April 1, 2025 • 39 mins
In this episode of The Care Collective, board-certified cardiologist Dr. Christina Paruthi, MD, joins hosts Dr. Uwaila Oronsaye, Pharm.D. and Dr. Siddhi Chandra, OD, to break down heart health into simple, actionable steps. Dr. Paruthi dispels common myths about fitness, shares how even five minutes of daily movement can make a difference, and explains why strength training is essential after 30. The conversation also explores how stress affects weight loss, the latest research on alcohol’s impact, and updated blood pressure guidelines. Tune in to learn how small, consistent habits can help protect your heart—without a complete lifestyle overhaul!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hi, welcome to the Care Collective, a podcast
brought to you by St HopeHealthcare.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'm Dr Uwaila Aranse and I'm Dr Siddhi Chandra.
The Care Collective is apodcast dedicated to empowering
and connecting individuals whoare passionate about creating
positive change.
Our mission is to sharevaluable insights and knowledge,
foster a supportive andinclusive community and provide
engaging and entertaining.
Foster a supportive andinclusive community and provide
engaging and entertainingcontent that inspires growth and
(00:29):
connection.
Together, we aim to make caringcontagious and amplify the
power of collective action.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Hi everyone.
Welcome to the Care CollectivePodcast, where we're all about
nurturing connections,empowering energy and embracing
femininity.
I'm your host, uwaila Aronsaye,and.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I'm your co-host, Dr Sidney Chandra.
Today's episode is Vital Vibes,talking about fitness and
health.
To start off this episode, wehave a Zoom call with Dr
Christina Paruthi.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Speaking of health and fitness, it'll be great to
hear from our health and fitnessexpert.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Absolutely.
Today we have a pleasure ofwelcoming an incredible
physician who is making aprofound impact in the field of
cardiology.
Dr Christina Paruthi isdedicated to providing top-tier
cardiologic care, helpingpatients lead healthier and
stronger lives.
A proud Texan, dr Paruthi beganher medical journey at St
(01:29):
George's University School ofMedicine before completing her
internal medicine residency atSt Louis University.
She then returned to Houston tofurther specialize, completing
a fellowship in cardiovasculardisease at University of Texas
Medical Center, followed byadditional year of fellowship in
advanced cardiology, heartfailure and transplant.
She is a board certified incardiovascular disease, advanced
(01:53):
heart failure and transplant,nuclear cardiology and internal
medicine.
With her deep knowledge andpassion for heart health, we are
thrilled to have you on theshow today, so please join me in
welcoming Dr Christina Paruthi.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Hi, thank you both so much for having me.
Wow with that bio.
I'm like I did all that.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yes, girl.
I know I was reading.
I was like oh my gosh, how manyboard certifications does this
girl have?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Like oh my god, bad memories.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And fun fact, Dr Pruthi and I are in an Indian
dance team called T2.
Oh, I love that.
Yes, so we perform for theIndian holidays, Diwali Holi.
So you have to come watch usperform.
Shout out to our dance team.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Which is a really great segue because dance is
like a huge part of my fitnessroutine.
So I don't know if you've evertracked my journey, but I've
lost like 80 pounds and a huge,a huge part of that was dance.
Like I've always been intodance and when I first started
getting back into classes as anadult, my weight was like
(02:59):
holding me back as well as justlike feeling like I could do
better, I could perform betterif I was more fit.
And then now like it's part ofmy ongoing journey, which is
where I'm at city.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I love that because like combining workouts with
something fun to do, like you'relike literally looking forward
to it every day.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So a hundred percent, because I have patients all the
time that are like I guess Icould walk, and I'm like, no, no
, no, no, no.
What is fun for you?
Is it pickleball, is it tennis?
Is it walking with your kids?
Is it dance Like it should besomething that's fun and the
fitness part is like the benefit, rather than forcing yourself
(03:38):
to do something you don't wantto do.
Because how often are we goingto do that, especially as adults
, right?
We?
Because how often are we to dothat, especially as adults,
right?
We already do so much stuffthat we don't want to do.
The last thing that we shouldforce ourselves to do is
exercise when that should begood for us.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Right.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And that goes like into kind of what I want to know
more about.
As a cardiologist, how do youfeel like everyday habits, diet,
exercise, stress managementinfluence heart health, our
fitness, overall health and thebig question what is the minimum
amount of physical activity tokeep us healthy?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Definitely Okay.
So I'll answer the second partfirst.
So, per the guidelines theWorld Health Organization and
the American Heart Association,we really want to try to hit 150
minutes of moderate intensityexercise.
So activity is great.
Somebody who's active versussedentary will reduce their risk
of death from heart disease by30%.
(04:32):
So just being active is reallygood.
But I do try to stress topeople unless your heart rate's
getting up, you're huffing andpuffing, you're breaking a sweat
we're not hitting that moderateintensity requirement that we
want to hit.
Or somebody who's doing a highintensity interval training,
like a workout class whereyou're on a treadmill and things
(04:52):
like that, then you only need75 minutes.
So really making sure thatyou're getting your heart rate
up there to the 130s 140s to getthat deep exercise benefit.
And then, of course, the moreactive that you are, the better.
Now the first part of yourquestion.
I feel like I can answer better, just as someone who's been on
(05:13):
a transformation journey asopposed to just being a doctor,
because it's really easy to saylike okay, make sure you follow
a Mediterranean diet, exercise150 minutes a week.
But that's not taking intoaccount like as adults.
I'm assuming we're targetingadults with your podcast.
Children are so different, likeactivity is their main built in,
and for us it's like, okay, Ihave to get my kids to work, I
(05:36):
have to go work myself, I haveto take care of my parents, like
we have.
So many of these have tos, thatthe first thing we put on the
back burner is our own health.
And so what I try to implementin my own life and then share
with my friends, family and mypatients, who I consider the
same for myself, is that it allstarts up here and in here.
(05:57):
So, like our mental well beingis the place to start.
So oftentimes we think, well, Idon't have time for myself,
I'll do it later, I'll do itlater, and then, when you wait
till later, unfortunately youcould have had a stroke, have
heart disease.
It becomes too late Exactly, andthat time that you thought you
were going to live, that timethat you thought that you were
(06:17):
going to have, it's gone.
I saw that happen in my dad.
My dad worked so hard his wholelife and then, when he was
ready to slow down and retire,he had had multiple strokes, he
was losing his mobility.
And you know, I try to pointout to patients like, if you die
, that sucks and that's hard,but almost what's worse is being
(06:38):
disabled and losing yourindependence and losing your
ability to care for others.
So, as much as we've beencultured to believe that taking
time for yourself is selfish,it's not.
If you don't start with takingyour time time for yourself to
like make sure you're sleeping,make sure you're eating well,
make sure you're happyinternally, you can't give to
(06:59):
all those people around youYou're pouring from an empty cup
.
So the first place I think thatwe start with is just realizing
it's okay to take time formyself and taking off that time
burden.
I told you 150 minutes per week.
You know what?
If you did five minutes ofalternating jumping jacks 30
seconds on, 30 seconds offbefore you got in the shower
(07:20):
today, that's a win, Because ifwe did that every day.
That's 35 minutes for the weekand that's almost more of the
high intensity versus moderateintensity.
You're halfway towards yourgoal.
You didn't even really have todo anything but five minutes a
day.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
So breaking it up?
No, I was just saying sobreaking it up, and, you know,
try to make it achievable bybreaking it up into smaller
timeframes.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, exactly.
And then the second thing Iwould say is like consistency.
So for myself too, if I takemore than two days off, that's
turning into two weeks off.
Or like people I'm seeing todaywill be like you know, the
holidays they derail me, and I'mlike guys, it's March, we're a
quarter of the way through theyear.
So, consistently like makingexercise and fitness a part of
(08:07):
your life, that every day I'meither driving to the gym find a
gym that's on your way home orI'm heading to the park with my
family and try to like have thatconsistency, that for 30
minutes a day I am active,combining that with like even
meditation.
So like maybe you don't listento music when you walk, you just
enjoy the sights around you,become more present, have do
(08:31):
deep breathing exercises.
All of that plays a role intohealth and fitness and it helps
bring us from like operating ata level of this.
And just like there's no timethere's never any time to like
okay, deep breath.
What can I do?
Like in the next, in the fiveminutes I have today 10 minutes
I have can I be active, can Imake a better choice for what
(08:52):
I'm going to eat?
