November 21, 2024 • 28 mins
Explore the keys to aging gracefully with Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu, a distinguished expert in aging from Abuja, Nigeria. Immerse yourself in the essentials of longevity, as Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu unveils the impact of a plant-based diet, restorative sleep, and meaningful social connections on our physical and mental well-being. This episode serves as your comprehensive guide to maintaining vitality, emphasizing the critical role of regular health checks in early detection and prevention. Discover how engaging in physical social connectivity over digital reliance can enhance life quality, and delve into the promising realm of senolytics, which targets aging cells to potentially rejuvenate cell function.
Older adults often face unique mental health challenges, and Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu sheds light on fostering a supportive environment to combat anxiety and depression. The discussion emphasizes the importance of maintaining a sense of purpose, especially during life's transitions, and highlights the significant role of social support and prayer. As we navigate these topics, listeners will gain invaluable insights into managing chronic conditions and enhancing overall quality of life. This episode is a treasure trove of strategies for cultivating a fulfilled life, even as the years add up.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogb (00:00):
nterventions that are being looked at, being
able to increase some kind ofgenetic reprogramming that can
increase the level of moreyouthful cells and reduce the
number of cells that have agedand you're able to then
rejuvenate younger cells, soalmost going back to more
(00:22):
youthful function.
Younger cells, so almost goingback to more youthful function,
so skin would not wrinkle asmuch.
Your heart cells, your heart,become a little stronger as a
pump.
Joint degeneration is regressedand people don't have to deal
with aches and pains as they age.
Dr Bola Sogade (00:49):
Hello and welcome to CocoaPods, a podcast
of the Birth Center for NaturalDeliveries Foundation.
My name is Dr Bola Sogade.
I'm a women's health specialist.
On this podcast, we talk aboutall the issues relating to
women's health and identify theproblems and talk about ways in
(01:10):
which we can mitigate theproblems.
In this new series, we explorethe fascinating journey of
actually growing to an old agewith vitality.
We'll uncover the secretsbehind longevity.
We'll explore how lifestylerichness in social connections,
(01:32):
a good, healthy diet, regularphysical activity and a relaxed
approach to life contribute toremarkable health and happiness.
We'll hear from an expert whois also an inspiring individual
who shares her insights andexperiences, on how we can
(01:52):
incorporate some of theseprinciples into our lives, no
matter where we live.
Today, we gain valuableinsights from Dr Ogugua , from
Abuja, nigeria, an expert inaging.
We gained valuable insightsfrom Dr Ogugua from Abuja,
Nigeria, an expert in aging.
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (02:09):
So part of the advocacy that I do with
other stakeholders is shininglight on these aging issues to
ensure that we curb what wedescribe as ageism, which is a
prejudice or discriminationpurely based on age.
Dr Bola Sogade (02:25):
Yeah, thank you so very much for that.
You know, I was very privilegedto be part of a conference, a
powerful conference that yougave to a group of doctors in
Kigali, rwanda, and also to theMinistry of Health there.
And you know, while aging isinevitable, there are steps that
(02:48):
one can take to age gracefullyand maintain a healthy and
vibrant lifestyle.
So, you know, I want us to talkabout some of the cutting edge
tips to help everybody women,men, everybody feel and look
their best as they age.
(03:08):
And I know we can talk aboutsome of this in depth as we go.
But can you touch on some ofthese?
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (03:14):
for us Right.
So it's really.
I mean, we might talk about itas cutting edge, but there are
things that have always beentalked about, but I guess, as
humans, changing behavior isdifficult.
So there are six pillars thatwe look at for healthy lifestyle
or healthy aging.
(03:35):
One of them is ensuring that weeat healthy.
Studies are living longer andthey found that their diet is
mostly plant-based very lowcalories from meat, so
plant-based vegetables, grains,whole grains and proteins.
(03:58):
So that's one major pillar thatwe're eating right.
Second pillar is adequate,restorative sleep, and in the
world today we're all trying tomeet goals, targets.
We're not pacing in ourselves,so we end up with three, four
(04:21):
hours of sleep.
We know CEOs who are.
You know they're flying day andnight.
So, again, studies have shownus that sleep deprivation has
been linked to things likedementia, which will give you.
Even if you don't die, you'llhave very poor quality life
(04:42):
because you become dependent onothers, you can't engage and all
of that is like diabetes andhypertension.
So restorative sleep what do weexpect?
