October 26, 2023 • 30 mins
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for women in the United States. On this show, Karolyn talks with women's health expert Dr. Tori Hudson about ways to enhance heart health. Dr. Hudson is considered a pioneer in the field of women's wellness. She will share practical advice on natural ways to help women reduce their risk of developing heart disease.
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Five To Thrive Live is broadcast live Tuesdays at 7PM ET.
Five To Thrive Live Radio Show is broadcast on W4CS Radio – The Cancer Support Network (www.w4cs.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com).
Five To Thrive Live Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Any health related information on the followingshow provides general information only. Content presented
on any show by any host orguest should not be substituted for a doctor's
advice. Always consult your physician beforebeginning any new diet, exercise, or
treatment program the Hello everyone, andwelcome to Five to Thrive Live. I'm
(00:42):
Carolyn Gazilla and I co host theshow with my good friend, doctor LESE.
Alschuler. Did you know that heartdisease remains the leading cause of death
for women in the United States.Today, we're going to talk about enhancing
heart health and changing that statistic forwomen. But first I'd like to thank
our sponsors, beginning with NFH,an innovative dietary supplement manufacturer that uses an
(01:06):
evidence based approach to creating dietary supplementsfor integrative healthcare professionals. If you want
high quality dietary supplements, ask yourintegrative practitioner about NFH products. You can
also find more information at NFH dotca Emuse a unique, patented post biotic
that gives your immune system a keyadvantage. Ammuse is an ingredient in many
(01:26):
immune supporting dietary supplements. Look forammuse on the label or go to ammusehealth
dot com for more information. Alsocognizance citicoline, which is nature's way of
keeping the brain's energy producing centers firingon all cylinders. If you're looking for
a way to enhance your brain functionincluding memory, focus, and attention,
look for cognizant on the label orgo to cognizan dot com for more information.
(01:49):
And finally, doctor ohiras probiotics.It's a best selling probiotic for more
than thirty years and it contains twelveprogrammic strains that are shelf stable so no
refrigeration is required because of a uniquethree year fermentation process, It's a very
effective probiotic. Learn more at doctorOhira probiotics dot com. So with me
(02:09):
today is women's health pioneer. DoctorTory Hudson was the founder and medical director
of a Women's time a clinic inPortland, Oregon. She is an accomplished
author, educator, and researcher.She's been on the show before. Doctor
Hudson, Welcome back to the show. Hey Carolyn, thanks for having me
(02:30):
back. Yes, and such animportant topic, So let's begin. Why
is it so important that women focuson their heart health. Well, you
mentioned one thing already. Cardiovascar diseaseis the leading cause of morbidity and mortality
for women in the United States andthroughout the world Overall, like one in
(02:53):
three women die from heart disease,and almost half of women even over just
the age of twenty, have someform of heart disease. Also, women
are twice as likely to die fromheart disease than all cancers combine. We
also some other important factoids. Morewomen who have heart attacks die within one
(03:15):
year compared to men, so somereal gender differences here. Almost forty percent
don't survive their first attack. Sixtydeaths due to stroke occur in women.
There's also other things I could say. Women get less cholesterol screening, less
(03:37):
lipid lowering medicines, less use ofcertain other medications like BAITA blockers and stuff
during a heart attack. They getless blood thinner therapy, they get fewer
referrals to cardiac rehab. And there'ssome also some racial and ethnic group issues.
African American women are at the highestrisk for death from heart disease among
(03:59):
all the racial, ethnic and gendergroups. So that's a good list of
kind of the high points. Well, that sure paints an important picture for
us, So thank you for that. And I want to stay on this
issue of gender for a bit.So does heart disease present differently in women
versus men? And if it does? Take us through that how so?
(04:21):
Yeah, Yeah, it's a reallygreat important question because about sixty percent of
women who die of coronary heart diseasedon't have those classic symptom presentations that we've
all heard about, like you know, just pain radiating down the arm.
Rather, we often get upper backpain or neck pain. We get shortness
(04:45):
of breath, we get heart palpitations, indigestion, and fatigue. So there
are some different classic presentations for womento be alert too. Yeah, so
why is that a important to understandthe difference there? What makes this problematic
the fact that women present differently thanmen? Well, just frankly that because
(05:10):
the precursors to a heart attack canbecome be unrecognized. You know, upper
back pain and neck pain. Imean, how many of us have that?
Fatigue so general and multiple causes,shortness of breath, multiple causes,
palpitations, multiple causes. So theyou can just you and the doctor can
(05:35):
make different assumptions and go down adifferent road and not be going down this
important road of ruling out cardiovascar disease. And you can go down two roads
at one time. You know,you can be testing for pulmonary fund the
doctor can be testing for pulmonary functionor digestive issues, or rule out fatigue
(06:00):
simple causes like anemia and thyroid whilealso scheduling you know, cardiac tests.
Yeah, and what strikes me isthat oftentimes by the time you figure things
out, it could be too latefor a woman. Absolutely, about sixty
four percent of women who die suddenlybecause of heart disease had no previous symptoms,
(06:27):
let alone the ones that we talkedabout. But this, you know,
fatigue and shortness of breath without othergood explanations. Gott gotta push your
doctor, and sometimes I mean reallypush. Heart disease is underdiagnosed and underinvestigated
(06:49):
and underappreciated in women, and sothat you have to stay on it.
