May 22, 2025 • 30 mins
We often dedicate significant time to crafting and implementing financial investment plans. Yet, planning for one's most valuable asset—health—often remains inadequate. The encouraging news is that strategies for health investments can mirror the approaches utilized by financial experts. In this episode, Ashish Mathur (Director, South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital) discus this topic in detail as well as strategies for investing in your heart health.
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Unknown (00:00):
Thank you.
Speaker 00 (00:04):
and welcome to the 15 Minutes to Financial Freedom
educational podcast serieshosted by Arvind Ven.
These 15-minute or so podcastsare meant to educate and empower
listeners about key financialtopics towards the road to
financial independence in plainEnglish and without financial
jargon.
Arvind Venn is an independentfinancial advisor, founder, and
(00:25):
CEO of Capital V Group inCupertino, California.
He is regularly featured inleading national financial
publications such as Forbes andmany others.
And now for our host, ArvindVenn.
Arvind Ven (00:37):
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to this
podcast episode.
I know it's been a bit of alag.
I took a short break late lastyear on the podcast side, and
then all of a sudden becamelonger.
But without further ado, I'mdelighted to have our first
guest after a while, AshishMathur.
He is the co-founder andexecutive director of of the
(01:01):
South Asian Heart Center at ElCamino Hospital.
It's a great pleasure to havehim.
He's very busy, and I'm glad weare able to grab his time a
little bit today.
I'm a big believer that healthis a major indicator of wealth.
So we look for investmentperformance, our nest egg, our
(01:21):
bank balance, but nothing istaken with us.
And if we don't have the healthto...
enjoy that, then a lot becomesfutile.
So that's something Ipersonally believe in and also
lecture to my clients, those whoare willing to listen.
But that's something just likea portfolio that it needs
regular check-in.
(01:41):
You don't want to leave yourportfolio and hope it'll do
better.
Take care of your health,regular checkups, make sure that
you just get regular tune-ups,tune-ins, and make sure it's
functioning properly.
So with that, Let me welcomeAshish Mathur, co-founder and
executive director of the SouthAsian Heart Center at El Camino
(02:02):
Hospital.
Welcome, Ashish.
It's great to have you heretoday.
Ashish Mathur (02:05):
Thank you for having me.
Arvind Ven (02:07):
So you have an exciting, very interesting
background.
And so you have been a seniorexecutive in the tech industry
in your past life.
And now here you are setting upthis very valuable program that
is focusing on health.
Please walk us through that.
how your path took us to thispath where you're on a mission
(02:27):
to help all of us with hearthealth.
Ashish Mathur (02:34):
Arvind, I've spent over two decades in the
Silicon Valley's tech world in avariety of software development
efforts in several startupsuntil a heart attack changed
everything.
That experience drove me tocreate the South Asian Heart
Center at El Camino Health.
a place where we combinescience, culture, and lifestyle
(02:57):
to prevent disease before itstarts.
You may call it a Vedicapproach to addressing the
epidemic of heart disease withinthe South Asian community.
Arvind Ven (03:11):
That's fascinating.
So your own health issue, as ina heart attack when you were a
heart-charging chicken fairlyyoung age, that actually was the
catalyst into starting andrunning what you're doing today.
Ashish Mathur (03:26):
Yes, indeed.
As a matter of fact, it was thestart of my trying to
understand this issue while itwas staring me in the face.
I was a Silicon Valleyexecutive.
I was traveling.
I was enjoying the corporatelife and I was absorbing a lot
(03:48):
of stress that I felt was parfor the course.
And little did I realize whatwas actually building up inside
my body.
I had family history that Ididn't focus on.
I spent time sleeping on planesbecause it was a jet-set life.
I skipped breakfast.
(04:10):
I ate unhealthy.
And yet I was questioningmyself, why did I have a heart
attack?
It was literally tearing me inthe face.
But what was more difficult,Arvind, was to actually create
the right set of things to helpme prevent the second one.
(04:30):
I was so afraid.
I showed up at the emergencyroom three times within a month
of having my heart attackbecause I felt I was having
another one.
And I didn't want to live lifelike that.
So I started studying whatwould make it work.
And all the books that were outthere professing the kind of
(04:52):
diets that I needed to followwere wrong about me.
I was the kind of person thatfor me, I had to add fat back
into my diet.
Whereas you commonly hear thatyou need to reduce your fats,
you need to reduce your fats, etcetera.
So that made me thinking thatif it was so hard for me to come
(05:15):
up with the right solution formyself, imagine a community
that's so vulnerable to thisepidemic.
So that's the reason forstarting up the South Asian Arts
Center, to create thatawareness and provide a
personalized way to address thisissue.
Arvind Ven (05:31):
What a great personal story.
You took action, so that's afascinating change, but also
very impressive, given that youused that very frightening
episode into something thatitself in the community.
So the question for you is thatI've heard, and as someone of
South Asian origin myself, I'veheard and I've been reading a
lot more about how there's, howour DNA works and how, and
(05:55):
overall, heart health overall.
But do you see, how prevalentdo you see that?
Is it really as prevalent asit's made out to be within South
Asians and heart healthoverall?
Ashish Mathur (06:07):
Yes, shockingly so.
South Asians have two times therisk for heart disease, and it
often develops a decade earlierthan the general population.
What's worse is that theseissues show up even in people
who seem to be fit and healthy.
It's a silent epidemic.
And on top of it, here in theUnited States, the guidelines
(06:33):
underestimate the risk.
And these are the guidelinesthat actually are used
worldwide.