That people get Seven to eighthours of restful sleep per night
.
The other pillar socialconnection.
(05:02):
Being able to have groups thatyou engage in or that you're a
part of, where you have afeeling of relevance.
You have a lot of joy whenyou're in the midst of these
people and so you keep lookingforward to being able to engage
with this group.
So meaningful social connection, people who have the same
(05:24):
values as you, as you live inlife, and you know the studies
that have shown this link withsocial connection and longevity.
You know have put forwardthings like.
You know the fact when youbelong to a group, even when you
have a chronic medicalcondition, someone there is
going to ask you oh, yourdiabetes, how well is it
(05:45):
controlled, your blood pressure?
Or somebody is going to say youknow what?
I met my doctor and now mydiabetes that wasn't so well
controlled.
They have made changes.
That also will be a reminder toother members in the group.
It also makes you feel free tobe able to discuss your medical
issues, because sometimes peoplefeel they are walking this
(06:06):
journey alone and they are shy,they have a lot of anxiety to
even discuss it.
But when you are in a groupwhere you have that freedom to
express yourself, you're morelikely to comply with the
interventions andrecommendations of your clinical
practitioners or your careproviders.
(06:27):
So social connection reallyimportant and been linked
significantly.
In fact, some studies aresaying it's not about the
diabetes control or thehypertension control, but it's
about a lot more that people getfrom being in these social
groups.
Studies were also done here inNigeria where we looked at women
(06:48):
who participated weekly inchurch programs who tended to
have, you know, less expressionof anxiety or not enjoying life
compared to those who didn't.
So lots of benefits from that.
The other pillar is being ableto avoid toxins like excessive
(07:11):
alcohol, tobacco we all knowtobacco has been linked to so
many chronic conditions.
So if you develop chlamydia, ifyou develop a heart attack or
stroke, those conditions couldshorten your life.
So, and if it didn't shortenyour life again.
You might have morbidity thatmakes quality of life for you
(07:32):
really poor, so you're not goingto live as long as you should
or as healthy as you should.
The other pillar is being ableto identify you know conditions
early.
So prevention and earlydetection.
And that means we have to getinto the habit of an annual
check.
That's sometimes what isuncommon in this part of the
(07:55):
world People wait until they'refeeling well before they walk
into a doctor's office.
But those well checks arereally important.
To pick up the numbers, we talkabout people knowing their
numbers.
So that's another major thing.
As we're aging, we know ournumbers.
And what are these numbers?
Numbers for blood pressure,numbers for blood sugar, numbers
(08:19):
for cholesterol, your body massindex.
And when we come to specificslike the prostate specific
antigen, the PSA, for men, forus to be able to detect prostate
cancer early.
And it also brings me to theissue of screening that you know
we have age and genderappropriate screenings that must
(08:42):
be done Colonoscopy, forinstance, to detect colon cancer
.
We used to say for the generalpopulation, we do this at the
age of 50, but many more studiesare now showing us that we need
to do this earlier.
So a lot of guidelines are nowrecommending that we start
screening from 45.
(09:04):
And for those who have familymembers who have had colon
cancer, that they startscreening 10 years earlier than
when their loved one or theirsignificant family member
actually was diagnosed withcolon cancer.
So there's also mammogram forwomen, pap smear also for the
women.
(09:24):
So it's important that as we'regoing through life, this age
and gender, appropriatescreenings are done so that we
can detect any diseaseconditions early and comply with
interventions.
Again back to the human behavior.
There are times when we tellpeople around here that, oh,
we've diagnosed you with highblood pressure and they don't
(09:47):
want to accept it.
And because they come to noacceptance, they don't follow up
with recommendations, theydon't follow up with clinic
visits, they don't follow upwith treatment and unfortunately
for some they end up at theemergency room with
complications because of thepoor compliance.
(10:08):
So that acceptance and thediscipline to follow up really
important because then we canmanage those conditions and you
don't have to develop thecomplications that could shorten
your life from them.
But I mentioned the six.
Say anyone that I'm missingExercise?
Oh my God, how could I forgetthat Very important Physical
(10:31):
activity has been found to bemaybe the most important
lifestyle attribute that we mustmust all imbibe across the life
course.
So from as young as possible wemust imbibe the habit of
(10:51):
exercise or physical activity.
So we're all expected to get atleast 150 minutes of quick
paced walk, so you don't reallyhave to go and spend time or
money in a gym.