If they haven't found the solution toyour heartburn, your fatigue, your shortness
of breath, your palpitations, yougot to say, I want to be
tested further for cardiovascar disease. Iwant to make sure that I have an
adequate blood supply to my heart.I don't just want to EKG. If
(07:12):
that's normal and there's no other explanation, then you push for the next thing.
You push for a stress EKG,you push for perhaps a nuclear medicine
test, and ultimately you push foran angiogram. But it can require really
being the annoying patient to do yourdoctor. Yeah, it will save your
(07:35):
life. Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's such a good point. I
mean, we have to be ouras women, we have to be our
best advocates, and we have topush, and especially when it comes to
heart disease. And obviously you're alsopainting a clear picture that prevention is absolutely
critical. Proactive prevention and taking stepsto reduce risk is critical because this is
(08:01):
deadly for women. So let's beginwith some practical advice. What are some
key lifestyle issues that are going tohelp women reduce their risk. Yeah,
well, this is a like adefinitive area where you can make a difference,
Like you can change the course ofyour future, not just when you
(08:26):
die, but how long you livefree of heart disease. In fact,
there's something called the Essential eight,which is the American Heart Association's Life Essential
eight and it's I'll just name them. Eat better, be more active,
nicotine free, healthy sleep like seventynine hours a night, manage our weight,
(08:48):
control cholesterol, manage blood pressure,and manage blood sugar. And you
can just google essential eight American HeartAssociation and there was a very So there's
just lots of data on all theseeight things. But there was a very
recent interesting study in JAMA the Journalof American Association Medical Association in twenty twenty
(09:11):
three. If a person scores highon those metrics, they have women have
a longer disease. They have alonger time in their life free of chronic
disease. And the chronic disease thatthey're talking about is cancers, cardiovaster disease,
(09:31):
diabetes, and dementia. So forwomen it was thirty years and for
longer and for men it was twentyfive. They have a longer health span
is what that's called a longer lifefree of chronic disease. Women who had
scored high on these metrics versus thosewho scored low, they have an extra
(09:56):
nine point five years free of chronicdisease if there's scores higher, and men
they only get seven years. Butso and the benefits were true and similar
regardless of the things that we usuallywe often talk about socioeconomic levels, educational
backgrounds, income levels, and somethingcalled the measure of adversity the towns and
(10:18):
deprivation score that often makes a differencein certain health metrics. But these essential
eight things bought us more, alonger life, a healthier life while living
meaning less big diseases like cancer,heart disease, diabetes, and dementia.
Yeah, so quality of life.Now, you went through those pretty quickly.
(10:41):
I realized that people can search forthe essential eight. But will you
listen for me one more time?Sure? Eat better, regular exercise,
nicotine free, a healthy sleep ofseven to nine hours a night in that
range, manage weight, control cholesterol, I'll manage blood pressure, and manage
(11:03):
blood sugar. And there's nothing.Eat better is a bit elusive, right,
But and so I want to justpoint people to the the compelling diet
with the most compelling research is theMediterranean diet, which is essentially, you
(11:31):
know, fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, fish a couple times a week,
a moderate dairy, moderate wine forwomen that's less than a drink a
day, limited red meat, andsaturated fats at low Yeah, low limited
red meat and limited saturated fats.And if we if you have blood high
(11:54):
blood pressure, you kind of combinethe Mediterranean diet with the Dash diet,
which is low sodium, which hascertain you know, numbers guidelines to it.
So Mediterranean diet slash Dash diet,big huge studies on the Mediterranean diet
showing you know, not only reducingthe risk of your initial heart disease or
(12:18):
heart attack, but reducing the riskof recurrence and dying from a second event.
Yeah, I'm so glad that youmentioned the Mediterranean diet because we talk
about that a lot, and itgoes way beyond heart disease. I mean
talking about brain function and you know, all kinds of benefits for the Mediterranean
diet. So thank you for talkingabout that. Let's switch gears a tiny
(12:41):
bit and go to dietary supplements.So before I ask you specifics about dietary
supplements and heart disease, what's youroverarching view about how you utilize dietary supplements
in your clinical practice. My overarching view would be, we we've got
(13:05):
to make sure the foundation is strong, and that's where the nutrition and exercise
and low alcohol and no nicotine andthat's where all that comes in. It's
like you've got to have the basics, you know, covered to really gain
(13:26):
the optimal advantage from dietary supplements.You don't want to have, you know,
say, oh I can eat likethis, this, that, and
that doesn't matter because I'm going totake fish oils. You just that's not
gonna work. It's really the metatraining diet plus the fish oils. And
for example, but there are peoplewho need to target certain things like they
(13:50):
have high cholesterol, or they havehigh blood pressure, or they need weight
management. So the dietary supplements,you know, depend on what we're targeting.