Can I even do some deepbreathing exercises so I have
more time for my space and myfor my family, more space for
them.
That all contributes to ouroverall health and wellness.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
What are some tests that you would recommend to a
patient that's wanting to makesure their heart is healthy?
Any things that they shouldactually be asking their doctor
for?
Any tests that they should bechecking for?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
So routinely.
Adults over the age of 20should get their cholesterol
checked as a baseline and then,depending on if it's abnormal,
more frequently or if it'snormal, every at least four to
six years.
Same thing with blood pressurescreening.
They should start that oncethey hit adulthood and then
hopefully it's getting checkedmore than every three to five
(09:37):
years.
If it's normal, I would say atleast annually.
For people who have high bloodpressure, this is not an
official recommendation.
But if you have high bloodpressure, this is not an
official recommendation.
But if you have high bloodpressure and are treating that
or are borderline, checking it acouple of times a week in the
morning or the evening, so thatway you can kind of see what the
trajectory is.
The guidelines have changed.
(09:58):
So before we used to considerhypertension to be 140 over 90.
The goal and normal foreveryone is 120 over 80, but
already moving into the 130s isconsidered stage one
hypertension.
This is really important forpeople to understand because we
don't see the long-term effectson our blood vessels immediately
(10:19):
.
When our blood pressure issitting elevated at 135, 140,
150, it's slowly damaging ourheart vessels which lead to
thickening and calcification ofthose vessels.
That a process that starts nowin our 30s or 40s can be leading
to a stroke in our 60s or 70s.
There's not great screeningrecommendations for
(10:42):
cardiovascular health.
Previously we used a riskcalculator that would help us to
know okay, how often, when doyou need to start an aspirin,
cholesterol pill, get testing,and testing was mostly done for
symptoms of chest pain,shortness of breath.
But new studies have shown andit hasn't met the guidelines yet
(11:03):
that coronary imaging ispicking up over two to one times
, and even more than that, ofwhat we would see with the risk
score.
So I do make my patients awareof newer testing that's
available, like a calcium score,which is a CAT scan to look at
the heart arteries.
Score doesn't involve any typeof injection or IV and so it can
(11:29):
miss soft plaque as well as anytype of anomaly in the artery.
So for people that are more highrisk than just routine
screening with no risk factors,we can also do a CAT scan with
the injection of contrast, and Isee a lot more cardiologists
offering that to their patients,because the gold standard for
knowing what's happening in yourblood vessels is to take a
direct look at them.
So obviously these types oftests are a conversation with
(11:51):
your doctor, because anytimethat we are injecting contrast,
if you have allergies orsensitivity, we don't want to
just generalize and put everyoneat risk.
But it's a great place to startwith talking to your doctor.
Hey, I have these risk factorsI used to smoke or I have high
cholesterol, diabetes, a verystrong family history.
That way the best decision canbe made for the patient with
(12:14):
their doctor.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Okay, Good to know.
Good to know so muchinformation I need to go get my
heart checked.
Right, Because I'm like okay, Idon't know.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I need to.
Yes, if you could bust onemajor misconception about heart
health, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I think it's that it's too hard.
It's too hard to do everythingright.
I think, breaking it down, likeI said, instead of having that
pressure on ourselves, like Idon't have an hour so I can't go
to the gym, do what you canwith the time that you have.
The second thing I would say isthat you can't just target the
heart.
All of our organs are sointerconnected that it really
(12:54):
has to be a top to bottom,inside out approach.
So, like I said, simply doingshort breathing exercises or
meditation can reduce yourstress and anxiety, which in
turn affects your blood pressureand heart rate.
Making sure you're sleeping Okay, A lot of people don't relate
sleep to their heart health, butsleep apnea can affect our
(13:16):
overall metabolic wellness, ourblood pressure, our heart rate.
So you know, being open togetting a sleep study if you
snore or making sure you havehigh quality sleep, getting
treated if you have insomnia.
Same thing strength training.
I am a huge believer instrength training because it
improves our metabolic wellnessby improving our insulin
sensitivity.
(13:36):
Unrelated to the heart, but alot of times I have to like
screen patients to get surgeryand hip fractures are huge,
especially in women, andstrength training can help to
stop the process of osteoporosisand even reverse it.
So I think it would just bethinking that it's too hard or
that I don't have the time,because definitely something is
(13:58):
always better than nothing.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Okay, okay.
So me being a pharmacist, Iknow I did a lot of questions
from my patients about certainsupplements that they can take,
and we also get a lot ofpatients who get prescribed like
omega three fatty fish oil.
So what are your thoughts onfish oil for heart health or any
other supplements that youwould recommend?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
recommend Fish oil is not a huge part of my practice.
Supplements in general I try tobe very cautious with because
they don't have the same FDAapproval or FDA regulations that
prescription medications haveand they often haven't gone
through the same rigoroustesting and trials to know for
benefits.
Common things that I do likepatients to use, that I use
myself my mesium glycinate Ireally like.
I like more lifestyle-intunedbehavior.
(14:51):
So like, if you have high bloodpressure, watching your sodium,
because just reducing sodiumintake can hugely affect our
blood pressure.
So part of that is justtracking your blood pressure and
like, oh, if I had soup one dayor I went out for margaritas or
Chinese food that my bloodpressure went up.
I'm not saying never do that.
Definitely still enjoy yourlife, but don't have burgers,
(15:14):
fries, margaritas, mexican, likedon't do that all in the same
day.
Pick one meal and the rest ofthe meals, like still cut oats,
egg whites, grilled chicken tobalance out that sodium intake.
Because the Mediterranean dietand the dash diet have
definitely been proven to helpimprove our longevity and risk
of death or reduce our risk ofdeath from cardiovascular
(15:36):
disease.
So supplements I always suggestfirst again talk to your doctor
, make sure that you're takingwhat is medically indicated,
prescription wise first and theninclude your pharmacist to run
an interaction checker with thesupplements that we want to take
to make sure that we'reactually getting those benefits
and not hurting ourselves.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, that's a definite common thing that
patients think that you can justtake a vitamin or supplement.
It can actually be harmful toyou, especially with the
medications that you may alreadybe taking.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Exactly and consistency.
A lot of people cannot beconsistent with their
supplements.
So, yes, there are supplementsthat can lower blood pressure,
but if we're not taking thosesupplements or using those foods
like hibiscus, tea or beetsregularly, then we're not going
to get that consistent flatlinebenefit.
We're just going to be goinglike this and we don't want our
(16:28):
blood pressure to be doing that.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Yeah Well, I definitely learned a lot.
Thank you so much, Dr Paruthi.
I definitely think it's aboutmaking those small steps to
achieve big goals, so we'redefinitely going to get into
discussing that in a little bit.
Your insight was very, veryhelpful.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
We appreciate it.
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Stepping into it.
Dr Aranzai, I would love toknow what are some ways you try
to balance fitness with a busylifestyle.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Fitness with a busy lifestyle.
Yeah, that's definitelysomething that I've struggled
with, especially after becominga mom.
So you know, we work all day,like even without having any
kids.
Taking care of yourself is alot of work as a working woman,
a working person in general.
(17:19):
But yeah, balancing it all, whatI found that has worked for me
is trying to habit stack, liketrying to like, if, say, I want
to get more time with my familyand friends or with my kids, hey
, let's go to the park and gowalk around or let's do an
activity thing where we're kindof moving around.
(17:40):
I found that that has kind ofhelped me to stay fit and I'm
still getting some time withsome friends and kids and my
spouse.
So habit stacking has been theonly way I've been able to try
to get it in.
But of course I do, like youknow, working out on my own and
having my me time.
So if I'm able to at least getone of those a week, or if it
(18:02):
may be every other week, like Ido need that too.
So I try to plan ahead of timeto really squeeze it in.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
You know, I actually agree with you.
I never knew that term, habitstacking but I, you know, guilty
of doing it as well.
It's actually great with myhusband.
He's always like, oh, let's dodates, let's do dates, and I
kind of was like, okay, movingforward, any dates we're doing
need to involve a physicalactivity, like so, like we'll go
to crossfit together or we'llgo for a walk together, because
(18:32):
I'm trying to get our physicalhealth improved, and so that's
definitely habit stacking is agreat way to do it and also, I
think, another way.
For me what really resonatedwas with Dr Paruthi.
She was talking about how justbreaking it down into smaller
things.
So, you know you're talkingabout how be like just working
(18:56):
full time.
