December 14, 2023
Welcome to Part 2 of this fascinating show about heart health, all based on the book Understanding the Heart: Uncommon Insights Into Our Most Commonly Diseased Organ by Stephen Hussey. Didn’t catch Part 1 of this captivating discussion? Make sure you check it out here.
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, play sports, read, write, and spend 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:
-Why the heart gets the cream of the crop when it comes to our fat…07:40
-What is a lean mass hyper-responder…13:45
- A lean mass hyper-responder (LMHR) is someone who goes on a very low-carb or carnivore diet and biomarkers get really healthy, but their low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and total cholesterol skyrockets
- Reasons
- Prolonged fasting leads to increased LDL
- The process of making ketones when going on a low-carb diet is similar to what the liver does when making cholesterol; by default, the same pathways are used, it just shifts from making ketones to making cholesterol; more cholesterol production
- Since there’s more cholesterol, the liver shuts off its cholesterol receptors, leaving more LDL lipoproteins in the blood
- Dave Feldman of Cholesterol Code
- Tip for lowering cholesterol before health insurance screening
- Decrease saturated fat intake, increase carbohydrates
- LMHRs get healthier by increasing triglycerides and LDL, but not so high you’re at risk for heart disease
-How statins work and issues with CoQ10…19:02
- BGF podcast with Dr. Barrie Tan, discussing CoQ10 and statins:
- CoQ10 supplement
- Ancestral Supplements Beef Heart capsule
- Type 1 diabetic treatment is usually a statin
- Takes fatty acid, does this 20-step process to make cholesterol
- Statins obstruct the cholesterol-making process by inhibiting 1 enzyme that stops the conversion to 1 molecule, to HMG-CoA
- Dolichol: important for the health of insulin receptors
- Farnesyl pyrophosphate makes dolichol
- 30% increase in insulin resistance for people who take statins
- Glutathione: important for oxidative stress and creating antioxidants (use code BEN to save 5%)
- Statins suppress antioxidants, cause an increase in inflammation
- Supplement to counteract effects of statins with CoQ10 or with Glutathione
- Vitamin K2 is important for placing minerals into bone
- PCSK9 keeps LDL receptors closed so LDL stays in the blood
- Early trials show PCSK9 drugs lead to deficiencies in fat cell vitamins
- Some studies show people with high cholesterol live longer, have lower rates of infection, HD, cancer, and better cognitive ability
- Ben keeps his cholesterol between 200–300, blood glucose low, and inflammation low
-Why aspirin may be a bad idea…27:57
-Ouabain and strophanthus…35:51
- Podcast with Dr. Ram Dandillaya:
- Article on strophanthus:
- Podcast with Dr. Thomas Cowan:
- Looks like blood vessels coming off a white flower
- The body makes a version of this from the adrenal glands
- The kidneys nourish the heart
- Ouabain/strophanthus restores normal parasympathetic signaling to the heart, helps people with angina
- Angina is when the heart is forced to burn more glucose than it wants to and starts building up lactic acid
- Decreased parasympathetic signaling by using ouabain, the heart isn’t getting the stress response signals to burn glucose and burns fatty acids instead
- Game changer for the heart
- Can be used proactively, not only for people concerned with cardiovascular disease
- Human Heart, Cosmic Heart by Dr. Cowan
-How chiropractic therapy can improve heart health…40:07
- Chiropractic therapy corrects the balance of the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
- Increases the body’s ability to produce more antioxidants
- Suppresses sympathetic signaling and helps the body to be more metabolically flexible
- False reports on chiropractic adjustment causing stroke
- Impossible to get enough force in the artery of the neck to induce a stroke
- The most common signs of stroke are neck pain and headaches
- Joint restriction affects vagal nerve tone and ANS
- Pain signals from the nerve go to the annular fibers around the discs
- Restricted joints and chemical changes are relayed from joints to spinal tissue causing a stimulated sympathetic nervous system
- Discs don’t have a blood supply; they rely on motion to push fluid in and out
- If there’s no motion, the disc deteriorates, sending constant pain signals to the sympathetic signaling section of the brain
- Irritation/inflammation of sympathetic receptors can induce stroke
- Podcast with Dr. Jay Wiles on HRV:
- Increase in heart rate variability (HRV) or vagal tone in response to chiropractic therapy (use code BEN40 to save 20%)
- Ben’s weekly chiropractic session at Valente Chiropractic in Spokane
-Best practices for maintaining heart health…47:09
-Why Stephen refers to Western medicine as “two-faced medicine”…49:16
- In January 2021, Stephen had a massive heart attack — 100% blockage of the left anterior descending artery
- Only 12% of people survive if it happens outside the hospital setting
- Not a stenosis or plaque buildup but a spontaneous clot that formed
- The information in his book Understanding the Heart is critical for people to have because of his experience
- Stephen’s opinion of what happened to him:
- Type 1 diabetic for over 25 years; half of those years, the condition was not well controlled; more likely to have insulin resistance and imbalanced ANS
- 2020: high stress; uncontrolled stress can cause clotting factors
- The whole point of the book is to draw attention away from cholesterol in heart health and focus more on insulin resistance and the ANS
- Studies show IV magnesium sulfate is just as effective as blood thinners in preventing clots
- Conflict between doctors’ recommendations and Stephen’s scientific knowledge of heart health
- The recommendations that people get for heart disease are not working
- Hospital recommended what equated to a processed food diet and decreased salt intake
- Ketosis was great for his recovery
- Heart function is back up to 55% already despite refusal to take most medications
- What Stephen used to recover:
-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:
- “Why Your Vitamin E Supplement Could Be Harming You (& The “One Plant Wonder” Alternative That Could Be The Single Most Powerful Molecule If You’re Stranded On A Desert Island), With Dr. Barrie Tan”
- “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”
- “Why Your Heart Is Not A Pump (& What Most Doctors Don’t Know About The True Cause Of Heart Disease), with Dr. Thomas Cowan.”
- “Getting Ripped With Yoga, Using Isometrics To Build Massive Athleticism, Five Things You Must Do Every Morning & More! With Dean Pohlman.”
- “It’s All In Your Mouth: How Your Teeth Are Impacting Your Immune System, Sleep, Performance, Inflammation & Much More (& What You Can Do About It With Holistic Dentistry) With Dr Dominik Nischwitz.”
- “Is Charcoal Toothpaste OK, 8 Crucial Mouth Beauty & Oral Health Tips, Peptides For Oral Care, The Invisible Dental Flow In Your Mouth & Much More With Nadine Artemis.”
- “The Insulin Of The Heart: A Little-Known Seed Extract That May Be The Future Panacea For Heart Disease.”
- “Sunlight Makes You Skinny & Blue Light Makes You Fat: 11 Ways To Biohack Light To Optimize Your Body & Brain.”
- “The 7 Best Stress-Fighting Weapons That Will Make Your Mind-Body Connection 100% Bulletproof.”
– Books:
– Gear And Supplements:
– Other Resources:
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