So all of these things areactually contributing to not
diagnosing this early,contributing to it being more
severe, contributing for it tobe more fatal in individuals as
(06:58):
well.
Arvind Ven (07:00):
That's scary, yeah.
Ashish Mathur (07:04):
And then the other thing that is not really
addressed is that Diabetes atthe same time is rapidly
becoming a twin epidemic.
It is expected that by 2030,one in two with diabetes will be
Indian.
And so it's really...
Arvind Ven (07:21):
Say that again one more time.
What's the statistics again?
Ashish Mathur (07:25):
It is by the year 2030 that one out of every two
people with diabetes in theworld will be an Indian.
And so that is very scary.
And what we have found in ourresearch at the South Asian
Heart Center is that whilediabetes used to be a risk
factor for heart disease, thatisn't.
(07:47):
As a matter of fact, the rootcause of both issues are the
same.
And in some you develop cardioor heart related issues, in some
you might develop diabetes, insome you might develop both.
So it's the same kind of rootcause, which is our metabolism.
And that's what is beingstudied much more right now to
(08:10):
understand how we can change theguidelines.
As a matter of fact, one of theguidelines that actually has
been changed is the guidelinearound BMI.
That in Indians, the BMI, thenormal BMIs are 23 or less
compared to the generalpopulation where it's 25 or
less.
So not only do we have a higherissue or incidence of issue, We
(08:34):
have more stringent parametersto look at.
Arvind Ven (08:39):
I guess we didn't do very well in the DNA lottery, I
guess.
But there is recourse.
It's a good segue because youalready mentioned about the BMI.
I read about finance, I readabout health, multiple topics.
But one thing that stands outin many of these similar topics
is that when it comes to BMI,they talk about skinny fat and
also how the standards fortesting in terms of cholesterol
(09:02):
levels and others that haveprobably stringent standards or
limits for people for saltation.
So what kind of symptoms orearly warnings do you see in
these cases?
Ashish Mathur (09:16):
So often the first symptom is a heart attack
itself.
So before you know it, youmight be having a heart attack.
And that's the problem with itis that it manifests suddenly
and sometimes without recourse.
But there could be some warningsigns and that can include
(09:37):
fatigue, shortness of breath andchest discomfort with exertion.
Very often people that I meetat the hospital will tell us
that they felt it was somegastrointestinal issue, feeling
bloated or having a heartburn,et cetera.
If you feel off, don't ignoreit.
(09:59):
And I would say, this to allyoung adults.
People at the El Camino Healthwill show up with heart attacks
at ages as young as 30, 32, 35,38.
And it's very often the fathersand mothers bringing their
(10:23):
children into the hospital witha heart attack, than vice versa.
So that's the enormity of theproblem.
And so if there's one takeawayfrom this podcast, I would
really like people to understandthe role of 911.
If you are from South Asia,which is from countries such as
(10:48):
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, SriLanka, and Nepal, and you feel
chest discomfort or pain in theback, arms, head, jaw, et
cetera, and this is the kind ofpain that's not going away, with
movement or resting, et cetera,it's time to call 911.
(11:08):
Don't drive to the hospital,get 911.
And in the worst case or in thebest case, nothing happens.
You go there and you come backhome.
But at least if you were havinga heart attack, you would have
the critical time that it takesto stent it or give you
(11:30):
medications to restart the bloodflow appropriately.
that can mean the differencebetween life and mortality, a
healthy heart or a damaged one.
Arvind Ven (11:42):
That's a powerful message.
I hope everybody is listeningto that.
What brings me to my nextquestion to you is that, is the
Silicon Valley lifestyle, isthat also exacerbating or adding
to this epidemic, if you callit that?
Do you see it more pronouncedin this area compared to other
parts of the US or other partsof the world?
What's your take on that fromthe data that you're seeing?
Ashish Mathur (12:05):
If you are looking at the Silicon Valley
lifestyle as a high pressurelifestyle, then anywhere in the
world where there's a highpressure lifestyle, you have
similar levels of stress.
And so there've been studiesthat have been done throughout
the world.
And it's now known that bothIndians in India and Indians
(12:28):
outside of India have thislarger incidence of stress.
heart attacks and heartdisease.
The drive to keep up can leadto long hours and therefore
maybe poor sleep, skipped orunhealthy meals and unmanaged
(12:50):
stress, all of which fuel heartdisease.
And for South Asians, that riskis amplified by genetics and
diet.
It's a perfect storm.
Surprisingly, Think back onwhen your doctor actually talked
to you about your stress, yourlevels of stress, and whether
(13:14):
you're doing anything to managestress.
Every physician will focus ondiet and exercise, diet and
exercise.
That's the RX or theprescription that you will get
when you meet up with thephysician.
There is no time to really talkabout managing stress.
And so at the South Asian HeartCenter, we have made it a focus
to look at these two componentsof rest that bring about
(13:41):
lowering the inflammation,getting your metabolism primed
so that it can act normally.
And that are the components ofrest we call meditation and
sleep.
And so we have made thatemphasis.
As a matter of fact, we startedthat 20 years ago.
And the American HeartAssociation has only included
(14:04):
sleep in their seven, which hasnow become eight, with sleep
about three to four years ago.
Arvind Ven (14:12):
Oh, wow.
That's telling.
The meditative aspect, thesleep part.
And you talked about thedifferent markers and talking
about the doctor's visit too,how there's a lot of emphasis on
the low-fat diet withoutdieting.
focus on the carbohydrates.
It's a topic of high interestfor me, which is why I'm so
delighted to have you join ustoday.
