Cardiovascular Disease, Cholesterol and The Not So Popular Opinion On What To Do About It with Dr. Jack Wolfson

Have you been told your cholesterol is too high? Are you lying awake worrying about heart disease while your doctor pushes statins? What if everything you’ve been taught about protecting your heart is backwards?

I’ve been having this exact conversation with women in our community for years. As someone who lost my father to a heart attack at 64, heart disease isn’t just a clinical topic for me—it’s deeply personal. And the more I’ve learned about conventional approaches to heart health, especially for women in midlife, the more questions I’ve had.

That’s why I sat down with Dr. Jack Wolfson, a board-certified cardiologist who walked away from conventional medicine after watching his own father die at 63 from a Parkinson’s-like illness. Dr. Wolfson isn’t some fringe wellness guru—he spent years as a hospital-based cardiologist, literally touching hearts and working inside arteries. But when a 29-year-old chiropractor (who would become his wife) told him all the reasons his father was sick and dying, everything changed.

What he shared completely challenged my understanding of heart health, cholesterol, and what we really need to be doing to protect ourselves as we age. This conversation matters because heart disease is the number one killer of midlife women, claiming more lives than all cancers combined. Yet the standard approach—quick appointments, statin prescriptions, and fear-based messaging—leaves so many of us confused, scared, and still at risk.

I’m sharing this interview not to tell you what to do, but to give you information that your five-minute doctor’s appointment probably won’t cover. Because we deserve to be our own health detectives, armed with knowledge that empowers us to make the best choices for our unique bodies.

The Diet Debate: Why We’re Still Confused About What to Eat

Dr. Wolfson opened with something that stopped me in my tracks: our ancestors were hunter-gatherers. Period. They weren’t vegan. They weren’t carnivore. They ate meat, seafood, and whatever plants they could find. So why are we still debating this in 2026?

The confusion started in the 1950s when researchers looked at coronary artery plaque under microscopes and saw cholesterol. A researcher named Ansel Keys published data suggesting that dietary fat and cholesterol caused heart disease—data that, Dr. Wolfson notes, had serious problems and may have been influenced by the food industry. After all, if you’re trying to sell oatmeal and breakfast cereals, pushing the story that these products are heart-healthy is extremely lucrative.

This low-fat hypothesis wasn’t universally accepted even then. Many doctors and scientists disagreed. But the pharmaceutical and food industries had found a winning formula: cheap cereals that last forever, trigger feel-good hormones in our brains, and create a market for cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Fast forward 70 years, and we’re still having the same debates while heart disease continues to devastate our communities.

Understanding Cholesterol: The Molecule Your Body Can’t Live Without

Here’s what blew my mind: when Dr. Wolfson says “cholesterol” to most people, it conjures images of heart attacks and clogged arteries. But that’s pure marketing, not science.

Every animal species with a spine has cholesterol. Chicken eggs contain it. Mother’s breast milk contains it. If it’s so dangerous, why is it literally everywhere in nature?

Because cholesterol is essential for life. Here’s what it actually does:

Your body converts cholesterol into vitamin D when sunshine hits your skin. Every single cell membrane in your body is made of cholesterol—it’s literally the fence that keeps things inside that belong and outside that don’t. Your digestive system uses cholesterol in bile to help absorb fats. And here’s the big one for midlife women: cholesterol makes up our hormones—testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and aldosterone.

Think about that. We’re all trying to fix our hormones, yet conventional medicine wants to hammer down our cholesterol as low as possible. A high proportion of our brain is made up of cholesterol. This isn’t a villain to be destroyed—it’s a molecule to be celebrated.

The LDL vs. HDL Myth: It’s Not That Simple

We’ve been taught that LDL is “bad cholesterol” and HDL is “good cholesterol.” But Dr. Wolfson explained that this oversimplification exists primarily to sell pharmaceuticals.

LDL is actually a transport molecule made in the liver. It carries cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), CoQ10, and triglycerides around your body to where they’re needed for energy production. All vertebrate species have LDL. How did it become vilified as “bad”?

The truth is more nuanced. LDL can become damaged or oxidized—that’s problematic. But so can HDL. We can actually measure oxidized LDL and urine lipid peroxides to see what’s really happening. There are large, fluffy LDL particles that are beneficial, and small, dense, oxidized LDL particles that can be concerning.

The key isn’t to destroy all LDL—it’s to understand why some becomes oxidized and address those root causes.

Triglycerides: The Number That Actually Matters

When I mentioned that my father’s triglycerides were over 800 before he died while mine are in the 50s, Dr. Wolfson confirmed what I suspected: triglycerides tell a very different story than total cholesterol.