It just across the board, nomatter what I would say, no
matter blood pressure, cholesterol, justa gram a day of fish oils is
(14:13):
kind of a broad stroke mediterrane dietplus that plus our essential eight that's a
really great dietary, simple dietary supplementaddition. But there are some specific supplements
that lower cholesterol. The ones thatstand out might be like the sterols,
the plant sterols. Of course wewant to eat more sterols in our diet
(14:39):
with breads and cereals and fruits andvegetables and nuts. But a supplement if
we just left most of us tojust our diet. We might only get
maybe four hundred milligrams a day.The actual lipid lowering effect is more like
two thousand milligrams a day, andthat can be gotten in a dietary supple.
(15:01):
Another standout is niosinse, what's callednicotinic slow release nicotinic acid. It
has to be nicotinic acid, itcan't be other kinds of niosin. This
supplement can be a little bit trickybecause it can get you some flushing that's
unpleasant, so you might want topractic good educated practitioner to help you with
(15:22):
that. But that niosin in theright doses can get you up to twenty
six percent reduction in total cholesterol,up to forty percent reduction in LDL,
up to twenty twenty six percent reductionand triglycerides, and it's one of the
few things that actually increases HDL orthe so called good cholesterol. But there's
(15:43):
also some dosing considerations. Too highcan cause liver toxicity, and niosin,
just like some statins, and somepeople can slightly increase blood sugar levels mildly.
But that's a possible important consideration whenit comes to blood pressure. I
(16:06):
looked at things more like magnesium supplements, potassium. Then some herbs that aren't
easy to prescribe for oneself because someof them are toxic if you don't get
the right dose, like raoulfia,But some simple straightforward ones hawthorn, garlic,
(16:27):
those have you know, modest meaningmild ability to lower blood pressure.
But raoulfia can be prescribed by ayou know, a licensed nature pathic physician
for example, in the right dosing. And of course, you know,
we got to come back to ouressential aid and regular exercise and lower lower
(16:52):
alcohol. Too much alcohol can canincrease blood pressure. Yeah, And I
like the fact that you use supplementsto supplement that foundation, you know.
So that's kind of why they're calledsupplements, right, they are called dietary
supplements. Well, I actually mentionedanother blood pressure lowering safe herb to try
(17:12):
is hibiscus. That would be anotherone that would be safe in my immute
view. But there are more thatI'm not mentioning, but just to give
your listeners a feel, and Idon't you know there are We don't want
to be naive. If someone reallyhas moderate or higher cardiovascular risk, then
(17:41):
they have including high cholesterol. I'mnot gonna I'm going to be talking about
the wisdom of a statin. Ifthey have blood pressure that's mild to maybe
moderate, I think lifestyle and herbalsupplement can be the ticket. But if
(18:04):
they've already had a little tia ora stroke and they have diabetes and you
know, then I'm not gonna steerthem away from medication, right, Yeah,
which is why I think it's reallyimportant for a patient to work with
the natropathic physician because they're well versedin the diet, lifestyle, dietists,
terry supplements, but they're also wellequally well versed in medications and conventional routes
(18:30):
as well, So I think thatthat's important. I want to ask a
question about the essential eight because youa part of the central eight is sleep,
which is so I mean, mygoodness, when we're sleeping, that's
when the body is so active,and I mean there's so much going on
and there's so many reasons why weneed good sleep. Yeah, what are
(18:56):
some of your advice, Like,are their diets supplements that you can go
to if you have a patient whois not sleeping, well, well,
you know, yes, but okay, I would say, you know,
whether it's an herb or a nutrientor the over the counter pharmaceutical or prescription
(19:18):
medication. Most sleep aids are liketrial and error, and there are a
few things that can maybe say,okay, I think that one will work
better for you, like maybe ifyou also have anxiety, or if you
(19:40):
are menopausal and this is a newerproblem, you know, so there are
some things that could maybe help itbe less trial and error. But in
the trial and air department of supplements, there's Valerian can improve the quality of
(20:00):
sleep. Ashwaganda can improve more ofthe circadian rhythm over time, but it
takes a while, meaning probably acouple months at least. But let's say
you're waking up at one, two, or three o'clock in the morning.
That's kind of a beast of anansomnia problem. Difficulty falling asleep is the
(20:21):
easiest problem to fix, whether it'sherbs, over the counter prescription, but
waking up in the night and notgoing back to sleep that's the hardest.
Or waking up and then just frequentwaking, you know, through the rest
of the night, that's a toughone. And actually cognitive behavioral therapy has
got the best data of anything,but we might from a nature pathic point
(20:47):
of view, if you have oneof those nighttime wakening issues, I might
test their salivary quarters all level andget a sense of their circadian rhythm,
and if it's really out of whack, then that would steer me to Oh,
okay, I think their cortisol isrising too early in the night or
it's not dropping low enough in thenight, and so then we can use
(21:08):
herbs like Ashwagonda magnolia, things likephosphitial coaling to help regulate that circadian rhythm
and meaning regulate the cortisol. Andwhenever there's cortisol is a miss, you're
always also looking back to cognitive behavioraltherapy and stress remanagement issues. Yeah,
(21:33):
I mean that's the other thing Ireally like about the naturopathic approach is it's
highly individualized. You have a lotof tools in your toolbox, and you
can really gear your protocols directly tothat specific patient, which I love.
Okay, I want to switch gearsagain. I want to talk a little
bit about aspirin because it's yeah,like maybe there's some mixed messages there.