(14:33):
I
Ashish Mathur (14:36):
not talked about nutrition yet.
Arvind Ven (14:39):
Right.
Ashish Mathur (14:42):
But the fact of the matter is that there is so
much focus on nutrition that youmiss out on the other
components of lifestyle thatneed to be equally well
addressed.
Arvind Ven (14:54):
Great point.
It's a great takeaway.
So what are some of the thingsthat our listeners today, and
including me, what can we do?
This is some great informationin terms of the website, the
Heart Health Associationwebsite, which I think is a lot
of good information.
In fact, I participated, Ithink, thanks to you, I signed
(15:15):
up to one of those Zoom calls, acouple of weeks ago.
So it's a good wealth ofinformation.
But what are some of yoursuggestions, takeaways from
today's podcast that forlisteners and for me too, that
we can take away from this.
Ashish Mathur (15:31):
So we have pioneered a science-backed,
culturally tailored approach toprevention and even reversing
chronic disease.
We focus on lifestyle firstbecause it's the most powerful
tool that we have.
We have created a platform wecall Lifestyle Meds, for
(15:54):
meditation, exercise, diet, andsleep.
So it's easy to remember.
Meditation, exercise, diet, andsleep.
And instead of your regularmedication, we ask you, have you
done your lifestyle meds?
These are the four levers thatcan transform your health.
(16:17):
Each one in this platform comeswith a simple mantra and goal.
And if you go to our website,you'll be able to read up on
each one of them.
For example, for diet, ourmantra is more greens than
grains.
It's a simple statement, butit's very telling.
(16:37):
And if you internalize it, thenevery meal that you look at,
you are looking at a proportionof grains being the larger
quantity than the grain.
And in typical South Asiandiets, you will see that it's
the grain that typically takesthe largest part.
(16:58):
For exercise, the goal is 150minutes a week of daily,
regular, moderate movement.
150 minutes.
And what we have done is bysimplifying the hard parts of
lifestyle-based research intosomething that you can remember.
(17:20):
And our coaching...
over the period of a year willhelp you internalize it to the
extent that it becomes verysustainable.
We don't believe inrestriction.
Instead, we focus on what toinclude.
Foods you love in the rightbalance.
Our plate method is easy tofollow.
(17:44):
Half your plate is non-starchyvegetables.
A quarter is lean protein.
and a quarter is whole grains.
So as you visualize the plate,you can see how you need to
proportion the items that youpick up to put onto your plate.
(18:05):
It's about building habits youcan stick with, simple,
sustainable, and rooted inscience.
For the past 20 years, we havehelped thousands in our programs
that combine nutrition,movement, stress reduction,
sleep, and coaching.
This is lifestyle medicine.
And it's like upgrading yourbody's operating system so you
(18:30):
can prevent disease instead ofjust treating it.
So Erwin, the question that Ihave for you, you summarized,
how likely is one of all themeals that you eat during the
day going to be that?
Arvind Ven (18:49):
Personal question.
So I've become more aware,Ashish, and that's one reason
why I'm personally so very happyto have you here today, because
I think it's something, as we,when I was in the 20s, I don't
think I really particularlycared, but as we get older, with
each decade, I think it's veryimportant.
The diet makes it veryimportant.
And based on our backgroundsand ethnicities, the certain
(19:12):
foods occupy more pride ofplace.
So I'm focusing more onproteins.
I still, like many people inIndian origin, I have a sweet
tooth, which I struggle.
My wife refuses to let me buyany of the Indian sea corsets.
They're loaded with caloriesand dripping in calories.
And so we don't buy themanymore at home.
She's much more disciplinedthan I am, I think.
(19:34):
But so we take a lot of care.
So in terms of whole grains andtry to reduce starch, whether
it's rice, whether it's naan,whatever that may be, like it's
lower on the, but it is, it hasto become a habit.
not a one-off, but it becomeson a daily basis.
But I like eggs, so that getsthe protein fill.
And then I used to worry aboutgetting low-fat cheese and
(19:58):
things like that, but afterreading and listening to what
you're saying is that fatnecessarily is not the culprit.
It's really being balanced andfocusing on more of a balanced
meal, from what I can tell.
Ashish Mathur (20:12):
And in this conversation right now, Arvind,
what I didn't hear from you wasthe focus on vegetables.
So obviously, I did such agreat job of explaining the
plate.
And that is the critical issuethat people have, where they are
seemingly healthy, and they saythat they are doing the right
(20:34):
things with their diet.
But obviously, the focus is noton the vegetable.
but on the two quarters of theplate, which is the protein and
the grain.
And we are trying to changethat.
And that's why it's so hard.
It's not easy.
(20:55):
It's a mindset.
And that mindset within thepopulation is difficult to
dislodge.
If you go and you can check itout, almost every single party
that you go to where food isbeing served, where food is
being catered, and you look atthe vegetable content of that
(21:18):
meal, it'll be deplorable.
And it will not even give youthe chance of covering half your
plate with that.
And therein lies thedifference.
This is curated food.
from years and years of sciencerelated data.
And that's what we are tryingto push.
(21:41):
And that's why we encourageindividuals to not do it alone
because very often subtletiesare missed.
And so you move on thinkingthat you are doing all the
healthy things and yet you aremissing out on all the clean
nutrients that you get fromthose vegetables which you don't
(22:03):
get from other things that willhelp you in your journey to
heart health and in preventingdiabetes.
Arvind Ven (22:12):
I've been converted, Rashi, so I'm making sure that
at least half the plate isveggies, at least those that I
like.
So as we get towards the end ofour podcast here, what are some
of the things that you wouldadvise us, our listeners?