Being a full time working womanis so challenging and also
being a mom is so challengingfor me.
When I started this job, youknow, I was an optometrist.
That's what I've done my wholelife and I'm pretty comfortable
with that.
And I got promoted and I becamea director Right and that was a
whole new world, a whole newworld of things.
(19:16):
So at that time I was like okay,I really don't want to let my
team down, I really want to bethe best I can be.
So I ended up hiring a careercoach.
Oh, wow, yes.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Not many people know that, okay.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
I was like I need some help to figure out how to
navigate this.
And one of the things thatincidentally came up which was
so helpful was work-life balanceRight, because I was working
all the time and then, you know,like Dr Pruthi says, it's like
oh, there's no time, there's notime Like, where is it Right?
And she gave me probably thebest advice I've ever had in my
life, which is make it stupideasy.
(19:52):
Make it stupid easy, yeah, itshould be so easy.
It's stupid not to do it right,like even if it's just go
outside and walk for fiveminutes, yeah, just start there,
because you'll be shocked whereit leads to.
Right, because I thinkespecially it was true for me I
put so much pressure on myselfbecause there was another
version of me in another worldthat you were trying to get to.
(20:12):
That was running 10 miles a daya week and like going across it
twice a day.
It was like insanity and she'slike that's just not gonna work
it's not gonna last long.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You're gonna do that for like two weeks, maybe three,
and then you're gonna be likeokay so, yeah, it's kind of like
that.
I've heard the kiss um, keep itsimple, keep it simple.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Stupid, stupid, simple but there's like an
acronym for that as well wherepeople are like just start with
one step, one foot in front ofthe other first, before you try
to go to the next level and itdoes work because you know
people like right now I have apretty good fitness routine, but
it actually started with mejust forcing myself to walk five
(20:51):
minutes a day, right, and withme working full-time and being
in management and being marriedand all the things that
encompass being a woman it's alot.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
It's a lot for us to look like this and get here, you
know.
So, yes, I definitelyunderstand.
But what about weight lifting,like, do you go to the gym?
What are some?
Things you do in a gym that youenjoy.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
So I've really incorporated weightlifting.
I used to CrossFit back in theday and then I kind of stopped
for a couple of years and then Ijust started again this year.
And the major reason why Ithink a lot of people don't know
is at the age of 30, we startto lose muscle.
Yeah, we're losing three to 8%muscle per decade.
(21:40):
So weight training is essentialbecause this decline in muscle
can lead to weaker bones, lossof metabolism, falls, fractures.
Weight training really helps usmaintain that muscle and build
that muscle that we're losing.
We want to prevent muscle loss,we want to boost our metabolism
(22:00):
, we want our bones to bestronger and I think it's
something that's reallyoverlooked or undervalued.
And you know, when we think ofweightlifting especially with
women, right it's like oh, I'mnot a bodybuilder I'm not that.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
No, I don't want to be bulky you know how much it
takes to get bulky like, and youwould have to, like, eat a
whole bunch of protein.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Seriously, it is very challenging, yeah um so
definitely, weight lifting isessential and I also would say,
just using your body weightright, squatting um push-ups,
pull-ups, stuff like thatresistant bands for beginners is
incredible Body weight issomething that I do a lot now
(22:42):
because for me I don't have alot of room to go to the actual
gym, so at home workouts usingyour body weight, you still get
great results.
So it's all about technique and,yeah, really pushing your
muscle to the fatigue and it'sinteresting you bring up
technique, because form iscritical you have to have good
(23:02):
form, but with today'stechnology like youtube has 100
videos on form you can learnright, you do not need to go to
the gym.
You do do not need a personaltrainer.
You can just pull it up andwatch and learn.
So I think there are a lot oftools out there definitely to
learn that.
And speaking of like with that,I was actually Tabitha.
(23:23):
She works here at St Hope.
Yes, she told me because I waslike I really just don't squat
enough.
She's like every time you go tothe bathroom, do 10 squats.
Imagine doing the bathroom do10 squats imagine doing 10
squats it's actually such a goodidea, but I think I would be so
sore yeah, I haven't tried ityet, yeah, but it's been on my
(23:44):
mind see, that's a good one Idid.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
and it reminds me because when I used to be like
okay, I don't really have toomuch time to work out, and what
dr peruthi was saying earlier,like, like breaking up your
times, like I used to, which Iprobably need to get back to but
in the mornings, before I wouldshower or before I got ready,
the first thing is like okay, 25squats before I even get ready.
And it helps you get it helpsyou wake up, it helps warm your
(24:07):
body up, and then you kind offeel more energized.
So, I'm going to bring thatback.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
You should, you should I more energized.
So I'm gonna bring that back.
You should, you should Isupport you.
What do you feel like is amajor?
Speaker 1 (24:24):
misconception that people do not realize about
fitness and weight loss.
Oh so stress can cause you tonot lose any weight, no matter
how much workout you're doing,no matter how much exercising
you're doing, no matter how muchexercising you're doing, if
you're really stressed, it'sstill.
You can actually still seeyourself gaining weight.
It's so funny.
I had a conversation with afriend before because I was.
There was a point where I waslike, okay, I was challenging
(24:47):
myself.
It was toward the end of lastyear and I was challenging
myself.
I said, okay, I'm gonna wake upat four o'clock in the morning
do my workout.
I was doing it.
I did it for a whole almost sixweeks.
Wow, and I would work out.
You know I was really pushingmyself because I just wanted to.
I don't know, I do things likethat where I push myself and I
want to see some results, andafter the six weeks I was like I
(25:11):
gained weight, and so that'swhen I was reminded.
My friend was like, uh, while Iyeah, if you're putting, you are
at a certain age, some of us,you know, we're older and at a
certain age, stress really cantake um a toll on our bodies and
show more on our bodies, and sothere's different types of
exercises that you know.
(25:32):
Know older ages have to do.
So when you are doing morestressful exercises and maybe
you're already stressed in lifeor you know you're a little
overwhelmed it's not the bestthing to do like high intensity
exercises like every day.
So, yeah, making sure that yourstress is managed, because what
happens when we're reallystressed is our cortisol levels
(25:53):
can shoot up, and so cortisol isit can be really stressful on
your body, and so it kind ofstops a lot of things in your
body from happening that wouldhelp you to lose weight and to
relieve the stress.
So, yes, relieving the stress isfirst step things first.
So do exercises that do relievestress.
So going on a walk, it justbecause it's more high, intense,
(26:17):
doesn't equal that you getbetter results.
What a walk can give you areally good results on your
fitness.
So, yeah, don't stressyourselves out.
Start off small and then we canincrease it and if you are
stressed at the moment, reduceyour stress.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I can definitely resonate with that.
It's something I've beenthinking about the last few
months and I decided because I'mon a huge fitness journey as
well that I was going to investin much as recovery as I do in
working out.
Okay, and I started researchinga ton.
I was like let me see how theseprofessional athletes recover.
(26:56):
Yeah, let me like investigatehere.
So we're talking aboutcryotherapy.
We're talking about yeah, theywere talking about cold pledges.
We're talking about the sauna,right?
yeah so I started actuallyincorporating that into my
weekly routine.
Today is Friday.
Today is my sauna day which Ican't wait to go to afterwards
(27:18):
and it was shocking.
Like you're right, if you'regoing to sit there and do all
this fitness stuff, which isabsolutely amazing, incredible
don't forget a key component,which is recovery and stress
relief.
And if that's walking orcryotherapy, sauna, cold plunges
, all of that you know youreally you got to self-care.
You know, like Dr Pruthi wassaying you got to fill your cup
(27:41):
before you can fill others'.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
She said it starts here and here, so, and it's true
, it's really true.
So, yes, that was my thing.
I learned my lesson.
So, I don't stress myself toomuch and even if you don't have
time to work out, if you have afive-minute stretch, a stretch
will relieve so much tension onyour body and it also helps to
relieve some stress as well.
(28:03):
So, yes, I know, with all theworkouts that we do and
exercising, do you do proteinsupplements or how do you watch
your protein?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Okay, need a significant amount of protein
just for day to day.
I think that you know what drpruthi also.
She's talking about, how sheprefer, prefers natural sources.
I'm along a similar mindsetbecause I follow the paleo
mindset paleo and keto.
So it's more caveman cave likediet and lifestyle.
(28:36):
So we try to get our resourcesand our nutrients from food.
