Your Heart Is: Ben Greenfield Undergoes A Complete Advanced Cardiac Evaluation & Reports The Surprising Results!“
Anyway, this latest, groundbreaking book — Understanding the Heart: Surprising Insights Into the Evolutionary Origins of Heart Disease―and Why It Matters — is by the remarkable Dr. Stephen Hussey, MS, DC, a chiropractor, functional medicine practitioner, health coach, and speaker. He attained both his Doctorate of Chiropractic and Master of Science in human nutrition and functional medicine from the University of Western States in Portland, Oregon.
In addition to Understanding the Heart, Dr. Hussey is also the author of another excellent book on health and longevity titled The Health Evolution: Why Understanding Evolution Is the Key to Vibrant Health. Through his unique expertise, he guides clients from around the world back to health using ancestral wisdom and the latest research. In his downtime, Dr. Hussey likes to be outdoors, playing sports, reading, writing, and spending time with his wife and their pets.
During our show — which is a re-release of one of the most popular podcasts on cardiovascular health that I’ve ever recorded — you’ll learn the fascinating history of heart disease, why the naked mole-rat is important in understanding heart health, where water, infrared light, aspirin, ketones, and other little-known heart health “hacks” fit in, and a BIG surprise toward the end of this two-part podcast series.
During this discussion, you’ll discover:
-Stephen’s morning heart routine…07:50
-The first-ever recorded incidences of heart disease…09:50
-What the naked mole-rat can teach you about heart health…15:20
- Evolution of reptiles and mammals
- The reptilian stress response system has one track called the dorsal motor nucleus
- Allows reptiles to shut organs down and lowers their metabolism
- Naked mole-rat has a combination of reptile and mammal traits: slow metabolisms and live in low oxygen levels
- If humans have an elongated shift in metabolism, heart health declines
- Mammals — vagus nerve split into two pathways: dorsal motor nucleus and nucleus ambiguous
- For humans, staying in a high-stress response creates inflammation, depresses metabolism, and has an impact on CV function
- Lack of vagal tone affects the electrical function of the heart
- Split vagus nerve in mammals is important because it balances parasympathetic and sympathetic systems
-How an imbalanced vagus nerve can impact the fuel of the heart…25:10
- Metabolic heart attacks
- 90% of people in America have some aspect of poor metabolic health
- An imbalance in the autonomic nervous system combined with a stressful event may lead to a CV event
- Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP): sympathetic cell
- Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP): parasympathetic cell
- We need nitric oxide for the cGMP cell to communicate with the heart cell
- High oxidative stress depletes nitric oxide
- In the absence of nitric oxide, the parasympathetic cell is delayed
- Cell delayed, then lactic acid build-up = muscle-burning
- Too much lactic acid in the heart causes it to beat faster
- Most organs, including the heart, prefer to burn fatty acids and ketones
- If a sympathetic signal reaches the heart, the heart is forced to burn more glucose than it wants to
- The build-up of lactic acid causes edema, negative pressure build-up, stagnant blood flow, reduced calcium absorption
- Calcium controls contraction
- Stagnant blood results in severe hypoxia and tissue death (organ shutdown)
- Reptiles and naked mole rats can withstand these things, but humans cannot
- Nitric oxide is kind of like Viagra for the body
- Ben’s tips on increasing nitric oxide availability:
- Metabolic use of ketones vs. glucose
-The role of ketones in people with heart disease…37:00
-Structured water and the role it plays in our bodies…42:15
- Water structured between solid and liquid states
- Exclusion zone water
- Albumin, the smallest protein in the bloodstream, is excluded from this exclusion zone
- The Fourth Phase of Water by Gerard Pollack
- BGF podcast with Gerald Pollack:
- Some water in the body is liquid, some is gel-like
- BGF podcast with Robert Slovak:
- “Water & Water Filtration: Everything You Need To Know About Water Filters, Alkaline Water, Structured Water, Hydrogen-Rich Water, Deuterium Depleted Water & Much More!”
- “Everything You Need To Know About How To Use Hydrogen Water: Timing, Dosing, Delivery Mechanisms, Hydrogen Tablets, Hydrogen Water Machines, Hydrogen Inhalers & Much More!”