Again, this also could be donein a social group, so you're
walking with your group of fouror five or six, whatever, and
(11:12):
this translates to about 30minutes of walking minimum five
times a week.
The other target for physicalactivity is 10,000 steps a day,
and what that means is that wecan't be sitting for a prolonged
period of time.
What I tend to advise myclients to do is after every
(11:34):
hour to make sure they get upand move, and I've also
recommended to some of them toget you know the fit bits to be
able to track their steps.
And really when people can takeownership, you know.
So that's one of the thing thatyou know that I enjoy in
geriatrics, or in geriatricpractice, we come to
(11:56):
decision-making with the clientand their family members.
We do not impose anything, sowe make them understand why this
is important, have them takeownership.
And I've had clients who cometo me.
This man was only taking maybe500 steps a day, but once he
(12:16):
started counting and he couldnow do a thousand and after, you
know, after a few weeks, he wasable to do three thousand.
He was so excited.
That was the first thing he wasreporting to me once he walked
through my consultation room.
So having people take ownershipreally helps.
But I guess also they must bemotivated and that motivation
(12:39):
might require you counseling,you know, over and over and over
.
And having them also get socialsupport, so family support that
is meaningful Also helps themto be able to take ownership of
these issues.
That gives them, you know,better health.
So physical activity reallyreally important.
(13:01):
So if one is able to follow thislifestyle, practices or habit
across a life course, becauseaging doesn't begin at 60.
That's usually the firstquestion I ask at you know,
presentations.
We know that it begins frombirth, but actually now newer
(13:24):
evidence is showing us that itbegins from conception.
So the milieu, the environmentin which the fetus grows, it's
very important.
If the mother is an alcoholic,being battered by a husband who
engages in domestic violence,the mother is a chronic smoker,
all of that affect thatenvironment in which the fetus
(13:47):
grows.
And such people have been saidnot to age, as well as those who
grow in an environment that isfree of all of those negative
conditions.
So it's a life-cost approach.
For us to actually live longand healthy, we have to imbibe
(14:07):
those attributes.
So children must haveappropriate vaccination.
They must be prevented fromthose early life diseases
cholera, malaria, pneumonia thatcould shorten their lives.
The same thing, the next band,the adolescents, must also have
appropriate education onprevention of unnecessary
(14:29):
pregnancies.
That can affect, you know, notjust physically but
psychologically, and you knowsuch a young girl does not grow
up free of psychological burden,because we know health is not
just physical but it's social,it's psychological.
So it's a life course approach.
Do you live in an environmentthat is free of violence and the
(14:52):
wars?
We know, if we look at theworld today, there's a lot of
displacement from the wars andthat brings on a lot of
psychological issues, lots ofsocial issues.
People are now dependent on thestate or others for their
livelihood, and those are someof the things that also affect
(15:13):
how this individual's age goingforward.
Dr Bola Sogade (15:16):
Well, thank you.
I like the fact that you linkedaging to when the sperm and the
egg connect with each other,the environment under which the
sperm and the egg connect witheach other at conception, so
even before we are born, we areaging.
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (15:36):
Very interesting.
Dr Bola Sogade (15:37):
Yes, and I'm glad that you made that
connection.
Another thing you said was thissocial connectivity as one of
the pillars, and I wanted to tiethat to just to clarify that it
doesn't mean that as an olderperson, you are sitting down
with your phone and connectingto social media with no activity
(16:02):
and talking to your friends onsocial media.
So when you talk about socialconnectivity, you are talking
about physical engagement withother people.
I have, you know, personallyhad family members that you know
(16:35):
.
You know I missed thatloneliness developing in them.
A lot of older people now theyall have a smartphone, they're
on Facebook, they are onInstagram, they're on social
media.
So you are talking aboutactually getting out of your
house and being with a group ofpeople doing physical activities
(16:56):
.
Is that correct?
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (16:58):
Right, that's absolutely correct
Because, remember I said, thebenefits are so many.
You're out there, you mighteven be walking with them,
you're having conversationsabout your children,
grandchildren, you're sharingexperiences.
Yes, because on the socialmedia, in fact, that's something
that is risky for older people,because we've seen older people
(17:21):
being defrauded financiallyfrom the social media connection
.
So it's often not so meaningfulto just sit there, because then
you are at risk of being preyedon by some of the cyber crime
fraudsters.