So I would say 90 my my proteincomes from food right but it is
hard right, I did not realizehow much protein we actually
needed right so, for if yourgoal is to gain muscle, you're
(28:58):
supposed to be having about 0.75grams per pound of your weight.
Right, if your goal is to loseweight.
It's actually supposed to behigher.
You need more protein to loseweight, and that's around one
gram per pound of your goalweight, and that's a minimum,
(29:19):
that's.
If you want to go a little bithigher than that, that's great,
right, and so say your goalweight is 150 pounds.
You need 150 grams of protein.
Yeah, and just to give a littleperspective.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
I'm like, I'm thinking of my meals, like how
do you cut that up?
Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Let's say, one egg is six grams.
Okay, okay, that's not, that'snot a lot.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Four ounces of chicken, 25 grams.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Okay, chicken breast.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Roughly right, so you would have to have chicken A
lot.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
And that's why I don't eat that much meat.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
It's too much for me I know, it's six pieces of
chicken breast.
It's 25 eggs, that's a lot ofprotein.
I feel so overwhelmed by itsome days.
I do.
You know.
They say breakfast is the mostimportant meal, so I try to
really eat protein-heavy meals,with vegetables of course.
(30:13):
Don't just eat your meat onlyRight, we need veggies, but I
bring it up because it's justsomething important to know and
to really look at.
If you just look at how muchprotein you're eating, it wasn't
until I looked at it I was likeat I think I'm eating, like I
was probably eating 40 percentright of what I was supposed to
be, and that's what so now?
Speaker 1 (30:33):
because, yeah, protein I okay.
I can't eat that much, so I'llhave to supplement with a shake.
Do you do shakes?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
I do one shake a day Okay.
So, that's where I was like 90%is natural food, but I have to
have a shake because there's noway.
I'm hitting that goal.
I'm going to be able to eat allthat.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
That's not point too, that you have to have high
protein.
And so sometimes I'll look atmy plate and I'm like, okay,
because I don't know where I gotthis from, but I remember, um,
seeing it somewhere where youknow, if you look at the palm of
your hand, your hand, here youshould have.
Your plate should be mainlyprotein, and then, um, you want
some healthy fats and then asmall amount of carbs.
So I don't know if that's true,but I try to like you know, get
(31:18):
the my main thing to be protein, Definitely.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
But you know, but still, even then that's a lot.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Right, and you know, I come from a Nigerian
background.
We love our rice, we love ourcarbs.
Yes, and so it's just like yes,I have to literally retrain my
mind to be like no, we need moremeat yes, I think if I start
earlier in the day, like I said,with breakfast, it helps me get
there yeah but, oh my gosh, yes, I'm still working on it, but
(31:45):
for all our viewers, right?
Speaker 3 (31:48):
no, you can do it, you can do it look at your
protein.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
You can do it.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
You can do it, you can do it.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Look at your protein.
You can do it.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Alrighty.
So I know, with fitness andeverything, people still like to
have fun.
So how do you handle alcoholwhen you're on your fitness
journey?
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Yeah, so recently I've done a 75 hard challenge.
Okay, today is day 75.
Oh my goodness, congrats, thankyou, it was two workouts a day.
A gallon water.
Progress picture.
Read 10 pages and no alcohol.
Okay, I will actually say theno alcohol was my favorite part.
(32:24):
Okay, one of the most likelearning experiences.
Um, with alcohol, you know,previously the dietary
recommendations were like okay,as a man you can have about two
drinks a day and as a female,maybe one.
But recent studies have reallychanged that.
It's actually showing that anyeven like a mild to moderate
amount of alcohol can beextremely detrimental.
(32:47):
The US Surgeon General inJanuary actually announced that
there's a significant linkagebetween alcohol and cancer.
Yeah, right now there's aboutseven types of cancers related
to alcohol and there is anincreasing amount of deaths as
well related to alcohol use.
Dementia and brain health ishighly associated with it.
(33:09):
And then we also have brainshrinkage.
You're seeing brain atrophy,especially in regions like the
hippocampus, which is crucialfor memory and learning, and
you're also seeing that alcoholconsumption can impair muscle
recovery.
So in a lot of ways it'sdetrimental.
Yes, and there's a sobermovement.
Right, there's a change inperspective where previously
(33:33):
it's like, oh, it's okay if youhave one or two drinks, and I
think socially it's a big thingand it's also was like the cool
thing to do, right, to have adrink, but with younger
generations being more healthfocused and the research that's
coming out, I think we have ahuge sober movement and in like
the last 75 days, I think whatwas the most interesting
(33:54):
component for me.
We're very fortunate.
We live in the fifth largestcity in the United States let's
go Houston so a lot ofrestaurants have mocktail menus.
And there was a time beforewhere I was like, why the heck
would I ever get a mocktail Like, please just get a cocktail.
No, but because of this I hadto explore this new menu.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
And they are amazing.
They are so delicious and theyfeel great the next day and
overall I think it's so funnybecause when that came out.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
I had a lot of friends talk texting me about it
and I'm like that's, it's not anew thing that alcohol was
linked to cancer or it can causecancer, which is why they kind
of told you to limit it.
But I think they went more intodetail with that study that yes
(34:48):
, it can slow down your brainfunction and all of that thing.
So, yeah, yeah, I personallyhave never been like a big
drinker or like I don't reallydrink much, but I would go out
for social drinks.
It was the only times I woulddrink out.
But when I became pregnant withmy first child and you know you
can't drink.
The mocktails are delicious.
(35:11):
I'm like okay, I'm not missingout on anything so that's really
what surprised me the most.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Um, and of course, like I'm not saying that I'm
never gonna drink again or Idon't love a cocktail- right but
I just think it's.
It's just a shift in perspectiveand there is a huge sober
movement and there's a lot ofroom to explore, right.
So if you are out at arestaurant, maybe try a mocktail
, because you will be surprised.
Yes, actually, last night Iwent out with my husband and I
(35:38):
got the best drink ever it was.
It was a muddled strawberrieswith sparkling coconut water and
a little bit of almond flavorin it.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
It was so good.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Yes, that almond was a nice little twist.
Okay, talking about healthyeating and drinking, why don't
you tell me more aboutsupplements, versus like someone
improving their diet?
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Yes.
So I guess supplements,supplements and vitamins
whichever one or supplements ingeneral.
I think, before anyone I alwaystell my patients, like before
you want to start a supplementor you know, just take one
without you know changing yourdiet I'm diet first as well.
Like how Dr Paruthi said, Iwould rather change my diet and
(36:27):
increase the nutrients in mydiet.
But if you are someone whofeels like you're not feeling so
great or you're just startingout your fitness, your fitness
challenge with yourself, thenscheduling an appointment,
getting your blood work done,and scheduling an appointment
with a doctor to get your bloodwork done, to just see where you
(36:47):
are, is something I alwaysrecommend, because otherwise
you're kind of just guessingaround.
You know taking this and thatand you're not really sure what
it is that you need.
So that's something that we dohere at St Hope.
You can schedule with one ofour physicians and you can get
your annual physical.
So if you do have insurance,that is something that your
(37:08):
insurance does cover foreveryone anyone who has
insurance and if you don't haveinsurance, we do have great
prices for that.
So get your blood work done andthey'll be able to run.
Your labs is what they calllabs and it's called an annual
physical with routine labs.
So they're gonna do yourroutine labs and you'll be able
to see what exactly is going onin your body and from there,
(37:30):
your doctor or your providerwill be able to guide you on
things that you may need tosupplement.
As you change your diet andmake changes to your diet, you
can start off supplementing andas your diet does change, you
may find that you may not needthose supplements anymore.
So, yeah, that's one thing Ialways recommend Make sure you
(37:51):
get your blood work done andyou'll know for sure and not
just be guessing around and it'sso great that we offer that.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
You know, I was talking with provider vasquez
and he was talking about how heruns blood reports and blood
labs, like you were saying andthey also do ekgs here for the
heart.
I didn't know that I was like,oh okay, right, so we do provide
it all.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I think it's absolutely come in, take, take
care of your health, get yourroutine work done, your routine
annual or something yeah get itdone and you'll be able to feel
at ease and not feel that, okay,where do I start?
It's a great way to start, so,yes, okay.
So that brings us to the end ofour episode.
(38:31):
Thank you everyone for watching.
I hope you enjoyed and if youever need to schedule an
appointment, see a doctor, finda doctor, you can always
schedule one with St Hope.
You can follow us on all of oursocial media platforms and
we'll be there waiting for you.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Have a good one and please make sure you check out
our website offeringhopeorg.