(21:57):
What's your view about taking a dailyaspirin for heart health in particular. Yeah,
well, I did write a blogon this not long ago, doctor
Torrey Hudson dot com because there issome updated guidelines on aspirin and women.
(22:19):
One of the problems with aspirin isthat women are twice as likely to have
a GI bleed versus pacebo groups whodon't take the aspirin. And there's some
details here. It's like, basically, women sixty and older probably shouldn't take
aspirin. The yes list is you'reunder sixty, you have coronary heart disease,
(22:48):
you've had a previous tia or strokeor peripheral artery disease, any of
those things. We could use aspirinto do what's called secondary prevention, try
to prevent another event. If you'reage forty to fifty nine, that's kind
of a target range. If you'reage forty to fifty nine and you have
(23:12):
a moderate or above risk of heartdisease and there's ways to calculate that,
and you don't have a risk forincrease bleeding from your gut or elsewhere,
then that's a reasonable group. Thebig no group is healthy women with no
(23:33):
major risk factors don't take it andshouldn't take it. It shouldn't be used
routinely, definitely after seventy, butI would say possibly after sixty unless you're
in that yes group of that Imentioned of secondary prevention, like a previous
TA or stroke or heart disease.Then there's the maybe group, like current
(23:56):
smokers. You've had one of thosecoronary calcium scores, if you have one
hundred or more on your plaque score, that's possibly a reason if you're not
yet seventy. In particular strong maybea strong family history of early atheroscleatic heart
(24:17):
disease, meaning you know, parentsin their fifties or early sixties, and
you're a low risk of bleeding.Those are always that's the caveat always like
you haven't had you don't have anulcer, you don't have a chronic inflammatory
bowel disorder, you don't have ableeding disorder, because we don't want to
(24:40):
exacerbate, you know, the riskof having a bleed. Yeah, well
that's very good clarification. Anything elseAsford and heart disease, No, that's
good, And I know there's someyou know, there's definitely reasons besides heart
(25:00):
that people might want to take it. Yeah, I was just going to
ask you something along those lines,because you know this show is geared toward
cancer survivors. So what's your andI've read some of the research associated with
this, what's your view on takinga daily aspirin to reduce risk of certain
cancers? Well? I think Ithink I would have my priority be making
(25:26):
sure I wasn't in a group thatshouldn't take aspirin, and then I would
look for other ways to accomplish thatsame potential benefit of aspirin and reducing my
risk of cancer. I suspect thatthere's other non aspirin ways are as good
or better to reduce the risk ofa cancer. That's like the Mediterranean diet.
(25:49):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.Yeah so, And obviously that's what
doctor l. Schuler and I that'sbeen our life's work to try try to
teach people. It's it's a verygood point. So if you are at
risk of a bleed, and I'lland these other no categories or even the
(26:10):
maybe categories, you would steer clearof the aspirin and you would use other
ways to reduce inflammation, and youknow, through an anti inflammatory diet and
being physically active and et cetera.Et cetera. I mean technically doctors and
those essential eight yeah, reduce therisk of cancer exactly. Yeah. And
adding fish oils right can reduce therisk of certain cancers. And turmeric,
(26:37):
you know, good quality tumoric isprobably you know, got so many mechanisms
related to cancer and more in termsof reducing inflammation and inhibiting growth factors and
probably other things that you talk abouton your show and other times. Yeah.
Yeah, there's so much that wecan do. And then you've mentioned
(26:59):
a lot of uh today, sothat that's great. Now you also mentioned
your website doctor Tory Hudson dot comand that's d R T O R I
h U D s O N dotcom and that's where people can find your
award winning blog. Correct apparently,yes, exactly, I know I I
(27:22):
read it often. So cool.Do you have any other websites that you'd
like to share? Uh? Well, uh, I see, I don't
know. I can I mention,Yeah, you can mention whateveranica. So
there's bitanica dot com. I do. I'm a co owner and the researcher
(27:45):
and formulator for all the supplements forwomen's health from btanica. Uh So there
is that what about the institute.Yeah, that's practitioners, but it is
okay, the Institute of Women's Healthdot com. I do have a new
(28:07):
book that I co wrote with afabulous writers called The Menopause Companion, and
that was from Shambala Publications. Sorelative to your perimenopause and Menopause listeners,
that's a really fabulous instructional book andreally helps the focus is how do you
(28:30):
navigate all this basically, So it'sat that topic is huge. When did
that book come out? We shouldhave it back on and talking about that
book, great July okay, prettyrecent, Yeah, we should have We
should have Sasha at the same time. Okay, great, Yeah, I'll
be back, Yeah, I'll beback in touch with you. The Menopause
(28:52):
Companion. Okay. Well this DoctorHudson has been great. Thank you again
for joining me. You're welcome again. Thank great show. You've been doing
this a long time, and congratulationsand way to go on helping helping so
many people. Yes, we loveit and I highly recommend doctor Torrey Hudson
dot com check it out. Thatwraps up this episode of Five to Thrive
(29:15):
Live once again. I'd like tothank our sponsors n F h the professional
supplement line bridging the gap between nutraceuticalsand evidence based medicine. Immused post biotic
to give your immune system that extraboost. PPM is insteadcoling to help enhance
memory, focus and attention, anddoctor Ohira's award winning shelf stable probiotic.