With triglycerides, lower is definitively better. The relationship is linear—as levels go up, cardiac risk goes up. High triglycerides indicate something metabolically is off, even if your cholesterol looks fine on paper.

Triglycerides aren’t toxic themselves, but they’re a marker showing your body isn’t processing energy efficiently. Low triglycerides suggest metabolic health, regardless of your cholesterol numbers.

The Pharmaceutical Approach: Band-Aids on Broken Systems

Dr. Wolfson used a powerful metaphor: if someone is hitting your foot with a hammer, you don’t need morphine or ibuprofen. You need them to stop hitting your foot.

Yet conventional medicine’s approach to heart disease is exactly like prescribing pain medication while the hammer keeps swinging. High blood pressure? Take this pill. High cholesterol? Take that pill. But nobody asks why your blood pressure is high or why your cholesterol is elevated.

He compared pharmaceuticals to putting a sticker over your car’s check engine light. The light goes off, but the engine is still broken. This Band-Aid approach has led to millions of preventable deaths.

The Statin Story: What You’re Not Being Told

Statin drugs are the number one selling drug class of all time. Dr. Wolfson believes they’ve killed more people than any other medication—not because they’re directly toxic (though side effects exist), but because they create a false sense of security.

The data shows that for primary prevention (people who’ve never had a heart attack), statin drugs buy you approximately three extra days of life. Some studies show more people died in the statin group. The original statin trial (AFCAPS/TexCAPS) had more deaths in the statin group.

Beyond questionable benefits, statins interfere with:

• Cholesterol production (which we’ve established is essential)
• CoQ10 (crucial for cellular energy)
• Dolichol (a brain protein—Dr. Wolfson believes this contributed to his father’s death)
• Heme A (needed for the electron transport chain and mitochondrial energy)

They can also cause liver inflammation. And the biggest-selling statins contain fluorine—something to consider if you’re concerned about fluoride exposure.

What About Zetia and Repatha?

Zetia blocks cholesterol absorption in the gut, but outcomes data only exists when it’s combined with a statin. If you want evidence-based medicine, there’s no proof it works alone.

Repatha and other PCSK9 inhibitors came out around 2017-2018. They drop cholesterol numbers dramatically but were only studied with statins. The Fourier trial actually showed more people died when taking Repatha. A follow-up trial showed tiny mortality benefits, but again, only when combined with statins.

Here’s the concern Dr. Wolfson and I share: Repatha works by shutting off a gene designed to create cholesterol. It stays out of your liver, but what are we creating long-term by blocking something your body is programmed to do? What about brain health and hormone production?

Testing: What Actually Matters?

I asked about coronary artery calcium scans since I’ve recommended them to my community. Dr. Wolfson’s perspective surprised me: he doesn’t like radiation-based tests at all.

He believes we can get all the information we need through comprehensive blood, urine, and stool testing combined with ultrasound (like carotid intima-media thickness or CIMT). These tests are:

• Non-invasive
• No radiation exposure
• Change quickly so you can track progress
• Provide hundreds of different metrics

A calcium score of zero doesn’t mean zero risk—you could have soft plaque. A high score means higher risk, but it’s hard to track over time. The beauty of blood and urine testing is you can implement a plan and recheck in a month or two to see if you’re on track.

The Environmental Factor: Mold, Metals, and Your Heart

This part of our conversation took an unexpected turn. Dr. Wolfson brought up something most cardiologists never discuss: environmental toxins and their impact on heart health.

When I asked how mold could affect familial high cholesterol (since my parents and I all have elevated numbers), his answer completely reframed genetics for me.

He believes our genetics are perfect—built in the image of evolution or God, depending on your beliefs. We can run, jump, see, feel, and make babies. We’re spectacular. So where does “bad genetics” come from?

That’s pharmaceutical company speak designed to make us feel powerless. “It’s just your genetics, there’s nothing you can do about it—except take this pill.”

But environmental toxins—mold, bacteria, plastics, phthalates, parabens, pesticides, VOCs, EMF—damage the gut microbiome. This leads to leaky gut, where things get into the body that don’t belong. Your immune system activates. Inflammation and oxidative stress develop. The blood vessel lining becomes dysfunctional. Plaque forms. Heart attack. Stroke. Death.

Mold mycotoxins specifically:

• Damage the gut microbiome
• Interfere with the LDL receptor (imagine trying to park your car but something’s blocking the spot)
• Cause brain inflammation
• Interfere with hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone)
• Lead to autonomic nervous system disorders

We can test our urine for mold mycotoxins and our homes for water damage, mold, and bacteria. The Hebrew Bible mentioned this 4,000 years ago in Leviticus—if you’re living in mold, fix it or burn the house down. Yet modern medicine has no clue.