What do you recommend?
What do you suggest that peoplemake this habit a good habit in
their lives?
So is there a website they canlook at?
(22:34):
Any other takeaways that yourecommend for people to follow?
Ashish Mathur (22:41):
What we would like people to consider is to
start small, but to start today.
First, get your baselinenumbers.
The normal things that gettested for, your cholesterol
levels, your blood sugar levels,your blood pressure, your BMI.
If you want a deeperunderstanding of your risk, come
(23:03):
to the South Asian HeartCenter.
We offer a comprehensive ABCrisk assessment.
The A stands for atherogenicrisk.
It tells us what's drivingplaque buildup in your arteries
and also the stability of thatplaque.
The B stands for behavioralrisk or your lifestyle habits
(23:27):
and how they affect your healthand your risk.
and maybe increase your risk.
And C is your cardiometabolicrisk or the risk for diabetes
and insulin resistance.
And this is a critical factorin what we call this metabolism.
So the ABC risk profile istruly the right way to evaluate
(23:53):
your risk, not just the fewtests that are done at your
annual physical.
Once we know your ABC, we builda science-based action plan to
address the errant markers tooptimal levels by augmenting or
strengthening the lifestylehabits by the right amounts at
(24:13):
the right time and in the rightsequence in a personalized way.
For example, with diet, weteach an easy daily goal, which
is zero, one, two, and 12.
The zero stands for zero sugarydrinks.
(24:34):
The only thing that we ask youto avoid.
One fistful of fruit, which isthe fistful, two fistful of
vegetables, and 12 nuts.
The fistful is handy becauseyou carry it with you
everywhere.
So you would know, have Iconsumed two fistful of
(24:57):
vegetables today?
And then Literally, if you aredoing this and looking at it on
a daily basis, we are notpreventing you to eating the
foods that you love.
It's that this is the importantthing to take care of first.
It's simple, memorable, and itworks.
(25:18):
And then the most important,don't go to it alone.
Get support.
Know that There are experts outthere who can help you.
Our health coaches walk withyou every single step of the
way, taking the guesswork outand creating a sustainable plan
(25:42):
for baby steps.
Awareness is your first step,but action is what transforms
your future.
Speaker 03 (25:51):
So that's a great way, the ABC, all these very
pithy, but very clear things iseasy to remember.
So to summarize, I would saythis is more like a, what you're
doing is making sure people areaware.
You are an expert diagnosticsystem, but then they are the
healthcare provider, the doctor,they look at these together and
implement.
So what is the synergy betweenwhat you're doing When you go
(26:18):
further around the physical,everybody's rushed.
The doctors are busy.
But this is a lot morespecific, what you're doing.
I think it has great value.
How does all this, between thequote-unquote patient, the
doctor, and what I call thisexpert system that comes in, how
does this all work together?
Ashish Mathur (26:37):
You have to realize that our only focus is
South Asian health.
Our focus is on preventingheart attacks.
Our focus is on preventingdiabetes.
That's the only thing that wedo.
And if you feel that yourphysician is offering that and
(26:58):
you feel comfortable with it andis providing you all the baby
steps that you need to help youwith your lifestyle, great.
Don't leave that physician.
We work and collaborate with somany physicians out there who
are referring individuals to theSouth Asian Art Center because
they know that we will focuswith them on the kinds of things
(27:20):
that they cannot focus on intheir offices.
There is need for medicalmanagement and there's need for
lifestyle management.
And the South Asian Art Centeris a nonprofit organization
focused on that lifestylemanagement.
You may even think of us as alifestyle pharmacy for
(27:40):
physicians and patients, wherewe will work with you on the
things that are the mostdifficult to change.
And that is lifestyle.
Everyone wants to do it, but itis hard.
Arvind Ven (27:55):
Yes, absolutely.
I agree a hundred percent.
So that's a great way ofsummarizing what you do.
Very valuable thoughts andsuggestions for our listeners.
But I want to say a big thankyou, Ashish, for taking the time
to be with us today.
It's been a pleasure and alsovery informative.
I'm sure both for my listeners,as for myself personally, I'm
(28:15):
sure my, like you said, it's noteasy, but having this kind of
lifestyle or health coaching hasa lot of significant value.
So
Ashish Mathur (28:22):
thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Investing in your health is thesmartest long-term strategy
because without it, there's nojoy in the journey.
And that is our hope to thelisteners.
that if anything, they wouldstart on it today and if they're
not already doing it and startwith small baby steps that are
(28:46):
makeable and doable.
We have, if you go to the ElCamino Health website, a course
and workshop on what we callstrategies for investing in your
health.
That's a great one.
I like
Arvind Ven (28:59):
that personally.
Ashish Mathur (29:01):
It's a free workshop and it goes over what
we've talked about in a lot moredetail.
Arvind Ven (29:06):
Anyway, thank you so much, Ashish.
It's a pleasure.
I also always learn somethingevery time from expert guests
that I bring on.
So thank you so much.
And we'll talk to you soon.
Thank you very much.
And to listeners, until nexttime, thank you so much.
So we look forward to seeingyou soon and you tuning in at
the next podcast.
You can also read more about usat www.capitalwegroup.com or
(29:31):
call us at 408-725-7122.
Or you can like us or read moreabout us on Twitter and on
Facebook.
Speaker 01 (29:42):
Arvind Ven is a registered representative with
advisory services and securitiesoffered through LPL Financial,
a registered investment advisor,member FINRA, and SIPC.
The opinions voiced in thismaterial are for general
information only and are notintended to provide specific
advice or recommendations forany individual.