Thank you for joining and staytuned for our next episode.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Bye.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
You've been watching and listening to the Care
Collective, a production of StHope Healthcare.
Join us monthly for newepisodes as we explore the
latest thoughts and ideas onliving your best life.
Hi, welcome to the Care Collective, a podcast
brought to you by St HopeHealthcare.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I'm Dr Uwaila Aranse and I'm Dr Siddhi Chandra.
The Care Collective is apodcast dedicated to empowering
and connecting individuals whoare passionate about creating
positive change.
Our mission is to sharevaluable insights and knowledge,
foster a supportive andinclusive community and provide
engaging and entertaining.
Foster a supportive andinclusive community and provide
engaging and entertainingcontent that inspires growth and
(00:29):
connection.
Together, we aim to make caringcontagious and amplify the
power of collective action.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Hi everyone.
Welcome to the Care CollectivePodcast, where we're all about
nurturing connections,empowering energy and embracing
femininity.
I'm your host, uwaila Aronsaye,and.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I'm your co-host, Dr Sidney Chandra.
Today's episode is Vital Vibes,talking about fitness and
health.
To start off this episode, wehave a Zoom call with Dr
Christina Paruthi.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Speaking of health and fitness, it'll be great to
hear from our health and fitnessexpert.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Absolutely.
Today we have a pleasure ofwelcoming an incredible
physician who is making aprofound impact in the field of
cardiology.
Dr Christina Paruthi isdedicated to providing top-tier
cardiologic care, helpingpatients lead healthier and
stronger lives.
A proud Texan, dr Paruthi beganher medical journey at St
(01:29):
George's University School ofMedicine before completing her
internal medicine residency atSt Louis University.
She then returned to Houston tofurther specialize, completing
a fellowship in cardiovasculardisease at University of Texas
Medical Center, followed byadditional year of fellowship in
advanced cardiology, heartfailure and transplant.
She is a board certified incardiovascular disease, advanced
(01:53):
heart failure and transplant,nuclear cardiology and internal
medicine.
With her deep knowledge andpassion for heart health, we are
thrilled to have you on theshow today, so please join me in
welcoming Dr Christina Paruthi.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Hi, thank you both so much for having me.
Wow with that bio.
I'm like I did all that.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Yes, girl.
I know I was reading.
I was like oh my gosh, how manyboard certifications does this
girl have?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Like oh my god, bad memories.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And fun fact, Dr Pruthi and I are in an Indian
dance team called T2.
Oh, I love that.
Yes, so we perform for theIndian holidays, Diwali Holi.
So you have to come watch usperform.
Shout out to our dance team.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Which is a really great segue because dance is
like a huge part of my fitnessroutine.
So I don't know if you've evertracked my journey, but I've
lost like 80 pounds and a huge,a huge part of that was dance.
Like I've always been intodance and when I first started
getting back into classes as anadult, my weight was like
(02:59):
holding me back as well as justlike feeling like I could do
better, I could perform betterif I was more fit.
And then now like it's part ofmy ongoing journey, which is
where I'm at city.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I love that because like combining workouts with
something fun to do, like you'relike literally looking forward
to it every day.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
So a hundred percent, because I have patients all the
time that are like I guess Icould walk, and I'm like, no, no
, no, no, no.
What is fun for you?
Is it pickleball, is it tennis?
Is it walking with your kids?
Is it dance Like it should besomething that's fun and the
fitness part is like the benefit, rather than forcing yourself
(03:38):
to do something you don't wantto do.
Because how often are we goingto do that, especially as adults
, right?
We?
Because how often are we to dothat, especially as adults,
right?
We already do so much stuffthat we don't want to do.
The last thing that we shouldforce ourselves to do is
exercise when that should begood for us.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Right.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And that goes like into kind of what I want to know
more about.
As a cardiologist, how do youfeel like everyday habits, diet,
exercise, stress managementinfluence heart health, our
fitness, overall health and thebig question what is the minimum
amount of physical activity tokeep us healthy?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Definitely Okay.
So I'll answer the second partfirst.
So, per the guidelines theWorld Health Organization and
the American Heart Association,we really want to try to hit 150
minutes of moderate intensityexercise.
So activity is great.
Somebody who's active versussedentary will reduce their risk
of death from heart disease by30%.
(04:32):
So just being active is reallygood.
But I do try to stress topeople unless your heart rate's
getting up, you're huffing andpuffing, you're breaking a sweat
we're not hitting that moderateintensity requirement that we
want to hit.
Or somebody who's doing a highintensity interval training,
like a workout class whereyou're on a treadmill and things
(04:52):
like that, then you only need75 minutes.
So really making sure thatyou're getting your heart rate
up there to the 130s 140s to getthat deep exercise benefit.
And then, of course, the moreactive that you are, the better.
Now the first part of yourquestion.
I feel like I can answer better, just as someone who's been on
(05:13):
a transformation journey asopposed to just being a doctor,
because it's really easy to saylike okay, make sure you follow
a Mediterranean diet, exercise150 minutes a week.
But that's not taking intoaccount like as adults.
I'm assuming we're targetingadults with your podcast.
Children are so different, likeactivity is their main built in,
and for us it's like, okay, Ihave to get my kids to work, I
(05:36):
have to go work myself, I haveto take care of my parents, like
we have.
So many of these have tos, thatthe first thing we put on the
back burner is our own health.
And so what I try to implementin my own life and then share
with my friends, family and mypatients, who I consider the
same for myself, is that it allstarts up here and in here.
(05:57):
So, like our mental well beingis the place to start.
So oftentimes we think, well, Idon't have time for myself,
I'll do it later, I'll do itlater, and then, when you wait
till later, unfortunately youcould have had a stroke, have
heart disease.
It becomes too late Exactly, andthat time that you thought you
were going to live, that timethat you thought that you were
(06:17):
going to have, it's gone.
I saw that happen in my dad.
My dad worked so hard his wholelife and then, when he was
ready to slow down and retire,he had had multiple strokes, he
was losing his mobility.
And you know, I try to pointout to patients like, if you die
, that sucks and that's hard,but almost what's worse is being
(06:38):
disabled and losing yourindependence and losing your
ability to care for others.
So, as much as we've beencultured to believe that taking
time for yourself is selfish,it's not.
If you don't start with takingyour time time for yourself to
like make sure you're sleeping,make sure you're eating well,
make sure you're happyinternally, you can't give to
(06:59):
all those people around youYou're pouring from an empty cup
.
So the first place I think thatwe start with is just realizing
it's okay to take time formyself and taking off that time
burden.
I told you 150 minutes per week.
You know what?
If you did five minutes ofalternating jumping jacks 30
seconds on, 30 seconds offbefore you got in the shower
(07:20):
today, that's a win, Because ifwe did that every day.
That's 35 minutes for the weekand that's almost more of the
high intensity versus moderateintensity.
You're halfway towards yourgoal.
You didn't even really have todo anything but five minutes a
day.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
So breaking it up?
No, I was just saying sobreaking it up, and, you know,
try to make it achievable bybreaking it up into smaller
timeframes.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, exactly.
And then the second thing Iwould say is like consistency.
So for myself too, if I takemore than two days off, that's
turning into two weeks off.
Or like people I'm seeing todaywill be like you know, the
holidays they derail me, and I'mlike guys, it's March, we're a
quarter of the way through theyear.
So, consistently like makingexercise and fitness a part of
(08:07):
your life, that every day I'meither driving to the gym find a
gym that's on your way home orI'm heading to the park with my
family and try to like have thatconsistency, that for 30
minutes a day I am active,combining that with like even
meditation.
So like maybe you don't listento music when you walk, you just
enjoy the sights around you,become more present, have do
(08:31):
deep breathing exercises.
All of that plays a role intohealth and fitness and it helps
bring us from like operating ata level of this.
And just like there's no timethere's never any time to like
okay, deep breath.
What can I do?
Like in the next, in the fiveminutes I have today 10 minutes
I have can I be active, can Imake a better choice for what
(08:52):
I'm going to eat?
Can I even do some deepbreathing exercises so I have
more time for my space and myfor my family, more space for
them.
That all contributes to ouroverall health and wellness.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
What are some tests that you would recommend to a
patient that's wanting to makesure their heart is healthy?
Any things that they shouldactually be asking their doctor
for?
Any tests that they should bechecking for?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
So routinely.