So we need you to be in thespace with other people.
(17:46):
It encourages movement, itencourages brain tasking
exercises you might be playingSudoku, you might be playing
Ludo, like one of the games thatwe play around here.
So it encourages so many otherpillars.
So the social connection istied to so many of the other
(18:09):
lifestyle habits that are reallystrong pillars for healthy
eating.
So, yes, I know COVID sort ofprevented that, and then people
now are forced to connect onsocial media, but really, now
that we have the freedom toengage physically, many more
(18:29):
people should do that.
Dr Bola Sogade (18:31):
Thank you, you know.
So that brings me to what somepeople might consider cutting
edge facts about actuallyslowing down the aging process,
and it makes me wonder can,scientifically, you know, can we
really slow down the pace ofaging?
And I know there's some newclass of medications that are
(18:56):
under research that they thinkmight eliminate aging cells.
Can you talk to us about, youknow, this cutting edge
senolytics, these drugs thatmight slow down the aging
process?
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (19:11):
Right.
So part of a big umbrellaphysiological process in aging
is inflammation.
So when we look at all of thechronic medical conditions that
we see there's a recurringprocess and that's that there is
excessive inflammation.
(19:32):
So, and we do describe aphenomenon called inflammation
aging.
So when you look at olderpeople and look at their the
level of inflammatory markers,interleukin-6, tumor necrosis
factor, you have higher levelsin older people compared to
(19:55):
younger people.
So it tells us that with agingwe have a lot of inflammation
going on.
And so with inflammation we havealso an accumulation of what we
call senescent cells, or cellsthat are really now no more able
to replicate to have goodfunction.
(20:16):
So they accumulate and and soreduce function where they have
accumulated.
And so the senolyticssenolytics, meaning, they're
supposed to lyse the senescentcells are being put forward as
possible intervention to reducethese senescent cells and
(20:57):
function could then bemaintained or preserved.
And you know one or two of themI think the Sertinib was
actually initially being usedfor cancer treatment and now
being further researched as apossible drug to delay aging, if
(21:18):
we're able to reduce theaccumulation of cynicism cells
as we age that are being able toincrease some kind of genetic
reprogramming that can increasethe level of more youthful cells
(21:41):
and reduce the number of cellsthat have aged.
So if we're able to have anincreased number of pluripotent
cells, I guess, which is alsothe technology for stem cell
therapy, then you're able tothen rejuvenate younger cells
that can give more, so almostgoing back to more youthful
(22:04):
function.
So skin would not wrinkle asmuch, your heart cells, your
heart, become a little strongeras a pump Joint degeneration is
regressed and people don't haveto deal with aches and pains as
they age.
So those are some of the thingsthat we're looking into now.
(22:25):
But I must say that if we're,because all those age-related
chronic disease conditionsdiabetes, hypertension,
dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis andall that If we imbibe the
healthy lifestyle across thelife course, we should actually
(22:46):
be able to prevent thedevelopment of those conditions.
There was a study that followedover 200,000 people in the US
and they looked at, were able tocome up with habits that would
prevent the development ofdiabetes.
Exercise was a major one,eating right Again, plant-based
diet, no alcohol, no smoking.
(23:07):
So it's possible for us toactually live without these
conditions as long as we canimbibe the healthy lifestyle
habits.
But, yes, it's promising thatwith ongoing research we might
(23:27):
actually be able to have peoplelive longer without disability.
But look into the blue zones isalso showing us that and it's
all about lifestyle.
In those areas they pacethemselves.
There's no undue stress.
I think that was the lastpillar that I missed out that we
(23:48):
must pace and get into a placeof meditation or taking a break,
because it's very possible togo your entire 24 hours and go,
go, go, go, go without even aminute to so places where they
have imbibed practices likemeditation, yoga, people have
(24:14):
actually tended to also livelonger without the visibility.
So the lifestyle habits are veryimportant.
Can we get into imbibing themacross the life course?
I know a lot of people justprefer let me just take a pill
to live longer, let me take apill to.
But really, if we can imbibethose lifestyle habits, we can
(24:39):
actually live longer free ofthose lifestyle related diseases
.
The attitude we also putforward remember you and I were
talking about that earlierbefore we started this that it's
all about putting up a positiveattitude and that comes also
with certain practices like sospirituality is another pillar
(25:05):
that has been linked to healthylifestyle, longevity being, and
I guess that helps us to dealwith the stresses of life, you
know, if you can unburden to ahigher being that you believe in
.