(30:02):
All performance referenced ishistorical and is no guarantee
of future results.
The information is not intendedto be a substitute for specific
individualized text We'll seeyou next time.
Thank you.
Speaker 00 (00:04):
and welcome to the 15 Minutes to Financial Freedom
educational podcast serieshosted by Arvind Ven.
These 15-minute or so podcastsare meant to educate and empower
listeners about key financialtopics towards the road to
financial independence in plainEnglish and without financial
jargon.
Arvind Venn is an independentfinancial advisor, founder, and
(00:25):
CEO of Capital V Group inCupertino, California.
He is regularly featured inleading national financial
publications such as Forbes andmany others.
And now for our host, ArvindVenn.
Arvind Ven (00:37):
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to this
podcast episode.
I know it's been a bit of alag.
I took a short break late lastyear on the podcast side, and
then all of a sudden becamelonger.
But without further ado, I'mdelighted to have our first
guest after a while, AshishMathur.
He is the co-founder andexecutive director of of the
(01:01):
South Asian Heart Center at ElCamino Hospital.
It's a great pleasure to havehim.
He's very busy, and I'm glad weare able to grab his time a
little bit today.
I'm a big believer that healthis a major indicator of wealth.
So we look for investmentperformance, our nest egg, our
(01:21):
bank balance, but nothing istaken with us.
And if we don't have the healthto...
enjoy that, then a lot becomesfutile.
So that's something Ipersonally believe in and also
lecture to my clients, those whoare willing to listen.
But that's something just likea portfolio that it needs
regular check-in.
(01:41):
You don't want to leave yourportfolio and hope it'll do
better.
Take care of your health,regular checkups, make sure that
you just get regular tune-ups,tune-ins, and make sure it's
functioning properly.
So with that, Let me welcomeAshish Mathur, co-founder and
executive director of the SouthAsian Heart Center at El Camino
(02:02):
Hospital.
Welcome, Ashish.
It's great to have you heretoday.
Ashish Mathur (02:05):
Thank you for having me.
Arvind Ven (02:07):
So you have an exciting, very interesting
background.
And so you have been a seniorexecutive in the tech industry
in your past life.
And now here you are setting upthis very valuable program that
is focusing on health.
Please walk us through that.
how your path took us to thispath where you're on a mission
(02:27):
to help all of us with hearthealth.
Ashish Mathur (02:34):
Arvind, I've spent over two decades in the
Silicon Valley's tech world in avariety of software development
efforts in several startupsuntil a heart attack changed
everything.
That experience drove me tocreate the South Asian Heart
Center at El Camino Health.
a place where we combinescience, culture, and lifestyle
(02:57):
to prevent disease before itstarts.
You may call it a Vedicapproach to addressing the
epidemic of heart disease withinthe South Asian community.
Arvind Ven (03:11):
That's fascinating.
So your own health issue, as ina heart attack when you were a
heart-charging chicken fairlyyoung age, that actually was the
catalyst into starting andrunning what you're doing today.
Ashish Mathur (03:26):
Yes, indeed.
As a matter of fact, it was thestart of my trying to
understand this issue while itwas staring me in the face.
I was a Silicon Valleyexecutive.
I was traveling.
I was enjoying the corporatelife and I was absorbing a lot
(03:48):
of stress that I felt was parfor the course.
And little did I realize whatwas actually building up inside
my body.
I had family history that Ididn't focus on.
I spent time sleeping on planesbecause it was a jet-set life.
I skipped breakfast.
(04:10):
I ate unhealthy.
And yet I was questioningmyself, why did I have a heart
attack?
It was literally tearing me inthe face.
But what was more difficult,Arvind, was to actually create
the right set of things to helpme prevent the second one.
(04:30):
I was so afraid.
I showed up at the emergencyroom three times within a month
of having my heart attackbecause I felt I was having
another one.
And I didn't want to live lifelike that.
So I started studying whatwould make it work.
And all the books that were outthere professing the kind of
(04:52):
diets that I needed to followwere wrong about me.
I was the kind of person thatfor me, I had to add fat back
into my diet.
Whereas you commonly hear thatyou need to reduce your fats,
you need to reduce your fats, etcetera.
So that made me thinking thatif it was so hard for me to come
(05:15):
up with the right solution formyself, imagine a community
that's so vulnerable to thisepidemic.
So that's the reason forstarting up the South Asian Arts
Center, to create thatawareness and provide a
personalized way to address thisissue.
Arvind Ven (05:31):
What a great personal story.
You took action, so that's afascinating change, but also
very impressive, given that youused that very frightening
episode into something thatitself in the community.
So the question for you is thatI've heard, and as someone of
South Asian origin myself, I'veheard and I've been reading a
lot more about how there's, howour DNA works and how, and
(05:55):
overall, heart health overall.
But do you see, how prevalentdo you see that?
Is it really as prevalent asit's made out to be within South
Asians and heart healthoverall?
Ashish Mathur (06:07):
Yes, shockingly so.
South Asians have two times therisk for heart disease, and it
often develops a decade earlierthan the general population.
What's worse is that theseissues show up even in people
who seem to be fit and healthy.
It's a silent epidemic.
And on top of it, here in theUnited States, the guidelines
(06:33):
underestimate the risk.
And these are the guidelinesthat actually are used
worldwide.
So all of these things areactually contributing to not
diagnosing this early,contributing to it being more
severe, contributing for it tobe more fatal in individuals as
(06:58):
well.
Arvind Ven (07:00):
That's scary, yeah.