(29:36):
May you experience joy, laughter andlove. It's time to thrive. Everyone,
have a great night.
Any health related information on the followingshow provides general information only. Content presented
on any show by any host orguest should not be substituted for a doctor's
advice. Always consult your physician beforebeginning any new diet, exercise, or
treatment program the Hello everyone, andwelcome to Five to Thrive Live. I'm
(00:42):
Carolyn Gazilla and I co host theshow with my good friend, doctor LESE.
Alschuler. Did you know that heartdisease remains the leading cause of death
for women in the United States.Today, we're going to talk about enhancing
heart health and changing that statistic forwomen. But first I'd like to thank
our sponsors, beginning with NFH,an innovative dietary supplement manufacturer that uses an
(01:06):
evidence based approach to creating dietary supplementsfor integrative healthcare professionals. If you want
high quality dietary supplements, ask yourintegrative practitioner about NFH products. You can
also find more information at NFH dotca Emuse a unique, patented post biotic
that gives your immune system a keyadvantage. Ammuse is an ingredient in many
(01:26):
immune supporting dietary supplements. Look forammuse on the label or go to ammusehealth
dot com for more information. Alsocognizance citicoline, which is nature's way of
keeping the brain's energy producing centers firingon all cylinders. If you're looking for
a way to enhance your brain functionincluding memory, focus, and attention,
look for cognizant on the label orgo to cognizan dot com for more information.
(01:49):
And finally, doctor ohiras probiotics.It's a best selling probiotic for more
than thirty years and it contains twelveprogrammic strains that are shelf stable so no
refrigeration is required because of a uniquethree year fermentation process, It's a very
effective probiotic. Learn more at doctorOhira probiotics dot com. So with me
(02:09):
today is women's health pioneer. DoctorTory Hudson was the founder and medical director
of a Women's time a clinic inPortland, Oregon. She is an accomplished
author, educator, and researcher.She's been on the show before. Doctor
Hudson, Welcome back to the show. Hey Carolyn, thanks for having me
(02:30):
back. Yes, and such animportant topic, So let's begin. Why
is it so important that women focuson their heart health. Well, you
mentioned one thing already. Cardiovascar diseaseis the leading cause of morbidity and mortality
for women in the United States andthroughout the world Overall, like one in
(02:53):
three women die from heart disease,and almost half of women even over just
the age of twenty, have someform of heart disease. Also, women
are twice as likely to die fromheart disease than all cancers combine. We
also some other important factoids. Morewomen who have heart attacks die within one
(03:15):
year compared to men, so somereal gender differences here. Almost forty percent
don't survive their first attack. Sixtydeaths due to stroke occur in women.
There's also other things I could say. Women get less cholesterol screening, less
(03:37):
lipid lowering medicines, less use ofcertain other medications like BAITA blockers and stuff
during a heart attack. They getless blood thinner therapy, they get fewer
referrals to cardiac rehab. And there'ssome also some racial and ethnic group issues.
African American women are at the highestrisk for death from heart disease among
(03:59):
all the racial, ethnic and gendergroups. So that's a good list of
kind of the high points. Well, that sure paints an important picture for
us, So thank you for that. And I want to stay on this
issue of gender for a bit.So does heart disease present differently in women
versus men? And if it does? Take us through that how so?
(04:21):
Yeah, Yeah, it's a reallygreat important question because about sixty percent of
women who die of coronary heart diseasedon't have those classic symptom presentations that we've
all heard about, like you know, just pain radiating down the arm.
Rather, we often get upper backpain or neck pain. We get shortness
(04:45):
of breath, we get heart palpitations, indigestion, and fatigue. So there
are some different classic presentations for womento be alert too. Yeah, so
why is that a important to understandthe difference there? What makes this problematic
the fact that women present differently thanmen? Well, just frankly that because
(05:10):
the precursors to a heart attack canbecome be unrecognized. You know, upper
back pain and neck pain. Imean, how many of us have that?
Fatigue so general and multiple causes,shortness of breath, multiple causes,
palpitations, multiple causes. So theyou can just you and the doctor can
(05:35):
make different assumptions and go down adifferent road and not be going down this
important road of ruling out cardiovascar disease. And you can go down two roads
at one time. You know,you can be testing for pulmonary fund the
doctor can be testing for pulmonary functionor digestive issues, or rule out fatigue
(06:00):
simple causes like anemia and thyroid whilealso scheduling you know, cardiac tests.
Yeah, and what strikes me isthat oftentimes by the time you figure things
out, it could be too latefor a woman. Absolutely, about sixty
four percent of women who die suddenlybecause of heart disease had no previous symptoms,
(06:27):
let alone the ones that we talkedabout. But this, you know,
fatigue and shortness of breath without othergood explanations. Gott gotta push your
doctor, and sometimes I mean reallypush. Heart disease is underdiagnosed and underinvestigated
(06:49):
and underappreciated in women, and sothat you have to stay on it.