You know what I have.
I have these issues, but I knowI can deal with it.
(25:25):
Now you know, and you say aprayer believe that that's going
to help.
It is a way of relieving one ofundue anxiety and being able to
maintain a stable state ofmental health.
And that's also very importantbecause with increasing age, the
(25:48):
losses that people go throughput them at risk of some anxiety
.
Am I going to be next?
My spouse has died, my friendshave died, I don't have the
income that I used to have, somehave even lost offsprings.
All that contributes to a lotof anxiety, and some even become
(26:11):
depressed and can go intosuicidal ideation.
And studies have shown us thatwhen older people conceive
suicide they tend to succeedmore.
They tend to get it tocompletion, compared to younger
people.
So it's important that weprovide an environment that
(26:36):
keeps them mentally stable sothat they are not getting into a
state of thinking life is notworth living, and so the chronic
disease burden, the chronicpainful situation, must be put
under great control.
They must also have socialsupport, not just from the
(27:00):
friends but also family members.
That would make them feelrelevant and want to continue to
live life.
Dr Bola Sogade (27:07):
Wow, thank you so very much for that.
Next episode.
You know what are just some ofthe practical things that
family members can do to helptheir older persons.
nterventions that are being looked at, being
able to increase some kind ofgenetic reprogramming that can
increase the level of moreyouthful cells and reduce the
number of cells that have agedand you're able to then
rejuvenate younger cells, soalmost going back to more
(00:22):
youthful function.
Younger cells, so almost goingback to more youthful function,
so skin would not wrinkle asmuch.
Your heart cells, your heart,become a little stronger as a
pump.
Joint degeneration is regressedand people don't have to deal
with aches and pains as they age.
Dr Bola Sogade (00:49):
Hello and welcome to CocoaPods, a podcast
of the Birth Center for NaturalDeliveries Foundation.
My name is Dr Bola Sogade.
I'm a women's health specialist.
On this podcast, we talk aboutall the issues relating to
women's health and identify theproblems and talk about ways in
(01:10):
which we can mitigate theproblems.
In this new series, we explorethe fascinating journey of
actually growing to an old agewith vitality.
We'll uncover the secretsbehind longevity.
We'll explore how lifestylerichness in social connections,
(01:32):
a good, healthy diet, regularphysical activity and a relaxed
approach to life contribute toremarkable health and happiness.
We'll hear from an expert whois also an inspiring individual
who shares her insights andexperiences, on how we can
(01:52):
incorporate some of theseprinciples into our lives, no
matter where we live.
Today, we gain valuableinsights from Dr Ogugua , from
Abuja, nigeria, an expert inaging.
We gained valuable insightsfrom Dr Ogugua from Abuja,
Nigeria, an expert in aging.
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (02:09):
So part of the advocacy that I do with
other stakeholders is shininglight on these aging issues to
ensure that we curb what wedescribe as ageism, which is a
prejudice or discriminationpurely based on age.
Dr Bola Sogade (02:25):
Yeah, thank you so very much for that.
You know, I was very privilegedto be part of a conference, a
powerful conference that yougave to a group of doctors in
Kigali, rwanda, and also to theMinistry of Health there.
And you know, while aging isinevitable, there are steps that
(02:48):
one can take to age gracefullyand maintain a healthy and
vibrant lifestyle.
So, you know, I want us to talkabout some of the cutting edge
tips to help everybody women,men, everybody feel and look
their best as they age.
(03:08):
And I know we can talk aboutsome of this in depth as we go.
But can you touch on some ofthese?
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (03:14):
for us Right.
So it's really.
I mean, we might talk about itas cutting edge, but there are
things that have always beentalked about, but I guess, as
humans, changing behavior isdifficult.
So there are six pillars thatwe look at for healthy lifestyle
or healthy aging.
(03:35):
One of them is ensuring that weeat healthy.
Studies are living longer andthey found that their diet is
mostly plant-based very lowcalories from meat, so
plant-based vegetables, grains,whole grains and proteins.
(03:58):
So that's one major pillar thatwe're eating right.
Second pillar is adequate,restorative sleep, and in the
world today we're all trying tomeet goals, targets.
We're not pacing in ourselves,so we end up with three, four
(04:21):
hours of sleep.
We know CEOs who are.
You know they're flying day andnight.
