Strategies For Investing in Your Health

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. 

Transcript

Unknown: 0:00

Thank you.

Speaker 00: 0:04

and welcome to the 15 Minutes to Financial Freedom educational podcast series hosted by Arvind Ven. These 15-minute or so podcasts are meant to educate and empower listeners about key financial topics towards the road to financial independence in plain English and without financial jargon. Arvind Venn is an independent financial advisor, founder, and CEO of Capital V Group in Cupertino, California. He is regularly featured in leading national financial publications such as Forbes and many others. And now for our host, Arvind Venn.

Arvind Ven: 0:37

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to this podcast episode. I know it's been a bit of a lag. I took a short break late last year on the podcast side, and then all of a sudden became longer. But without further ado, I'm delighted to have our first guest after a while, Ashish Mathur. He is the co-founder and executive director of of the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital. It's a great pleasure to have him. He's very busy, and I'm glad we are able to grab his time a little bit today. I'm a big believer that health is a major indicator of wealth. So we look for investment performance, our nest egg, our bank balance, but nothing is taken with us. And if we don't have the health to... enjoy that, then a lot becomes futile. So that's something I personally believe in and also lecture to my clients, those who are willing to listen. But that's something just like a portfolio that it needs regular check-in. You don't want to leave your portfolio 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 welcome Ashish Mathur, co-founder and executive director of the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital. Welcome, Ashish. It's great to have you here today.

Ashish Mathur: 2:05

Thank you for having me.

Arvind Ven: 2:07

So you have an exciting, very interesting background. And so you have been a senior executive in the tech industry in your past life. And now here you are setting up this very valuable program that is focusing on health. Please walk us through that. how your path took us to this path where you're on a mission to help all of us with heart health.

Ashish Mathur: 2:34

Arvind, I've spent over two decades in the Silicon Valley's tech world in a variety of software development efforts in several startups until a heart attack changed everything. That experience drove me to create the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Health. a place where we combine science, culture, and lifestyle to prevent disease before it starts. You may call it a Vedic approach to addressing the epidemic of heart disease within the South Asian community.

Arvind Ven: 3:11

That's fascinating. So your own health issue, as in a heart attack when you were a heart-charging chicken fairly young age, that actually was the catalyst into starting and running what you're doing today.

Ashish Mathur: 3:26

Yes, indeed. As a matter of fact, it was the start of my trying to understand this issue while it was staring me in the face. I was a Silicon Valley executive. I was traveling. I was enjoying the corporate life and I was absorbing a lot of stress that I felt was par for the course. And little did I realize what was actually building up inside my body. I had family history that I didn't focus on. I spent time sleeping on planes because it was a jet-set life. I skipped breakfast. I ate unhealthy. And yet I was questioning myself, why did I have a heart attack? It was literally tearing me in the face. But what was more difficult, Arvind, was to actually create the right set of things to help me prevent the second one. I was so afraid. I showed up at the emergency room three times within a month of having my heart attack because I felt I was having another one. And I didn't want to live life like that. So I started studying what would make it work. And all the books that were out there professing the kind of diets that I needed to follow were wrong about me. I was the kind of person that for me, I had to add fat back into my diet. Whereas you commonly hear that you need to reduce your fats, you need to reduce your fats, et cetera. So that made me thinking that if it was so hard for me to come up with the right solution for myself, imagine a community that's so vulnerable to this epidemic. So that's the reason for starting up the South Asian Arts Center, to create that awareness and provide a personalized way to address this issue.

Arvind Ven: 5:31

What a great personal story. You took action, so that's a fascinating change, but also very impressive, given that you used that very frightening episode into something that itself in the community. So the question for you is that I've heard, and as someone of South Asian origin myself, I've heard and I've been reading a lot more about how there's, how our DNA works and how, and overall, heart health overall. But do you see, how prevalent do you see that? Is it really as prevalent as it's made out to be within South Asians and heart health overall?

Ashish Mathur: 6:07

Yes, shockingly so. South Asians have two times the risk for heart disease, and it often develops a decade earlier than the general population. What's worse is that these issues show up even in people who seem to be fit and healthy. It's a silent epidemic. And on top of it, here in the United States, the guidelines underestimate the risk. And these are the guidelines that actually are used worldwide. So all of these things are actually contributing to not diagnosing this early, contributing to it being more severe, contributing for it to be more fatal in individuals as well.

