The Health Edge 28: Heart Health- How to Prevent a Broken Heart

8 Comments

J & M cartoon

In this episode of The Health Edge, John and Mark examine heart disease risk from the perspective of lifestyle strategies to lower inflammation and oxidative stress. They challenge the conventional wisdom of the diet-fat-cholesterol heart disease hypothesis and the recommendations they have prompted over the last two generations.

Sat fats-trans and heart disease DM

8 thoughts on “The Health Edge 28: Heart Health- How to Prevent a Broken Heart”

  1. Caroline Collard

    Hello to you both,
    I am so grateful for your time and effort in putting these podcasts together – they are so useful! Even though I’ve consulted often with John over the years it’s always helpful to hear information again based on the latest research. This last podcast (no. 28) prompted two questions:
    1) If we cannot buy raw yogurt from 100% grass-fed cows, is it still beneficial to consume yogurt that is at least local, non-homogenized? Or is most of what’s left more detrimental than good?
    2) If someone eats 6-9 oz of liver a week (so twice a week); lamb once a week; 4 eggs five days a week; and 100% grass-fed butter (or ghee) every day as part of two meals, will supplementing with 10,000 IU vitamin A and 5,000 IU D3 every day not be too much? I seem to recall worrisome reports on getting too much supplemental vitamin A.
    So grateful to you both!
    Caroline

    Reply
    • Mark Pettus

      Caroline,
      Thank you for your kind feedback Caroline! Based on what you are getting in your diet (and I applaud your integration of liver!), I do not feel you need additional vitamin A. That said, you will not have any toxicity concerns taking additional 10,000 units/day. Toxicity as reported in the literature (both acute and chronic) has involved over 25,000 units/kg/day which is extraordinarily high. You would fall well below that threshold. So feel free to take additional vitamin A with vitamin D if you wish though it is unlikely you will derive greater benefit. If you’re taking your vitamin D with those foods, you are likely getting good absorption. I really like John’s recommendation for taking vitamin A with D (i take a cod liver oil supplement) for synergy though most people don’t eat organ meats, one of the best sources for vitamin A. While a moving target, I suggest people try to achieve levels of vitamin D between 30-40. I believe we continue to learn that nature’s sources of these micronutrients trumps that which we obtain from supplements. In that “light” vitamin D from sunlight may be more physiologically effective. I hope this helps and thanks so much for listening to The Health Edge! Mark

      Reply
  2. Marianne

    It’s terrific that you’re disseminating this important scientific information. There was a front page story in yesterday’s (Sunday’s) NY Times, “New Drugs Add To a Quandary On Cholesterol” that emphasized the need to lower cholesterol to prevent heart disease but did not touch on this thinking at all, even as a caveat or an aside. I am grateful to have a more nuanced understanding thanks in large part to your podcasts.

    Reply
    • Mark Pettus

      The article could not examine this beyond the diet-heart-drug paradigm. It was unenlightened.
      I responded with an editorial (Mark from Dalton).
      Most of the people I see or who seek me out are having or have had significant statin-related issues without any clear roadmap for how to navigate without them.
      I saw a women two weeks ago who had permanent neuropathy in both legs on the basis of using statins for 15 years with NONE of her docs willing-able to suggest an alternative. It is very unfortunate.

      Reply
  3. Marianne

    I just read your comment at the NYT site (second of 668 comments to this pathetic article). It is great that so many gurus as well as lay people are taking notice and speaking up about this important topic. The widespread urging by doctors of statins on just about everyone is frightening, a national disaster of untold proportions.

    Reply
  5. Www.Hacksgen.Org

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