Adults over the age of 20should get their cholesterol
checked as a baseline and then,depending on if it's abnormal,
more frequently or if it'snormal, every at least four to
six years.
Same thing with blood pressurescreening.
They should start that oncethey hit adulthood and then
hopefully it's getting checkedmore than every three to five
(09:37):
years.
If it's normal, I would say atleast annually.
For people who have high bloodpressure, this is not an
official recommendation.
But if you have high bloodpressure, this is not an
official recommendation.
But if you have high bloodpressure and are treating that
or are borderline, checking it acouple of times a week in the
morning or the evening, so thatway you can kind of see what the
trajectory is.
The guidelines have changed.
(09:58):
So before we used to considerhypertension to be 140 over 90.
The goal and normal foreveryone is 120 over 80, but
already moving into the 130s isconsidered stage one
hypertension.
This is really important forpeople to understand because we
don't see the long-term effectson our blood vessels immediately
(10:19):
.
When our blood pressure issitting elevated at 135, 140,
150, it's slowly damaging ourheart vessels which lead to
thickening and calcification ofthose vessels.
That a process that starts nowin our 30s or 40s can be leading
to a stroke in our 60s or 70s.
There's not great screeningrecommendations for
(10:42):
cardiovascular health.
Previously we used a riskcalculator that would help us to
know okay, how often, when doyou need to start an aspirin,
cholesterol pill, get testing,and testing was mostly done for
symptoms of chest pain,shortness of breath.
But new studies have shown andit hasn't met the guidelines yet
(11:03):
that coronary imaging ispicking up over two to one times
, and even more than that, ofwhat we would see with the risk
score.
So I do make my patients awareof newer testing that's
available, like a calcium score,which is a CAT scan to look at
the heart arteries.
Score doesn't involve any typeof injection or IV and so it can
(11:29):
miss soft plaque as well as anytype of anomaly in the artery.
So for people that are more highrisk than just routine
screening with no risk factors,we can also do a CAT scan with
the injection of contrast, and Isee a lot more cardiologists
offering that to their patients,because the gold standard for
knowing what's happening in yourblood vessels is to take a
direct look at them.
So obviously these types oftests are a conversation with
(11:51):
your doctor, because anytimethat we are injecting contrast,
if you have allergies orsensitivity, we don't want to
just generalize and put everyoneat risk.
But it's a great place to startwith talking to your doctor.
Hey, I have these risk factorsI used to smoke or I have high
cholesterol, diabetes, a verystrong family history.
That way the best decision canbe made for the patient with
(12:14):
their doctor.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Okay, Good to know.
Good to know so muchinformation I need to go get my
heart checked.
Right, Because I'm like okay, Idon't know.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I need to.
Yes, if you could bust onemajor misconception about heart
health, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I think it's that it's too hard.
It's too hard to do everythingright.
I think, breaking it down, likeI said, instead of having that
pressure on ourselves, like Idon't have an hour so I can't go
to the gym, do what you canwith the time that you have.
The second thing I would say isthat you can't just target the
heart.
All of our organs are sointerconnected that it really
(12:54):
has to be a top to bottom,inside out approach.
So, like I said, simply doingshort breathing exercises or
meditation can reduce yourstress and anxiety, which in
turn affects your blood pressureand heart rate.
Making sure you're sleeping Okay, A lot of people don't relate
sleep to their heart health, butsleep apnea can affect our
(13:16):
overall metabolic wellness, ourblood pressure, our heart rate.
So you know, being open togetting a sleep study if you
snore or making sure you havehigh quality sleep, getting
treated if you have insomnia.
Same thing strength training.
I am a huge believer instrength training because it
improves our metabolic wellnessby improving our insulin
sensitivity.
(13:36):
Unrelated to the heart, but alot of times I have to like
screen patients to get surgeryand hip fractures are huge,
especially in women, andstrength training can help to
stop the process of osteoporosisand even reverse it.
So I think it would just bethinking that it's too hard or
that I don't have the time,because definitely something is
(13:58):
always better than nothing.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Okay, okay.
So me being a pharmacist, Iknow I did a lot of questions
from my patients about certainsupplements that they can take,
and we also get a lot ofpatients who get prescribed like
omega three fatty fish oil.
So what are your thoughts onfish oil for heart health or any
other supplements that youwould recommend?
Speaker 3 (14:28):
recommend Fish oil is not a huge part of my practice.
Supplements in general I try tobe very cautious with because
they don't have the same FDAapproval or FDA regulations that
prescription medications haveand they often haven't gone
through the same rigoroustesting and trials to know for
benefits.
Common things that I do likepatients to use, that I use
myself my mesium glycinate Ireally like.
I like more lifestyle-intunedbehavior.
(14:51):
So like, if you have high bloodpressure, watching your sodium,
because just reducing sodiumintake can hugely affect our
blood pressure.
So part of that is justtracking your blood pressure and
like, oh, if I had soup one dayor I went out for margaritas or
Chinese food that my bloodpressure went up.
I'm not saying never do that.
Definitely still enjoy yourlife, but don't have burgers,
(15:14):
fries, margaritas, mexican, likedon't do that all in the same
day.
Pick one meal and the rest ofthe meals, like still cut oats,
egg whites, grilled chicken tobalance out that sodium intake.
Because the Mediterranean dietand the dash diet have
definitely been proven to helpimprove our longevity and risk
of death or reduce our risk ofdeath from cardiovascular
(15:36):
disease.
So supplements I always suggestfirst again talk to your doctor
, make sure that you're takingwhat is medically indicated,
prescription wise first and theninclude your pharmacist to run
an interaction checker with thesupplements that we want to take
to make sure that we'reactually getting those benefits
and not hurting ourselves.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, that's a definite common thing that
patients think that you can justtake a vitamin or supplement.
It can actually be harmful toyou, especially with the
medications that you may alreadybe taking.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Exactly and consistency.
A lot of people cannot beconsistent with their
supplements.
So, yes, there are supplementsthat can lower blood pressure,
but if we're not taking thosesupplements or using those foods
like hibiscus, tea or beetsregularly, then we're not going
to get that consistent flatlinebenefit.
We're just going to be goinglike this and we don't want our
(16:28):
blood pressure to be doing that.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Yeah Well, I definitely learned a lot.
Thank you so much, Dr Paruthi.
I definitely think it's aboutmaking those small steps to
achieve big goals, so we'redefinitely going to get into
discussing that in a little bit.
Your insight was very, veryhelpful.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
We appreciate it.
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Stepping into it.
Dr Aranzai, I would love toknow what are some ways you try
to balance fitness with a busylifestyle.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Fitness with a busy lifestyle.
Yeah, that's definitelysomething that I've struggled
with, especially after becominga mom.
So you know, we work all day,like even without having any
kids.
Taking care of yourself is alot of work as a working woman,
a working person in general.
(17:19):
But yeah, balancing it all, whatI found that has worked for me
is trying to habit stack, liketrying to like, if, say, I want
to get more time with my familyand friends or with my kids, hey
, let's go to the park and gowalk around or let's do an
activity thing where we're kindof moving around.
(17:40):
I found that that has kind ofhelped me to stay fit and I'm
still getting some time withsome friends and kids and my
spouse.
So habit stacking has been theonly way I've been able to try
to get it in.
But of course I do, like youknow, working out on my own and
having my me time.
So if I'm able to at least getone of those a week, or if it
(18:02):
may be every other week, like Ido need that too.
So I try to plan ahead of timeto really squeeze it in.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
You know, I actually agree with you.
I never knew that term, habitstacking but I, you know, guilty
of doing it as well.
It's actually great with myhusband.
He's always like, oh, let's dodates, let's do dates, and I
kind of was like, okay, movingforward, any dates we're doing
need to involve a physicalactivity, like so, like we'll go
to crossfit together or we'llgo for a walk together, because
(18:32):
I'm trying to get our physicalhealth improved, and so that's
definitely habit stacking is agreat way to do it and also, I
think, another way.
For me what really resonatedwas with Dr Paruthi.
She was talking about how justbreaking it down into smaller
things.
So, you know you're talkingabout how be like just working
(18:56):
full time.
Being a full time working womanis so challenging and also
being a mom is so challengingfor me.
When I started this job, youknow, I was an optometrist.
That's what I've done my wholelife and I'm pretty comfortable
with that.
And I got promoted and I becamea director Right and that was a
whole new world, a whole newworld of things.
(19:16):
So at that time I was like okay,I really don't want to let my
team down, I really want to bethe best I can be.