Arvind Ven: 7:00

That's scary, yeah.

Ashish Mathur: 7:04

And then the other thing that is not really addressed is that Diabetes at the 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: 7:21

Say that again one more time. What's the statistics again?

Ashish Mathur: 7:25

It is by the year 2030 that one out of every two people with diabetes in the world will be an Indian. And so that is very scary. And what we have found in our research at the South Asian Heart Center is that while diabetes used to be a risk factor for heart disease, that isn't. As a matter of fact, the root cause of both issues are the same. And in some you develop cardio or heart related issues, in some you might develop diabetes, in some you might develop both. So it's the same kind of root cause, which is our metabolism. And that's what is being studied much more right now to understand how we can change the guidelines. As a matter of fact, one of the guidelines that actually has been changed is the guideline around BMI. That in Indians, the BMI, the normal BMIs are 23 or less compared to the general population where it's 25 or less. So not only do we have a higher issue or incidence of issue, We have more stringent parameters to look at.

Arvind Ven: 8:39

I guess we didn't do very well in the DNA lottery, I guess. But there is recourse. It's a good segue because you already mentioned about the BMI. I read about finance, I read about health, multiple topics. But one thing that stands out in many of these similar topics is that when it comes to BMI, they talk about skinny fat and also how the standards for testing in terms of cholesterol levels and others that have probably stringent standards or limits for people for saltation. So what kind of symptoms or early warnings do you see in these cases?

Ashish Mathur: 9:16

So often the first symptom is a heart attack itself. So before you know it, you might be having a heart attack. And that's the problem with it is that it manifests suddenly and sometimes without recourse. But there could be some warning signs and that can include fatigue, shortness of breath and chest discomfort with exertion. Very often people that I meet at the hospital will tell us that they felt it was some gastrointestinal issue, feeling bloated or having a heartburn, et cetera. If you feel off, don't ignore it. And I would say, this to all young adults. People at the El Camino Health will show up with heart attacks at ages as young as 30, 32, 35, 38. And it's very often the fathers and mothers bringing their children into the hospital with a heart attack, than vice versa. So that's the enormity of the problem. And so if there's one takeaway from this podcast, I would really like people to understand the role of 911. If you are from South Asia, which is from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, and you feel chest discomfort or pain in the back, arms, head, jaw, et cetera, and this is the kind of pain that's not going away, with movement or resting, et cetera, it's time to call 911. Don't drive to the hospital, get 911. And in the worst case or in the best case, nothing happens. You go there and you come back home. But at least if you were having a heart attack, you would have the critical time that it takes to stent it or give you medications to restart the blood flow appropriately. that can mean the difference between life and mortality, a healthy heart or a damaged one.

Arvind Ven: 11:42

That's a powerful message. I hope everybody is listening to that. What brings me to my next question to you is that, is the Silicon Valley lifestyle, is that also exacerbating or adding to this epidemic, if you call it that? Do you see it more pronounced in this area compared to other parts of the US or other parts of the world? What's your take on that from the data that you're seeing?

Ashish Mathur: 12:05

If you are looking at the Silicon Valley lifestyle as a high pressure lifestyle, then anywhere in the world where there's a high pressure lifestyle, you have similar levels of stress. And so there've been studies that have been done throughout the world. And it's now known that both Indians in India and Indians outside of India have this larger incidence of stress. heart attacks and heart disease. The drive to keep up can lead to long hours and therefore maybe poor sleep, skipped or unhealthy meals and unmanaged stress, all of which fuel heart disease. And for South Asians, that risk is amplified by genetics and diet. It's a perfect storm. Surprisingly, Think back on when your doctor actually talked to you about your stress, your levels of stress, and whether you're doing anything to manage stress. Every physician will focus on diet and exercise, diet and exercise. That's the RX or the prescription that you will get when you meet up with the physician. There is no time to really talk about managing stress. And so at the South Asian Heart Center, we have made it a focus to look at these two components of rest that bring about lowering the inflammation, getting your metabolism primed so that it can act normally. And that are the components of rest we call meditation and sleep. And so we have made that emphasis. As a matter of fact, we started that 20 years ago. And the American Heart Association has only included sleep in their seven, which has now become eight, with sleep about three to four years ago.