The Two Causes of All Disease

Dr. Wolfson shared a profound framework: all disease comes from two things—too much bad stuff and not enough good stuff.

That’s it. That’s the survival strategy. Get more good stuff, less bad stuff. Genetics aren’t part of the equation. Pharmaceuticals fall into the “bad stuff” category.

What Should We Actually Do?

Dr. Wolfson’s approach centers on three pillars: Eat Well, Live Well, Think Well.

Eat Well

• Eat like our ancestors: meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits
• Avoid processed foods, seed oils, and foods our ancestors never ate
• Quality matters—grass-fed, wild-caught, organic when possible

Live Well

• Sleep: Go to bed shortly after sundown like our ancestors
• Sunshine: Your skin is a solar panel built to collect light—get outside daily
• Movement: Stay active like our ancestors, not necessarily gym workouts but building muscle and outdoor activity
• Toxin avoidance: Address mold, reduce plastic use, minimize EMF exposure
• Chiropractic care: Support nervous system function
• Holistic dentistry: Address oral health’s connection to heart health

Think Well

• Find your happiness
• Address stress, worry, fear, depression
• Maintain social connections
• Fix bad relationships or leave them
• Work on mindset daily

All three are equally important. We spend so much time debating food, but lifestyle and mindset matter just as much for heart health.

What About Supplements?

Dr. Wolfson’s approach is food-first. His company sells:

• Unvaccinated, field-harvested, prairie grass-fed bison and elk organs
• Wild salmon roe (freeze-dried in capsules)
• Australian emu oil (containing fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, and K2)
• Quality probiotics

He emphasized that our ancestors prized organs. A lion doesn’t go for the filet—it goes straight for the liver, heart, spleen, and kidneys because those are the most nutrient-dense parts.

For blood pressure, he likes nitric oxide boosters (L-arginine, citrulline, taurine, grape seed extract) and organic beetroot powder.

But he’s not pushing synthetic vitamins. Real food-based supplements provide nutrition in the form our bodies recognize.

The Extreme Experiment: Living Outside for Health

When I met Dr. Wolfson, his family was literally living in tents on someone’s property—13 animals, four kids, and all. They did this to escape mold exposure.

The results? His wife’s vision became perfect without glasses. Everyone’s skin improved. Gut health improved. Energy soared. They felt amazing.

Eventually, the county and neighbors forced them inside, but they moved to a brand-new concrete, steel, and glass building where they’re the first occupants (minimizing mold exposure). They’re planning to move to Costa Rica to live indoor-outdoor.

His point isn’t that everyone needs to tent camp, but it illustrates something crucial: you cannot get healthy in the same environment where you got sick.

This hit home thinking about my father. He had visceral belly fat, sky-high blood pressure, extremely high triglycerides, ate poorly, stayed indoors, lived under constant stress, rarely saw sunshine. Even on blood pressure medication, he died of a heart attack.

Healthy people don’t have heart attacks. If someone has a heart attack, they weren’t healthy—even if they appeared fine on the surface.

Special Considerations for Women

Dr. Wolfson highlighted two cardiac conditions that specifically affect women:

Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (Broken Heart Syndrome): A woman gets in a fight with her boss or spouse, experiences trauma, and has a massive heart attack. But when doctors go in with a catheter, there’s no blockage—it’s a coronary spasm. Sometimes women die from this. It’s stress-induced and preventable only through optimizing health and managing stress.

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD): Much more common in women, sometimes associated with pregnancy. The artery literally splits or dissects, causing a massive heart attack. There’s no pharmaceutical to prevent it—only optimizing overall health.

These conditions underscore why the Think Well pillar is so critical for women’s heart health.

The HRT and GLP-1 Questions

I asked Dr. Wolfson about two hot-button topics for midlife women: hormone replacement therapy and GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic).

On HRT:

His approach is “pharma last.” He’s not anti-HRT but believes we should address root causes first—violations of Eat Well, Live Well, Think Well. If you’re already on HRT and feel great, continue, but work on root causes. If you’re not there yet, address why your hormones are struggling before adding pharmaceuticals.

His mother doesn’t take hormones. His 50-year-old wife still menstruates naturally. He doesn’t see her needing HRT if they continue optimizing lifestyle.

Menopause shouldn’t be a disease. Our ancestral women didn’t have severe menopause symptoms—they became celebrated grandmothers and wise elders. Modern severe menopause is chemical, toxin, and lifestyle-induced.