So I ended up hiring a careercoach.
Oh, wow, yes.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Not many people know that, okay.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
I was like I need some help to figure out how to
navigate this.
And one of the things thatincidentally came up which was
so helpful was work-life balanceRight, because I was working
all the time and then, you know,like Dr Pruthi says, it's like
oh, there's no time, there's notime Like, where is it Right?
And she gave me probably thebest advice I've ever had in my
life, which is make it stupideasy.
(19:52):
Make it stupid easy, yeah, itshould be so easy.
It's stupid not to do it right,like even if it's just go
outside and walk for fiveminutes, yeah, just start there,
because you'll be shocked whereit leads to.
Right, because I thinkespecially it was true for me I
put so much pressure on myselfbecause there was another
version of me in another worldthat you were trying to get to.
(20:12):
That was running 10 miles a daya week and like going across it
twice a day.
It was like insanity and she'slike that's just not gonna work
it's not gonna last long.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You're gonna do that for like two weeks, maybe three,
and then you're gonna be likeokay so, yeah, it's kind of like
that.
I've heard the kiss um, keep itsimple, keep it simple.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Stupid, stupid, simple but there's like an
acronym for that as well wherepeople are like just start with
one step, one foot in front ofthe other first, before you try
to go to the next level and itdoes work because you know
people like right now I have apretty good fitness routine, but
it actually started with mejust forcing myself to walk five
(20:51):
minutes a day, right, and withme working full-time and being
in management and being marriedand all the things that
encompass being a woman it's alot.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
It's a lot for us to look like this and get here, you
know.
So, yes, I definitelyunderstand.
But what about weight lifting,like, do you go to the gym?
What are some?
Things you do in a gym that youenjoy.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
So I've really incorporated weightlifting.
I used to CrossFit back in theday and then I kind of stopped
for a couple of years and then Ijust started again this year.
And the major reason why Ithink a lot of people don't know
is at the age of 30, we startto lose muscle.
Yeah, we're losing three to 8%muscle per decade.
(21:40):
So weight training is essentialbecause this decline in muscle
can lead to weaker bones, lossof metabolism, falls, fractures.
Weight training really helps usmaintain that muscle and build
that muscle that we're losing.
We want to prevent muscle loss,we want to boost our metabolism
(22:00):
, we want our bones to bestronger and I think it's
something that's reallyoverlooked or undervalued.
And you know, when we think ofweightlifting especially with
women, right it's like oh, I'mnot a bodybuilder I'm not that.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
No, I don't want to be bulky you know how much it
takes to get bulky like, and youwould have to, like, eat a
whole bunch of protein.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Seriously, it is very challenging, yeah um so
definitely, weight lifting isessential and I also would say,
just using your body weightright, squatting um push-ups,
pull-ups, stuff like thatresistant bands for beginners is
incredible Body weight issomething that I do a lot now
(22:42):
because for me I don't have alot of room to go to the actual
gym, so at home workouts usingyour body weight, you still get
great results.
So it's all about technique and,yeah, really pushing your
muscle to the fatigue and it'sinteresting you bring up
technique, because form iscritical you have to have good
(23:02):
form, but with today'stechnology like youtube has 100
videos on form you can learnright, you do not need to go to
the gym.
You do do not need a personaltrainer.
You can just pull it up andwatch and learn.
So I think there are a lot oftools out there definitely to
learn that.
And speaking of like with that,I was actually Tabitha.
(23:23):
She works here at St Hope.
Yes, she told me because I waslike I really just don't squat
enough.
She's like every time you go tothe bathroom, do 10 squats.
Imagine doing the bathroom do10 squats imagine doing 10
squats it's actually such a goodidea, but I think I would be so
sore yeah, I haven't tried ityet, yeah, but it's been on my
(23:44):
mind see, that's a good one Idid.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
and it reminds me because when I used to be like
okay, I don't really have toomuch time to work out, and what
dr peruthi was saying earlier,like, like breaking up your
times, like I used to, which Iprobably need to get back to but
in the mornings, before I wouldshower or before I got ready,
the first thing is like okay, 25squats before I even get ready.
And it helps you get it helpsyou wake up, it helps warm your
(24:07):
body up, and then you kind offeel more energized.
So, I'm going to bring thatback.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
You should, you should I more energized.
So I'm gonna bring that back.
You should, you should Isupport you.
What do you feel like is amajor?
Speaker 1 (24:24):
misconception that people do not realize about
fitness and weight loss.
Oh so stress can cause you tonot lose any weight, no matter
how much workout you're doing,no matter how much exercising
you're doing, no matter how muchexercising you're doing, if
you're really stressed, it'sstill.
You can actually still seeyourself gaining weight.
It's so funny.
I had a conversation with afriend before because I was.
There was a point where I waslike, okay, I was challenging
(24:47):
myself.
It was toward the end of lastyear and I was challenging
myself.
I said, okay, I'm gonna wake upat four o'clock in the morning
do my workout.
I was doing it.
I did it for a whole almost sixweeks.
Wow, and I would work out.
You know I was really pushingmyself because I just wanted to.
I don't know, I do things likethat where I push myself and I
want to see some results, andafter the six weeks I was like I
(25:11):
gained weight, and so that'swhen I was reminded.
My friend was like, uh, while Iyeah, if you're putting, you are
at a certain age, some of us,you know, we're older and at a
certain age, stress really cantake um a toll on our bodies and
show more on our bodies, and sothere's different types of
exercises that you know.
(25:32):
Know older ages have to do.
So when you are doing morestressful exercises and maybe
you're already stressed in lifeor you know you're a little
overwhelmed it's not the bestthing to do like high intensity
exercises like every day.
So, yeah, making sure that yourstress is managed, because what
happens when we're reallystressed is our cortisol levels
(25:53):
can shoot up, and so cortisol isit can be really stressful on
your body, and so it kind ofstops a lot of things in your
body from happening that wouldhelp you to lose weight and to
relieve the stress.
So, yes, relieving the stress isfirst step things first.
So do exercises that do relievestress.
So going on a walk, it justbecause it's more high, intense,
(26:17):
doesn't equal that you getbetter results.
What a walk can give you areally good results on your
fitness.
So, yeah, don't stressyourselves out.
Start off small and then we canincrease it and if you are
stressed at the moment, reduceyour stress.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I can definitely resonate with that.
It's something I've beenthinking about the last few
months and I decided because I'mon a huge fitness journey as
well that I was going to investin much as recovery as I do in
working out.
Okay, and I started researchinga ton.
I was like let me see how theseprofessional athletes recover.
(26:56):
Yeah, let me like investigatehere.
So we're talking aboutcryotherapy.
We're talking about yeah, theywere talking about cold pledges.
We're talking about the sauna,right?
yeah so I started actuallyincorporating that into my
weekly routine.
Today is Friday.
Today is my sauna day which Ican't wait to go to afterwards
(27:18):
and it was shocking.
Like you're right, if you'regoing to sit there and do all
this fitness stuff, which isabsolutely amazing, incredible
don't forget a key component,which is recovery and stress
relief.
And if that's walking orcryotherapy, sauna, cold plunges
, all of that you know youreally you got to self-care.
You know, like Dr Pruthi wassaying you got to fill your cup
(27:41):
before you can fill others'.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
She said it starts here and here, so, and it's true
, it's really true.
So, yes, that was my thing.
I learned my lesson.
So, I don't stress myself toomuch and even if you don't have
time to work out, if you have afive-minute stretch, a stretch
will relieve so much tension onyour body and it also helps to
relieve some stress as well.
(28:03):
So, yes, I know, with all theworkouts that we do and
exercising, do you do proteinsupplements or how do you watch
your protein?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Okay, need a significant amount of protein
just for day to day.
I think that you know what drpruthi also.
She's talking about, how sheprefer, prefers natural sources.
I'm along a similar mindsetbecause I follow the paleo
mindset paleo and keto.
So it's more caveman cave likediet and lifestyle.
(28:36):
So we try to get our resourcesand our nutrients from food.
So I would say 90 my my proteincomes from food right but it is
hard right, I did not realizehow much protein we actually
needed right so, for if yourgoal is to gain muscle, you're
(28:58):
supposed to be having about 0.75grams per pound of your weight.
Right, if your goal is to loseweight.
It's actually supposed to behigher.
You need more protein to loseweight, and that's around one
gram per pound of your goalweight, and that's a minimum,
(29:19):
that's.