Ashish Mathur (07:04):
And then the other thing that is not really
addressed is that Diabetes atthe same time is rapidly
becoming a twin epidemic.
It is expected that by 2030,one in two with diabetes will be
Indian.
And so it's really...
Arvind Ven (07:21):
Say that again one more time.
What's the statistics again?
Ashish Mathur (07:25):
It is by the year 2030 that one out of every two
people with diabetes in theworld will be an Indian.
And so that is very scary.
And what we have found in ourresearch at the South Asian
Heart Center is that whilediabetes used to be a risk
factor for heart disease, thatisn't.
(07:47):
As a matter of fact, the rootcause of both issues are the
same.
And in some you develop cardioor heart related issues, in some
you might develop diabetes, insome you might develop both.
So it's the same kind of rootcause, which is our metabolism.
And that's what is beingstudied much more right now to
(08:10):
understand how we can change theguidelines.
As a matter of fact, one of theguidelines that actually has
been changed is the guidelinearound BMI.
That in Indians, the BMI, thenormal BMIs are 23 or less
compared to the generalpopulation where it's 25 or
less.
So not only do we have a higherissue or incidence of issue, We
(08:34):
have more stringent parametersto look at.
Arvind Ven (08:39):
I guess we didn't do very well in the DNA lottery, I
guess.
But there is recourse.
It's a good segue because youalready mentioned about the BMI.
I read about finance, I readabout health, multiple topics.
But one thing that stands outin many of these similar topics
is that when it comes to BMI,they talk about skinny fat and
also how the standards fortesting in terms of cholesterol
(09:02):
levels and others that haveprobably stringent standards or
limits for people for saltation.
So what kind of symptoms orearly warnings do you see in
these cases?
Ashish Mathur (09:16):
So often the first symptom is a heart attack
itself.
So before you know it, youmight be having a heart attack.
And that's the problem with itis that it manifests suddenly
and sometimes without recourse.
But there could be some warningsigns and that can include
(09:37):
fatigue, shortness of breath andchest discomfort with exertion.
Very often people that I meetat the hospital will tell us
that they felt it was somegastrointestinal issue, feeling
bloated or having a heartburn,et cetera.
If you feel off, don't ignoreit.
(09:59):
And I would say, this to allyoung adults.
People at the El Camino Healthwill show up with heart attacks
at ages as young as 30, 32, 35,38.
And it's very often the fathersand mothers bringing their
(10:23):
children into the hospital witha heart attack, than vice versa.
So that's the enormity of theproblem.
And so if there's one takeawayfrom this podcast, I would
really like people to understandthe role of 911.
If you are from South Asia,which is from countries such as
(10:48):
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, SriLanka, and Nepal, and you feel
chest discomfort or pain in theback, arms, head, jaw, et
cetera, and this is the kind ofpain that's not going away, with
movement or resting, et cetera,it's time to call 911.
(11:08):
Don't drive to the hospital,get 911.
And in the worst case or in thebest case, nothing happens.
You go there and you come backhome.
But at least if you were havinga heart attack, you would have
the critical time that it takesto stent it or give you
(11:30):
medications to restart the bloodflow appropriately.
that can mean the differencebetween life and mortality, a
healthy heart or a damaged one.
Arvind Ven (11:42):
That's a powerful message.
I hope everybody is listeningto that.
What brings me to my nextquestion to you is that, is the
Silicon Valley lifestyle, isthat also exacerbating or adding
to this epidemic, if you callit that?
Do you see it more pronouncedin this area compared to other
parts of the US or other partsof the world?
What's your take on that fromthe data that you're seeing?
Ashish Mathur (12:05):
If you are looking at the Silicon Valley
lifestyle as a high pressurelifestyle, then anywhere in the
world where there's a highpressure lifestyle, you have
similar levels of stress.
And so there've been studiesthat have been done throughout
the world.
And it's now known that bothIndians in India and Indians
(12:28):
outside of India have thislarger incidence of stress.
heart attacks and heartdisease.
The drive to keep up can leadto long hours and therefore
maybe poor sleep, skipped orunhealthy meals and unmanaged
(12:50):
stress, all of which fuel heartdisease.
And for South Asians, that riskis amplified by genetics and
diet.
It's a perfect storm.
Surprisingly, Think back onwhen your doctor actually talked
to you about your stress, yourlevels of stress, and whether
(13:14):
you're doing anything to managestress.
Every physician will focus ondiet and exercise, diet and
exercise.
That's the RX or theprescription that you will get
when you meet up with thephysician.
There is no time to really talkabout managing stress.
And so at the South Asian HeartCenter, we have made it a focus
to look at these two componentsof rest that bring about
(13:41):
lowering the inflammation,getting your metabolism primed
so that it can act normally.
And that are the components ofrest we call meditation and
sleep.
And so we have made thatemphasis.
As a matter of fact, we startedthat 20 years ago.
And the American HeartAssociation has only included
(14:04):
sleep in their seven, which hasnow become eight, with sleep
about three to four years ago.
Arvind Ven (14:12):
Oh, wow.
That's telling.
The meditative aspect, thesleep part.
And you talked about thedifferent markers and talking
about the doctor's visit too,how there's a lot of emphasis on
the low-fat diet withoutdieting.
focus on the carbohydrates.
It's a topic of high interestfor me, which is why I'm so
delighted to have you join ustoday.
(14:33):
I
Ashish Mathur (14:36):
not talked about nutrition yet.
Arvind Ven (14:39):
Right.
Ashish Mathur (14:42):
But the fact of the matter is that there is so
much focus on nutrition that youmiss out on the other
components of lifestyle thatneed to be equally well
addressed.