If they haven't found the solution toyour heartburn, your fatigue, your shortness
of breath, your palpitations, yougot to say, I want to be
tested further for cardiovascar disease. Iwant to make sure that I have an
adequate blood supply to my heart.I don't just want to EKG. If
(07:12):
that's normal and there's no other explanation, then you push for the next thing.
You push for a stress EKG,you push for perhaps a nuclear medicine
test, and ultimately you push foran angiogram. But it can require really
being the annoying patient to do yourdoctor. Yeah, it will save your
(07:35):
life. Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's such a good point. I
mean, we have to be ouras women, we have to be our
best advocates, and we have topush, and especially when it comes to
heart disease. And obviously you're alsopainting a clear picture that prevention is absolutely
critical. Proactive prevention and taking stepsto reduce risk is critical because this is
(08:01):
deadly for women. So let's beginwith some practical advice. What are some
key lifestyle issues that are going tohelp women reduce their risk. Yeah,
well, this is a like adefinitive area where you can make a difference,
Like you can change the course ofyour future, not just when you
(08:26):
die, but how long you livefree of heart disease. In fact,
there's something called the Essential eight,which is the American Heart Association's Life Essential
eight and it's I'll just name them. Eat better, be more active,
nicotine free, healthy sleep like seventynine hours a night, manage our weight,
(08:48):
control cholesterol, manage blood pressure,and manage blood sugar. And you
can just google essential eight American HeartAssociation and there was a very So there's
just lots of data on all theseeight things. But there was a very
recent interesting study in JAMA the Journalof American Association Medical Association in twenty twenty
(09:11):
three. If a person scores highon those metrics, they have women have
a longer disease. They have alonger time in their life free of chronic
disease. And the chronic disease thatthey're talking about is cancers, cardiovaster disease,
(09:31):
diabetes, and dementia. So forwomen it was thirty years and for
longer and for men it was twentyfive. They have a longer health span
is what that's called a longer lifefree of chronic disease. Women who had
scored high on these metrics versus thosewho scored low, they have an extra
(09:56):
nine point five years free of chronicdisease if there's scores higher, and men
they only get seven years. Butso and the benefits were true and similar
regardless of the things that we usuallywe often talk about socioeconomic levels, educational
backgrounds, income levels, and somethingcalled the measure of adversity the towns and
(10:18):
deprivation score that often makes a differencein certain health metrics. But these essential
eight things bought us more, alonger life, a healthier life while living
meaning less big diseases like cancer,heart disease, diabetes, and dementia.
Yeah, so quality of life.Now, you went through those pretty quickly.
(10:41):
I realized that people can search forthe essential eight. But will you
listen for me one more time?Sure? Eat better, regular exercise,
nicotine free, a healthy sleep ofseven to nine hours a night in that
range, manage weight, control cholesterol, I'll manage blood pressure, and manage
(11:03):
blood sugar. And there's nothing.Eat better is a bit elusive, right,
But and so I want to justpoint people to the the compelling diet
with the most compelling research is theMediterranean diet, which is essentially, you
(11:31):
know, fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, fish a couple times a week,
a moderate dairy, moderate wine forwomen that's less than a drink a
day, limited red meat, andsaturated fats at low Yeah, low limited
red meat and limited saturated fats.And if we if you have blood high
(11:54):
blood pressure, you kind of combinethe Mediterranean diet with the Dash diet,
which is low sodium, which hascertain you know, numbers guidelines to it.
So Mediterranean diet slash Dash diet,big huge studies on the Mediterranean diet
showing you know, not only reducingthe risk of your initial heart disease or
(12:18):
heart attack, but reducing the riskof recurrence and dying from a second event.
Yeah, I'm so glad that youmentioned the Mediterranean diet because we talk
about that a lot, and itgoes way beyond heart disease. I mean
talking about brain function and you know, all kinds of benefits for the Mediterranean
diet. So thank you for talkingabout that. Let's switch gears a tiny
(12:41):
bit and go to dietary supplements.So before I ask you specifics about dietary
supplements and heart disease, what's youroverarching view about how you utilize dietary supplements
in your clinical practice. My overarching view would be, we we've got
(13:05):
to make sure the foundation is strong, and that's where the nutrition and exercise
and low alcohol and no nicotine andthat's where all that comes in. It's
like you've got to have the basics, you know, covered to really gain
(13:26):
the optimal advantage from dietary supplements.You don't want to have, you know,
say, oh I can eat likethis, this, that, and
that doesn't matter because I'm going totake fish oils. You just that's not
gonna work. It's really the metatraining diet plus the fish oils. And
for example, but there are peoplewho need to target certain things like they
(13:50):
have high cholesterol, or they havehigh blood pressure, or they need weight
management. So the dietary supplements,you know, depend on what we're targeting.
It just across the board, nomatter what I would say, no
matter blood pressure, cholesterol, justa gram a day of fish oils is
(14:13):
kind of a broad stroke mediterrane dietplus that plus our essential eight that's a
really great dietary, simple dietary supplementaddition. But there are some specific supplements
that lower cholesterol. The ones thatstand out might be like the sterols,
the plant sterols. Of course wewant to eat more sterols in our diet
(14:39):
with breads and cereals and fruits andvegetables and nuts. But a supplement if
we just left most of us tojust our diet. We might only get
maybe four hundred milligrams a day.The actual lipid lowering effect is more like
two thousand milligrams a day, andthat can be gotten in a dietary supple.