If you want to go a little bithigher than that, that's great,
right, and so say your goalweight is 150 pounds.
You need 150 grams of protein.
Yeah, and just to give a littleperspective.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
I'm like, I'm thinking of my meals, like how
do you cut that up?
Yeah right.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Let's say, one egg is six grams.
Okay, okay, that's not, that'snot a lot.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Four ounces of chicken, 25 grams.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Okay, chicken breast.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Roughly right, so you would have to have chicken A
lot.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
And that's why I don't eat that much meat.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
It's too much for me I know, it's six pieces of
chicken breast.
It's 25 eggs, that's a lot ofprotein.
I feel so overwhelmed by itsome days.
I do.
You know.
They say breakfast is the mostimportant meal, so I try to
really eat protein-heavy meals,with vegetables of course.
(30:13):
Don't just eat your meat onlyRight, we need veggies, but I
bring it up because it's justsomething important to know and
to really look at.
If you just look at how muchprotein you're eating, it wasn't
until I looked at it I was likeat I think I'm eating, like I
was probably eating 40 percentright of what I was supposed to
be, and that's what so now?
Speaker 1 (30:33):
because, yeah, protein I okay.
I can't eat that much, so I'llhave to supplement with a shake.
Do you do shakes?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
I do one shake a day Okay.
So, that's where I was like 90%is natural food, but I have to
have a shake because there's noway.
I'm hitting that goal.
I'm going to be able to eat allthat.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
That's not point too, that you have to have high
protein.
And so sometimes I'll look atmy plate and I'm like, okay,
because I don't know where I gotthis from, but I remember, um,
seeing it somewhere where youknow, if you look at the palm of
your hand, your hand, here youshould have.
Your plate should be mainlyprotein, and then, um, you want
some healthy fats and then asmall amount of carbs.
So I don't know if that's true,but I try to like you know, get
(31:18):
the my main thing to be protein, Definitely.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
But you know, but still, even then that's a lot.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Right, and you know, I come from a Nigerian
background.
We love our rice, we love ourcarbs.
Yes, and so it's just like yes,I have to literally retrain my
mind to be like no, we need moremeat yes, I think if I start
earlier in the day, like I said,with breakfast, it helps me get
there yeah but, oh my gosh, yes, I'm still working on it, but
(31:45):
for all our viewers, right?
Speaker 3 (31:48):
no, you can do it, you can do it look at your
protein.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
You can do it.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
You can do it, you can do it.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
Look at your protein.
You can do it.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Alrighty.
So I know, with fitness andeverything, people still like to
have fun.
So how do you handle alcoholwhen you're on your fitness
journey?
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Yeah, so recently I've done a 75 hard challenge.
Okay, today is day 75.
Oh my goodness, congrats, thankyou, it was two workouts a day.
A gallon water.
Progress picture.
Read 10 pages and no alcohol.
Okay, I will actually say theno alcohol was my favorite part.
(32:24):
Okay, one of the most likelearning experiences.
Um, with alcohol, you know,previously the dietary
recommendations were like okay,as a man you can have about two
drinks a day and as a female,maybe one.
But recent studies have reallychanged that.
It's actually showing that anyeven like a mild to moderate
amount of alcohol can beextremely detrimental.
(32:47):
The US Surgeon General inJanuary actually announced that
there's a significant linkagebetween alcohol and cancer.
Yeah, right now there's aboutseven types of cancers related
to alcohol and there is anincreasing amount of deaths as
well related to alcohol use.
Dementia and brain health ishighly associated with it.
(33:09):
And then we also have brainshrinkage.
You're seeing brain atrophy,especially in regions like the
hippocampus, which is crucialfor memory and learning, and
you're also seeing that alcoholconsumption can impair muscle
recovery.
So in a lot of ways it'sdetrimental.
Yes, and there's a sobermovement.
Right, there's a change inperspective where previously
(33:33):
it's like, oh, it's okay if youhave one or two drinks, and I
think socially it's a big thingand it's also was like the cool
thing to do, right, to have adrink, but with younger
generations being more healthfocused and the research that's
coming out, I think we have ahuge sober movement and in like
the last 75 days, I think whatwas the most interesting
(33:54):
component for me.
We're very fortunate.
We live in the fifth largestcity in the United States let's
go Houston so a lot ofrestaurants have mocktail menus.
And there was a time beforewhere I was like, why the heck
would I ever get a mocktail Like, please just get a cocktail.
No, but because of this I hadto explore this new menu.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
And they are amazing.
They are so delicious and theyfeel great the next day and
overall I think it's so funnybecause when that came out.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
I had a lot of friends talk texting me about it
and I'm like that's, it's not anew thing that alcohol was
linked to cancer or it can causecancer, which is why they kind
of told you to limit it.
But I think they went more intodetail with that study that yes
(34:48):
, it can slow down your brainfunction and all of that thing.
So, yeah, yeah, I personallyhave never been like a big
drinker or like I don't reallydrink much, but I would go out
for social drinks.
It was the only times I woulddrink out.
But when I became pregnant withmy first child and you know you
can't drink.
The mocktails are delicious.
(35:11):
I'm like okay, I'm not missingout on anything so that's really
what surprised me the most.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Um, and of course, like I'm not saying that I'm
never gonna drink again or Idon't love a cocktail- right but
I just think it's.
It's just a shift in perspectiveand there is a huge sober
movement and there's a lot ofroom to explore, right.
So if you are out at arestaurant, maybe try a mocktail
, because you will be surprised.
Yes, actually, last night Iwent out with my husband and I
(35:38):
got the best drink ever it was.
It was a muddled strawberrieswith sparkling coconut water and
a little bit of almond flavorin it.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
It was so good.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Yes, that almond was a nice little twist.
Okay, talking about healthyeating and drinking, why don't
you tell me more aboutsupplements, versus like someone
improving their diet?
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Yes.
So I guess supplements,supplements and vitamins
whichever one or supplements ingeneral.
I think, before anyone I alwaystell my patients, like before
you want to start a supplementor you know, just take one
without you know changing yourdiet I'm diet first as well.
Like how Dr Paruthi said, Iwould rather change my diet and
(36:27):
increase the nutrients in mydiet.
But if you are someone whofeels like you're not feeling so
great or you're just startingout your fitness, your fitness
challenge with yourself, thenscheduling an appointment,
getting your blood work done,and scheduling an appointment
with a doctor to get your bloodwork done, to just see where you
(36:47):
are, is something I alwaysrecommend, because otherwise
you're kind of just guessingaround.
You know taking this and thatand you're not really sure what
it is that you need.
So that's something that we dohere at St Hope.
You can schedule with one ofour physicians and you can get
your annual physical.
So if you do have insurance,that is something that your
(37:08):
insurance does cover foreveryone anyone who has
insurance and if you don't haveinsurance, we do have great
prices for that.
So get your blood work done andthey'll be able to run.
Your labs is what they calllabs and it's called an annual
physical with routine labs.
So they're gonna do yourroutine labs and you'll be able
to see what exactly is going onin your body and from there,
(37:30):
your doctor or your providerwill be able to guide you on
things that you may need tosupplement.
As you change your diet andmake changes to your diet, you
can start off supplementing andas your diet does change, you
may find that you may not needthose supplements anymore.
So, yeah, that's one thing Ialways recommend Make sure you
(37:51):
get your blood work done andyou'll know for sure and not
just be guessing around and it'sso great that we offer that.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
You know, I was talking with provider vasquez
and he was talking about how heruns blood reports and blood
labs, like you were saying andthey also do ekgs here for the
heart.
I didn't know that I was like,oh okay, right, so we do provide
it all.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I think it's absolutely come in, take, take
care of your health, get yourroutine work done, your routine
annual or something yeah get itdone and you'll be able to feel
at ease and not feel that, okay,where do I start?
It's a great way to start, so,yes, okay.
So that brings us to the end ofour episode.
(38:31):
Thank you everyone for watching.
I hope you enjoyed and if youever need to schedule an
appointment, see a doctor, finda doctor, you can always
schedule one with St Hope.
You can follow us on all of oursocial media platforms and
we'll be there waiting for you.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Have a good one and please make sure you check out
our website offeringhopeorg.
Thank you for joining and staytuned for our next episode.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Bye.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
You've been watching and listening to the Care
Collective, a production of StHope Healthcare.
Join us monthly for newepisodes as we explore the
latest thoughts and ideas onliving your best life.
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