Arvind Ven (14:54):
Great point.
It's a great takeaway.
So what are some of the thingsthat our listeners today, and
including me, what can we do?
This is some great informationin terms of the website, the
Heart Health Associationwebsite, which I think is a lot
of good information.
In fact, I participated, Ithink, thanks to you, I signed
(15:15):
up to one of those Zoom calls, acouple of weeks ago.
So it's a good wealth ofinformation.
But what are some of yoursuggestions, takeaways from
today's podcast that forlisteners and for me too, that
we can take away from this.
Ashish Mathur (15:31):
So we have pioneered a science-backed,
culturally tailored approach toprevention and even reversing
chronic disease.
We focus on lifestyle firstbecause it's the most powerful
tool that we have.
We have created a platform wecall Lifestyle Meds, for
(15:54):
meditation, exercise, diet, andsleep.
So it's easy to remember.
Meditation, exercise, diet, andsleep.
And instead of your regularmedication, we ask you, have you
done your lifestyle meds?
These are the four levers thatcan transform your health.
(16:17):
Each one in this platform comeswith a simple mantra and goal.
And if you go to our website,you'll be able to read up on
each one of them.
For example, for diet, ourmantra is more greens than
grains.
It's a simple statement, butit's very telling.
(16:37):
And if you internalize it, thenevery meal that you look at,
you are looking at a proportionof grains being the larger
quantity than the grain.
And in typical South Asiandiets, you will see that it's
the grain that typically takesthe largest part.
(16:58):
For exercise, the goal is 150minutes a week of daily,
regular, moderate movement.
150 minutes.
And what we have done is bysimplifying the hard parts of
lifestyle-based research intosomething that you can remember.
(17:20):
And our coaching...
over the period of a year willhelp you internalize it to the
extent that it becomes verysustainable.
We don't believe inrestriction.
Instead, we focus on what toinclude.
Foods you love in the rightbalance.
Our plate method is easy tofollow.
(17:44):
Half your plate is non-starchyvegetables.
A quarter is lean protein.
and a quarter is whole grains.
So as you visualize the plate,you can see how you need to
proportion the items that youpick up to put onto your plate.
(18:05):
It's about building habits youcan stick with, simple,
sustainable, and rooted inscience.
For the past 20 years, we havehelped thousands in our programs
that combine nutrition,movement, stress reduction,
sleep, and coaching.
This is lifestyle medicine.
And it's like upgrading yourbody's operating system so you
(18:30):
can prevent disease instead ofjust treating it.
So Erwin, the question that Ihave for you, you summarized,
how likely is one of all themeals that you eat during the
day going to be that?
Arvind Ven (18:49):
Personal question.
So I've become more aware,Ashish, and that's one reason
why I'm personally so very happyto have you here today, because
I think it's something, as we,when I was in the 20s, I don't
think I really particularlycared, but as we get older, with
each decade, I think it's veryimportant.
The diet makes it veryimportant.
And based on our backgroundsand ethnicities, the certain
(19:12):
foods occupy more pride ofplace.
So I'm focusing more onproteins.
I still, like many people inIndian origin, I have a sweet
tooth, which I struggle.
My wife refuses to let me buyany of the Indian sea corsets.
They're loaded with caloriesand dripping in calories.
And so we don't buy themanymore at home.
She's much more disciplinedthan I am, I think.
(19:34):
But so we take a lot of care.
So in terms of whole grains andtry to reduce starch, whether
it's rice, whether it's naan,whatever that may be, like it's
lower on the, but it is, it hasto become a habit.
not a one-off, but it becomeson a daily basis.
But I like eggs, so that getsthe protein fill.
And then I used to worry aboutgetting low-fat cheese and
(19:58):
things like that, but afterreading and listening to what
you're saying is that fatnecessarily is not the culprit.
It's really being balanced andfocusing on more of a balanced
meal, from what I can tell.
Ashish Mathur (20:12):
And in this conversation right now, Arvind,
what I didn't hear from you wasthe focus on vegetables.
So obviously, I did such agreat job of explaining the
plate.
And that is the critical issuethat people have, where they are
seemingly healthy, and they saythat they are doing the right
(20:34):
things with their diet.
But obviously, the focus is noton the vegetable.
but on the two quarters of theplate, which is the protein and
the grain.
And we are trying to changethat.
And that's why it's so hard.
It's not easy.
(20:55):
It's a mindset.
And that mindset within thepopulation is difficult to
dislodge.
If you go and you can check itout, almost every single party
that you go to where food isbeing served, where food is
being catered, and you look atthe vegetable content of that
(21:18):
meal, it'll be deplorable.
And it will not even give youthe chance of covering half your
plate with that.
And therein lies thedifference.
This is curated food.
from years and years of sciencerelated data.
And that's what we are tryingto push.
(21:41):
And that's why we encourageindividuals to not do it alone
because very often subtletiesare missed.
And so you move on thinkingthat you are doing all the
healthy things and yet you aremissing out on all the clean
nutrients that you get fromthose vegetables which you don't
(22:03):
get from other things that willhelp you in your journey to
heart health and in preventingdiabetes.
Arvind Ven (22:12):
I've been converted, Rashi, so I'm making sure that
at least half the plate isveggies, at least those that I
like.
So as we get towards the end ofour podcast here, what are some
of the things that you wouldadvise us, our listeners?
What do you recommend?
What do you suggest that peoplemake this habit a good habit in
their lives?
So is there a website they canlook at?
(22:34):
Any other takeaways that yourecommend for people to follow?