Arvind Ven: 14:12

Oh, wow. That's telling. The meditative aspect, the sleep part. And you talked about the different markers and talking about the doctor's visit too, how there's a lot of emphasis on the low-fat diet without dieting. focus on the carbohydrates. It's a topic of high interest for me, which is why I'm so delighted to have you join us today. 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 you miss out on the other components of lifestyle that need to be equally well addressed.

Arvind Ven: 14:54

Great point. It's a great takeaway. So what are some of the things that our listeners today, and including me, what can we do? This is some great information in terms of the website, the Heart Health Association website, which I think is a lot of good information. In fact, I participated, I think, thanks to you, I signed up to one of those Zoom calls, a couple of weeks ago. So it's a good wealth of information. But what are some of your suggestions, takeaways from today's podcast that for listeners 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 to prevention and even reversing chronic disease. We focus on lifestyle first because it's the most powerful tool that we have. We have created a platform we call Lifestyle Meds, for meditation, exercise, diet, and sleep. So it's easy to remember. Meditation, exercise, diet, and sleep. And instead of your regular medication, we ask you, have you done your lifestyle meds? These are the four levers that can transform your health. Each one in this platform comes with 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, our mantra is more greens than grains. It's a simple statement, but it's very telling. And if you internalize it, then every meal that you look at, you are looking at a proportion of grains being the larger quantity than the grain. And in typical South Asian diets, you will see that it's the grain that typically takes the largest part. For exercise, the goal is 150 minutes a week of daily, regular, moderate movement. 150 minutes. And what we have done is by simplifying the hard parts of lifestyle-based research into something that you can remember. And our coaching... over the period of a year will help you internalize it to the extent that it becomes very sustainable. We don't believe in restriction. Instead, we focus on what to include. Foods you love in the right balance. Our plate method is easy to follow. Half your plate is non-starchy vegetables. 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 you pick up to put onto your plate. It's about building habits you can stick with, simple, sustainable, and rooted in science. For the past 20 years, we have helped thousands in our programs that combine nutrition, movement, stress reduction, sleep, and coaching. This is lifestyle medicine. And it's like upgrading your body's operating system so you can prevent disease instead of just treating it. So Erwin, the question that I have for you, you summarized, how likely is one of all the meals 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 happy to have you here today, because I think it's something, as we, when I was in the 20s, I don't think I really particularly cared, but as we get older, with each decade, I think it's very important. The diet makes it very important. And based on our backgrounds and ethnicities, the certain foods occupy more pride of place. So I'm focusing more on proteins. I still, like many people in Indian origin, I have a sweet tooth, which I struggle. My wife refuses to let me buy any of the Indian sea corsets. They're loaded with calories and dripping in calories. And so we don't buy them anymore at home. She's much more disciplined than I am, I think. But so we take a lot of care. So in terms of whole grains and try 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 has to become a habit. not a one-off, but it becomes on a daily basis. But I like eggs, so that gets the protein fill. And then I used to worry about getting low-fat cheese and things like that, but after reading and listening to what you're saying is that fat necessarily is not the culprit. It's really being balanced and focusing 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 was the focus on vegetables. So obviously, I did such a great job of explaining the plate. And that is the critical issue that people have, where they are seemingly healthy, and they say that they are doing the right things with their diet. But obviously, the focus is not on the vegetable. but on the two quarters of the plate, which is the protein and the grain. And we are trying to change that. And that's why it's so hard. It's not easy. It's a mindset. And that mindset within the population is difficult to dislodge. If you go and you can check it out, almost every single party that you go to where food is being served, where food is being catered, and you look at the vegetable content of that meal, it'll be deplorable. And it will not even give you the chance of covering half your plate with that. And therein lies the difference. This is curated food. from years and years of science related data. And that's what we are trying to push. And that's why we encourage individuals to not do it alone because very often subtleties are missed. And so you move on thinking that you are doing all the healthy things and yet you are missing out on all the clean nutrients that you get from those vegetables which you don't get from other things that will help you in your journey to heart health and in preventing diabetes.