(15:01):
Another standout is niosinse, what's callednicotinic slow release nicotinic acid. It
has to be nicotinic acid, itcan't be other kinds of niosin. This
supplement can be a little bit trickybecause it can get you some flushing that's
unpleasant, so you might want topractic good educated practitioner to help you with
(15:22):
that. But that niosin in theright doses can get you up to twenty
six percent reduction in total cholesterol,up to forty percent reduction in LDL,
up to twenty twenty six percent reductionand triglycerides, and it's one of the
few things that actually increases HDL orthe so called good cholesterol. But there's
(15:43):
also some dosing considerations. Too highcan cause liver toxicity, and niosin,
just like some statins, and somepeople can slightly increase blood sugar levels mildly.
But that's a possible important consideration whenit comes to blood pressure. I
(16:06):
looked at things more like magnesium supplements, potassium. Then some herbs that aren't
easy to prescribe for oneself because someof them are toxic if you don't get
the right dose, like raoulfia,But some simple straightforward ones hawthorn, garlic,
(16:27):
those have you know, modest meaningmild ability to lower blood pressure.
But raoulfia can be prescribed by ayou know, a licensed nature pathic physician
for example, in the right dosing. And of course, you know,
we got to come back to ouressential aid and regular exercise and lower lower
(16:52):
alcohol. Too much alcohol can canincrease blood pressure. Yeah, And I
like the fact that you use supplementsto supplement that foundation, you know.
So that's kind of why they're calledsupplements, right, they are called dietary
supplements. Well, I actually mentionedanother blood pressure lowering safe herb to try
(17:12):
is hibiscus. That would be anotherone that would be safe in my immute
view. But there are more thatI'm not mentioning, but just to give
your listeners a feel, and Idon't you know there are We don't want
to be naive. If someone reallyhas moderate or higher cardiovascular risk, then
(17:41):
they have including high cholesterol. I'mnot gonna I'm going to be talking about
the wisdom of a statin. Ifthey have blood pressure that's mild to maybe
moderate, I think lifestyle and herbalsupplement can be the ticket. But if
(18:04):
they've already had a little tia ora stroke and they have diabetes and you
know, then I'm not gonna steerthem away from medication, right, Yeah,
which is why I think it's reallyimportant for a patient to work with
the natropathic physician because they're well versedin the diet, lifestyle, dietists,
terry supplements, but they're also wellequally well versed in medications and conventional routes
(18:30):
as well, So I think thatthat's important. I want to ask a
question about the essential eight because youa part of the central eight is sleep,
which is so I mean, mygoodness, when we're sleeping, that's
when the body is so active,and I mean there's so much going on
and there's so many reasons why weneed good sleep. Yeah, what are
(18:56):
some of your advice, Like,are their diets supplements that you can go
to if you have a patient whois not sleeping, well, well,
you know, yes, but okay, I would say, you know,
whether it's an herb or a nutrientor the over the counter pharmaceutical or prescription
(19:18):
medication. Most sleep aids are liketrial and error, and there are a
few things that can maybe say,okay, I think that one will work
better for you, like maybe ifyou also have anxiety, or if you
(19:40):
are menopausal and this is a newerproblem, you know, so there are
some things that could maybe help itbe less trial and error. But in
the trial and air department of supplements, there's Valerian can improve the quality of
(20:00):
sleep. Ashwaganda can improve more ofthe circadian rhythm over time, but it
takes a while, meaning probably acouple months at least. But let's say
you're waking up at one, two, or three o'clock in the morning.
That's kind of a beast of anansomnia problem. Difficulty falling asleep is the
(20:21):
easiest problem to fix, whether it'sherbs, over the counter prescription, but
waking up in the night and notgoing back to sleep that's the hardest.
Or waking up and then just frequentwaking, you know, through the rest
of the night, that's a toughone. And actually cognitive behavioral therapy has
got the best data of anything,but we might from a nature pathic point
(20:47):
of view, if you have oneof those nighttime wakening issues, I might
test their salivary quarters all level andget a sense of their circadian rhythm,
and if it's really out of whack, then that would steer me to Oh,
okay, I think their cortisol isrising too early in the night or
it's not dropping low enough in thenight, and so then we can use
(21:08):
herbs like Ashwagonda magnolia, things likephosphitial coaling to help regulate that circadian rhythm
and meaning regulate the cortisol. Andwhenever there's cortisol is a miss, you're
always also looking back to cognitive behavioraltherapy and stress remanagement issues. Yeah,
(21:33):
I mean that's the other thing Ireally like about the naturopathic approach is it's
highly individualized. You have a lotof tools in your toolbox, and you
can really gear your protocols directly tothat specific patient, which I love.
Okay, I want to switch gearsagain. I want to talk a little
bit about aspirin because it's yeah,like maybe there's some mixed messages there.
(21:57):
What's your view about taking a dailyaspirin for heart health in particular. Yeah,
well, I did write a blogon this not long ago, doctor
Torrey Hudson dot com because there issome updated guidelines on aspirin and women.