On GLP-1s:

He’s extremely cautious. Any pharmaceutical that interferes with gastrointestinal motility concerns him from a cancer risk perspective. We’re not deficient in Ozempic. He’s seen too many FDA-approved drugs eventually get pulled. There are natural ways to affect the GLP system (like berberine) without pharmaceutical intervention.

His stance: freedom to choose, but it’s not something he recommends or prescribes. We need root cause solutions, not more Band-Aids.

My Breast Implant Story

Dr. Wolfson brought up something I’ve been vocal about in my community: breast implant illness and its connection to heart health.

He’s not judging anyone for past choices—he made choices at 18, 19, and 30 that he wouldn’t make now. But there’s significant toxicity, fibrosis, scarring, and chemical leaking associated with breast implants.

Back in 2007-2008, he saw a woman with palpitations that started right after her breast implants. He told her to get them removed. She went to the Mayo Clinic the next week and had them explanted by Dr. Helen Phan.

Since then, support groups like “Healing Breast Implant Illness” on Facebook have grown exponentially. It’s about root causes—if you’re sick and have these foreign objects in your body, removing them can be part of your healing journey.

Why Aren’t More Cardiologists Talking About This?

I asked the question on everyone’s mind: Why is a board-certified cardiologist saying these things when most of his colleagues aren’t?

Dr. Wolfson’s answer was revealing. More are coming online, but most are kept in their lane by:

• Money and pharmaceutical influence
• Fear of being kicked out of medical groups
• Insecurity about losing their professional standing
• The foundational challenge of accepting everything they were taught is wrong

For many doctors, their entire identity is wrapped up in being a physician with this “God complex.” Accepting that the pharmaceutical model is fundamentally flawed threatens everything.

But he emphasized: the crime isn’t being wrong—it’s knowing the truth and not following it.

His unique perspective comes from literally being inside arteries, touching hearts, doing pacemakers and angiograms. He’s seen cardiac disease in real-time from the inside. That gives him a different vantage point than someone who hasn’t done that work.

His father’s death created who he is—personally and professionally. It allows him to reach millions with this message. He believes it’s God’s work, even though he’s faced calls to medical boards, insurance company attacks, social media censorship, and death threats.

The Bottom Line: Be Your Own Health Detective

What resonated most from this conversation is something I’ve been teaching in my programs for years: we must become our own health detectives.

The five-minute doctor’s appointment isn’t enough. The reflexive statin prescription isn’t enough. The fear-based messaging about cholesterol isn’t helping us.

We have the Internet. We have AI. We have the ability to research evidence ourselves. When offered any treatment—chemotherapy, statins, blood pressure medication—we can ask: What’s the evidence? What are the risks? What are the benefits? What are the alternatives?

Dr. Wolfson doesn’t hate pharmaceuticals just to hate them. He avoids them because they don’t work for chronic disease management, they cause side effects, and they create false security.

Real security comes from addressing root causes through the Eat Well, Live Well, Think Well framework.

My Final Thoughts

This conversation challenged me in important ways. I’m someone who uses low-dose HRT and believes it benefits my quality of life. I recently did a series of EBOO treatments specifically to address inflammation and cholesterol after mold exposure.

But I also recognize that environmental toxins, stress, sleep, sunshine, and diet play enormous roles in our heart health—roles that get zero attention in conventional cardiology appointments.

My father’s death taught me that having a doctor and taking prescribed medications doesn’t guarantee health. He was compliant. He took his blood pressure medication faithfully. He still died at 64 from a massive heart attack.

What if he’d known about the role of visceral fat, triglycerides, stress management, mold exposure, and lifestyle factors? What if he’d addressed root causes instead of just managing symptoms with pharmaceuticals?

These are the questions we must ask ourselves.

Dr. Wolfson’s message isn’t about perfection or judgment. It’s about taking responsibility for our health, asking better questions, demanding better answers, and recognizing that our bodies are designed to thrive—not just survive on pharmaceutical Band-Aids.

Heart disease is the number one killer of midlife women. We deserve better than five-minute appointments and fear-based prescriptions. We deserve to understand what’s actually happening in our bodies and what we can do about it.

That’s why I had this conversation. Not to tell you what to do, but to give you information that empowers you to make your own best choices.

Because becoming your own health detective might just save your life.

The contents of the Midlife Conversations podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider. Some episodes of Midlife Conversations may be sponsored by products or services discussed during the show. The host may receive compensation for such advertisements or if you purchase products through affiliate links mentioned on this podcast.