Arvind Ven: 22:12

I've been converted, Rashi, so I'm making sure that at least half the plate is veggies, at least those that I like. So as we get towards the end of our podcast here, what are some of the things that you would advise us, our listeners? What do you recommend? What do you suggest that people make this habit a good habit in their lives? So is there a website they can look at? Any other takeaways that you recommend 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 baseline numbers. The normal things that get tested for, your cholesterol levels, your blood sugar levels, your blood pressure, your BMI. If you want a deeper understanding of your risk, come to the South Asian Heart Center. We offer a comprehensive ABC risk assessment. The A stands for atherogenic risk. It tells us what's driving plaque buildup in your arteries and also the stability of that plaque. The B stands for behavioral risk or your lifestyle habits and how they affect your health and your risk. and maybe increase your risk. And C is your cardiometabolic risk or the risk for diabetes and insulin resistance. And this is a critical factor in what we call this metabolism. So the ABC risk profile is truly the right way to evaluate your risk, not just the few tests that are done at your annual physical. Once we know your ABC, we build a science-based action plan to address the errant markers to optimal levels by augmenting or strengthening the lifestyle habits by the right amounts at the right time and in the right sequence in a personalized way. For example, with diet, we teach an easy daily goal, which is zero, one, two, and 12. The zero stands for zero sugary drinks. The only thing that we ask you to avoid. One fistful of fruit, which is the fistful, two fistful of vegetables, and 12 nuts. The fistful is handy because you carry it with you everywhere. So you would know, have I consumed two fistful of vegetables today? And then Literally, if you are doing this and looking at it on a daily basis, we are not preventing you to eating the foods that you love. It's that this is the important thing to take care of first. It's simple, memorable, and it works. And then the most important, don't go to it alone. Get support. Know that There are experts out there who can help you. Our health coaches walk with you every single step of the way, taking the guesswork out and creating a sustainable plan 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 is easy to remember. So to summarize, I would say this is more like a, what you're doing is making sure people are aware. You are an expert diagnostic system, but then they are the healthcare provider, the doctor, they look at these together and implement. So what is the synergy between what you're doing When you go further around the physical, everybody's rushed. The doctors are busy. But this is a lot more specific, what you're doing. I think it has great value. How does all this, between the quote-unquote patient, the doctor, and what I call this expert 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 preventing heart attacks. Our focus is on preventing diabetes. That's the only thing that we do. And if you feel that your physician is offering that and you feel comfortable with it and is providing you all the baby steps that you need to help you with your lifestyle, great. Don't leave that physician. We work and collaborate with so many physicians out there who are referring individuals to the South Asian Art Center because they know that we will focus with them on the kinds of things that they cannot focus on in their offices. There is need for medical management and there's need for lifestyle management. And the South Asian Art Center is a nonprofit organization focused on that lifestyle management. You may even think of us as a lifestyle pharmacy for physicians and patients, where we will work with you on the things that are the most difficult to change. And that is lifestyle. Everyone wants to do it, but it is hard.

Arvind Ven: 27:55

Yes, absolutely. I agree a hundred percent. So that's a great way of summarizing what you do. Very valuable thoughts and suggestions for our listeners. But I want to say a big thank you, Ashish, for taking the time to be with us today. It's been a pleasure and also very informative. I'm sure both for my listeners, as for myself personally, I'm sure my, like you said, it's not easy, but having this kind of lifestyle or health coaching has a lot of significant value. So

Ashish Mathur: 28:22

thank you. Thank you for having me. Investing in your health is the smartest long-term strategy because without it, there's no joy in the journey. And that is our hope to the listeners. that if anything, they would start on it today and if they're not already doing it and start with small baby steps that are makeable and doable. We have, if you go to the El Camino Health website, a course and workshop on what we call strategies 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 more detail.

Arvind Ven: 29:06

Anyway, thank you so much, Ashish. It's a pleasure. I also always learn something every 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 next time, thank you so much. So we look forward to seeing you soon and you tuning in at the next podcast. You can also read more about us at www.capitalwegroup.com or call us at 408-725-7122. Or you can like us or read more about us on Twitter and on Facebook.

Speaker 01: 29:42

Arvind Ven is a registered representative with advisory services and securities offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, member FINRA, and SIPC. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. The information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized text We'll see you next time.