(22:19):
One of the problems with aspirin isthat women are twice as likely to have
a GI bleed versus pacebo groups whodon't take the aspirin. And there's some
details here. It's like, basically, women sixty and older probably shouldn't take
aspirin. The yes list is you'reunder sixty, you have coronary heart disease,
(22:48):
you've had a previous tia or strokeor peripheral artery disease, any of
those things. We could use aspirinto do what's called secondary prevention, try
to prevent another event. If you'reage forty to fifty nine, that's kind
of a target range. If you'reage forty to fifty nine and you have
(23:12):
a moderate or above risk of heartdisease and there's ways to calculate that,
and you don't have a risk forincrease bleeding from your gut or elsewhere,
then that's a reasonable group. Thebig no group is healthy women with no
(23:33):
major risk factors don't take it andshouldn't take it. It shouldn't be used
routinely, definitely after seventy, butI would say possibly after sixty unless you're
in that yes group of that Imentioned of secondary prevention, like a previous
TA or stroke or heart disease.Then there's the maybe group, like current
(23:56):
smokers. You've had one of thosecoronary calcium scores, if you have one
hundred or more on your plaque score, that's possibly a reason if you're not
yet seventy. In particular strong maybea strong family history of early atheroscleatic heart
(24:17):
disease, meaning you know, parentsin their fifties or early sixties, and
you're a low risk of bleeding.Those are always that's the caveat always like
you haven't had you don't have anulcer, you don't have a chronic inflammatory
bowel disorder, you don't have ableeding disorder, because we don't want to
(24:40):
exacerbate, you know, the riskof having a bleed. Yeah, well
that's very good clarification. Anything elseAsford and heart disease, No, that's
good, And I know there's someyou know, there's definitely reasons besides heart
(25:00):
that people might want to take it. Yeah, I was just going to
ask you something along those lines,because you know this show is geared toward
cancer survivors. So what's your andI've read some of the research associated with
this, what's your view on takinga daily aspirin to reduce risk of certain
cancers? Well? I think Ithink I would have my priority be making
(25:26):
sure I wasn't in a group thatshouldn't take aspirin, and then I would
look for other ways to accomplish thatsame potential benefit of aspirin and reducing my
risk of cancer. I suspect thatthere's other non aspirin ways are as good
or better to reduce the risk ofa cancer. That's like the Mediterranean diet.
(25:49):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.Yeah so, And obviously that's what
doctor l. Schuler and I that'sbeen our life's work to try try to
teach people. It's it's a verygood point. So if you are at
risk of a bleed, and I'lland these other no categories or even the
(26:10):
maybe categories, you would steer clearof the aspirin and you would use other
ways to reduce inflammation, and youknow, through an anti inflammatory diet and
being physically active and et cetera.Et cetera. I mean technically doctors and
those essential eight yeah, reduce therisk of cancer exactly. Yeah. And
adding fish oils right can reduce therisk of certain cancers. And turmeric,
(26:37):
you know, good quality tumoric isprobably you know, got so many mechanisms
related to cancer and more in termsof reducing inflammation and inhibiting growth factors and
probably other things that you talk abouton your show and other times. Yeah.
Yeah, there's so much that wecan do. And then you've mentioned
(26:59):
a lot of uh today, sothat that's great. Now you also mentioned
your website doctor Tory Hudson dot comand that's d R T O R I
h U D s O N dotcom and that's where people can find your
award winning blog. Correct apparently,yes, exactly, I know I I
(27:22):
read it often. So cool.Do you have any other websites that you'd
like to share? Uh? Well, uh, I see, I don't
know. I can I mention,Yeah, you can mention whateveranica. So
there's bitanica dot com. I do. I'm a co owner and the researcher
(27:45):
and formulator for all the supplements forwomen's health from btanica. Uh So there
is that what about the institute.Yeah, that's practitioners, but it is
okay, the Institute of Women's Healthdot com. I do have a new
(28:07):
book that I co wrote with afabulous writers called The Menopause Companion, and
that was from Shambala Publications. Sorelative to your perimenopause and Menopause listeners,
that's a really fabulous instructional book andreally helps the focus is how do you
(28:30):
navigate all this basically, So it'sat that topic is huge. When did
that book come out? We shouldhave it back on and talking about that
book, great July okay, prettyrecent, Yeah, we should have We
should have Sasha at the same time. Okay, great, Yeah, I'll
be back, Yeah, I'll beback in touch with you. The Menopause
(28:52):
Companion. Okay. Well this DoctorHudson has been great. Thank you again
for joining me. You're welcome again. Thank great show. You've been doing
this a long time, and congratulationsand way to go on helping helping so
many people. Yes, we loveit and I highly recommend doctor Torrey Hudson
dot com check it out. Thatwraps up this episode of Five to Thrive
(29:15):
Live once again. I'd like tothank our sponsors n F h the professional
supplement line bridging the gap between nutraceuticalsand evidence based medicine. Immused post biotic
to give your immune system that extraboost. PPM is insteadcoling to help enhance
memory, focus and attention, anddoctor Ohira's award winning shelf stable probiotic.
(29:36):
May you experience joy, laughter andlove. It's time to thrive. Everyone,
have a great night.
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