- “Is “Drinkable” Seawater The Future Of Health Tonics?, How “Quinton” Works, Isotonic vs. Hypertonic & Much More With Water Researcher Robert Slovak.”
- BGF podcast with Tyler Lebaron:
- The lining of the artery has exclusion zone water
- Positive and negative charge in plants moves water upwards via water structuring, similar in humans
- Structured water protects the lining of the artery and creates flow
- Electronegatively charged areas with high oxidative stress could lead to the breakdown of structured water
- Break down of structured water = damaged arterial lining
- Insulin repairs, but if insulin resistance is present + oxidative stress = arterial damage
- Healing is Voltage by Jerry Tennant
- The Body Electric by Robert Becker
-How to enhance the efficacy of structured water in your body…53:30
-Why it’s incorrect to think of the heart as a pump…57:30
- The heart is not a forceful pressure pump, blood can flow on its own
- The heart does some pumping but only to move the blood through the heart
- The heart is like a hydraulic ram; flow-activated
- The heart acts as a vortexer and swirls blood around
- Heart muscle contraction facilitates the swirling
- Another important role of the heart:
- The heart is better at slowing the flow of blood
- Speed of flow is based on energy demand of tissues
- The heart slows blood flow down to vortex it and prevent tissue collapse
- Endurance athletes have more muscular hearts (cardiac hypertrophy or athlete’s heart)
-Heart failure summarized…1:05:45
-And much more…
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Upcoming Events:
- Unlock Longevity: February 24, 2024
Join me in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, February 24, 2024, for the Unlock Longevity event where I’ll be presenting on “The 5 Elements in Your Environment That Will Make or Break Your Health.” Check out more by going to bengreenfieldlife.com/unlock-longevity (use code Greenfield10 for $10 off your ticket).
Resources from this episode:
– Podcasts And Articles:
- “The Best Way To Test How Healthy Your Heart Is: Ben Greenfield Undergoes A Complete Advanced Cardiac Evaluation & Reports The Surprising Results! With Dr. Thomas Cowan”
- “The Best Way To Test How Healthy Your Heart Is: Ben Greenfield Undergoes A Complete Advanced Cardiac Evaluation & Reports The Surprising Results! With Dr. Ram Dandillaya”
- “A New Style Of Meditation That Helps You To Stress Less & Accomplish More – The Emily Fletcher Podcast.”
- “What In The Bleep Do We Actually Know About Water? With Gerard Pollack”
- “Water & Water Filtration: Everything You Need To Know About Water Filters, Alkaline Water, Structured Water, Hydrogen-Rich Water, Deuterium Depleted Water & Much More!”
- “Everything You Need To Know About How To Use Hydrogen Water: Timing, Dosing, Delivery Mechanisms, Hydrogen Tablets, Hydrogen Water Machines, Hydrogen Inhalers & Much More!”
- “Is “Drinkable” Seawater The Future Of Health Tonics?, How “Quinton” Works, Isotonic vs. Hypertonic & Much More With Water Researcher Robert Slovak.”
- “The 30-Year-Old Scientist Phenom Who Runs a 2:30 Marathon, Deadlifts 420 Pounds & Drinks Hydrogen Enriched Water With Tyler Lebaron.”
- “My New #1 Hack For Zapping Inflammation, Increasing Deep Sleep & Recovering Faster—Earthing (The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?) with Clint Ober”
- “The One Powerful Emotion That Can Release Oxytocin, Amp Up Serotonin & Dopamine, Give You Better Sleep, Lower Blood Pressure, Decrease Inflammation & More.”
- “Sunlight Makes You Skinny & Blue Light Makes You Fat: 11 Ways To Biohack Light To Optimize Your Body & Brain.”
- “Fire & Ice: Tips, Tricks & Biohacks To Maximize The Benefits Of Sauna, Hyperthermia, Cryotherapy & Cold Thermogenesis.”
- “Sabbath Ramblings: The 4 Spiritual Disciplines I Practice Every Day (& Why).”
– Books:
– Gear And Supplements:
– Other Resources:
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