Ashish Mathur (22:41):
What we would like people to consider is to
start small, but to start today.
First, get your baselinenumbers.
The normal things that gettested for, your cholesterol
levels, your blood sugar levels,your blood pressure, your BMI.
If you want a deeperunderstanding of your risk, come
(23:03):
to the South Asian HeartCenter.
We offer a comprehensive ABCrisk assessment.
The A stands for atherogenicrisk.
It tells us what's drivingplaque buildup in your arteries
and also the stability of thatplaque.
The B stands for behavioralrisk or your lifestyle habits
(23:27):
and how they affect your healthand your risk.
and maybe increase your risk.
And C is your cardiometabolicrisk or the risk for diabetes
and insulin resistance.
And this is a critical factorin what we call this metabolism.
So the ABC risk profile istruly the right way to evaluate
(23:53):
your risk, not just the fewtests that are done at your
annual physical.
Once we know your ABC, we builda science-based action plan to
address the errant markers tooptimal levels by augmenting or
strengthening the lifestylehabits by the right amounts at
(24:13):
the right time and in the rightsequence in a personalized way.
For example, with diet, weteach an easy daily goal, which
is zero, one, two, and 12.
The zero stands for zero sugarydrinks.
(24:34):
The only thing that we ask youto avoid.
One fistful of fruit, which isthe fistful, two fistful of
vegetables, and 12 nuts.
The fistful is handy becauseyou carry it with you
everywhere.
So you would know, have Iconsumed two fistful of
(24:57):
vegetables today?
And then Literally, if you aredoing this and looking at it on
a daily basis, we are notpreventing you to eating the
foods that you love.
It's that this is the importantthing to take care of first.
It's simple, memorable, and itworks.
(25:18):
And then the most important,don't go to it alone.
Get support.
Know that There are experts outthere who can help you.
Our health coaches walk withyou every single step of the
way, taking the guesswork outand creating a sustainable plan
(25:42):
for baby steps.
Awareness is your first step,but action is what transforms
your future.
Speaker 03 (25:51):
So that's a great way, the ABC, all these very
pithy, but very clear things iseasy to remember.
So to summarize, I would saythis is more like a, what you're
doing is making sure people areaware.
You are an expert diagnosticsystem, but then they are the
healthcare provider, the doctor,they look at these together and
implement.
So what is the synergy betweenwhat you're doing When you go
(26:18):
further around the physical,everybody's rushed.
The doctors are busy.
But this is a lot morespecific, what you're doing.
I think it has great value.
How does all this, between thequote-unquote patient, the
doctor, and what I call thisexpert system that comes in, how
does this all work together?
Ashish Mathur (26:37):
You have to realize that our only focus is
South Asian health.
Our focus is on preventingheart attacks.
Our focus is on preventingdiabetes.
That's the only thing that wedo.
And if you feel that yourphysician is offering that and
(26:58):
you feel comfortable with it andis providing you all the baby
steps that you need to help youwith your lifestyle, great.
Don't leave that physician.
We work and collaborate with somany physicians out there who
are referring individuals to theSouth Asian Art Center because
they know that we will focuswith them on the kinds of things
(27:20):
that they cannot focus on intheir offices.
There is need for medicalmanagement and there's need for
lifestyle management.
And the South Asian Art Centeris a nonprofit organization
focused on that lifestylemanagement.
You may even think of us as alifestyle pharmacy for
(27:40):
physicians and patients, wherewe will work with you on the
things that are the mostdifficult to change.
And that is lifestyle.
Everyone wants to do it, but itis hard.
Arvind Ven (27:55):
Yes, absolutely.
I agree a hundred percent.
So that's a great way ofsummarizing what you do.
Very valuable thoughts andsuggestions for our listeners.
But I want to say a big thankyou, Ashish, for taking the time
to be with us today.
It's been a pleasure and alsovery informative.
I'm sure both for my listeners,as for myself personally, I'm
(28:15):
sure my, like you said, it's noteasy, but having this kind of
lifestyle or health coaching hasa lot of significant value.
So
Ashish Mathur (28:22):
thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Investing in your health is thesmartest long-term strategy
because without it, there's nojoy in the journey.
And that is our hope to thelisteners.
that if anything, they wouldstart on it today and if they're
not already doing it and startwith small baby steps that are
(28:46):
makeable and doable.
We have, if you go to the ElCamino Health website, a course
and workshop on what we callstrategies for investing in your
health.
That's a great one.
I like
Arvind Ven (28:59):
that personally.
Ashish Mathur (29:01):
It's a free workshop and it goes over what
we've talked about in a lot moredetail.
Arvind Ven (29:06):
Anyway, thank you so much, Ashish.
It's a pleasure.
I also always learn somethingevery time from expert guests
that I bring on.
So thank you so much.
And we'll talk to you soon.
Thank you very much.
And to listeners, until nexttime, thank you so much.
So we look forward to seeingyou soon and you tuning in at
the next podcast.
You can also read more about usat www.capitalwegroup.com or
(29:31):
call us at 408-725-7122.
Or you can like us or read moreabout us on Twitter and on
Facebook.
Speaker 01 (29:42):
Arvind Ven is a registered representative with
advisory services and securitiesoffered through LPL Financial,
a registered investment advisor,member FINRA, and SIPC.
The opinions voiced in thismaterial are for general
information only and are notintended to provide specific
advice or recommendations forany individual.
(30:02):
All performance referenced ishistorical and is no guarantee
of future results.
The information is not intendedto be a substitute for specific
individualized text We'll seeyou next time.
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