So, again, studies have shownus that sleep deprivation has
been linked to things likedementia, which will give you.
Even if you don't die, you'llhave very poor quality life
(04:42):
because you become dependent onothers, you can't engage and all
of that is like diabetes andhypertension.
So restorative sleep what do weexpect?
That people get Seven to eighthours of restful sleep per night
.
The other pillar socialconnection.
(05:02):
Being able to have groups thatyou engage in or that you're a
part of, where you have afeeling of relevance.
You have a lot of joy whenyou're in the midst of these
people and so you keep lookingforward to being able to engage
with this group.
So meaningful social connection, people who have the same
(05:24):
values as you, as you live inlife, and you know the studies
that have shown this link withsocial connection and longevity.
You know have put forwardthings like.
You know the fact when youbelong to a group, even when you
have a chronic medicalcondition, someone there is
going to ask you oh, yourdiabetes, how well is it
(05:45):
controlled, your blood pressure?
Or somebody is going to say youknow what?
I met my doctor and now mydiabetes that wasn't so well
controlled.
They have made changes.
That also will be a reminder toother members in the group.
It also makes you feel free tobe able to discuss your medical
issues, because sometimes peoplefeel they are walking this
(06:06):
journey alone and they are shy,they have a lot of anxiety to
even discuss it.
But when you are in a groupwhere you have that freedom to
express yourself, you're morelikely to comply with the
interventions andrecommendations of your clinical
practitioners or your careproviders.
(06:27):
So social connection reallyimportant and been linked
significantly.
In fact, some studies aresaying it's not about the
diabetes control or thehypertension control, but it's
about a lot more that people getfrom being in these social
groups.
Studies were also done here inNigeria where we looked at women
(06:48):
who participated weekly inchurch programs who tended to
have, you know, less expressionof anxiety or not enjoying life
compared to those who didn't.
So lots of benefits from that.
The other pillar is being ableto avoid toxins like excessive
(07:11):
alcohol, tobacco we all knowtobacco has been linked to so
many chronic conditions.
So if you develop chlamydia, ifyou develop a heart attack or
stroke, those conditions couldshorten your life.
So, and if it didn't shortenyour life again.
You might have morbidity thatmakes quality of life for you
(07:32):
really poor, so you're not goingto live as long as you should
or as healthy as you should.
The other pillar is being ableto identify you know conditions
early.
So prevention and earlydetection.
And that means we have to getinto the habit of an annual
check.
That's sometimes what isuncommon in this part of the
(07:55):
world People wait until they'refeeling well before they walk
into a doctor's office.
But those well checks arereally important.
To pick up the numbers, we talkabout people knowing their
numbers.
So that's another major thing.
As we're aging, we know ournumbers.
And what are these numbers?
Numbers for blood pressure,numbers for blood sugar, numbers
(08:19):
for cholesterol, your body massindex.
And when we come to specificslike the prostate specific
antigen, the PSA, for men, forus to be able to detect prostate
cancer early.
And it also brings me to theissue of screening that you know
we have age and genderappropriate screenings that must
(08:42):
be done Colonoscopy, forinstance, to detect colon cancer
.
We used to say for the generalpopulation, we do this at the
age of 50, but many more studiesare now showing us that we need
to do this earlier.
So a lot of guidelines are nowrecommending that we start
screening from 45.
(09:04):
And for those who have familymembers who have had colon
cancer, that they startscreening 10 years earlier than
when their loved one or theirsignificant family member
actually was diagnosed withcolon cancer.
So there's also mammogram forwomen, pap smear also for the
women.
(09:24):
So it's important that as we'regoing through life, this age
and gender, appropriatescreenings are done so that we
can detect any diseaseconditions early and comply with
interventions.
Again back to the human behavior.
There are times when we tellpeople around here that, oh,
we've diagnosed you with highblood pressure and they don't
(09:47):
want to accept it.
And because they come to noacceptance, they don't follow up
with recommendations, theydon't follow up with clinic
visits, they don't follow upwith treatment and unfortunately
for some they end up at theemergency room with
complications because of thepoor compliance.
(10:08):
So that acceptance and thediscipline to follow up really
important because then we canmanage those conditions and you
don't have to develop thecomplications that could shorten
your life from them.
But I mentioned the six.
Say anyone that I'm missingExercise?
Oh my God, how could I forgetthat Very important Physical
(10:31):
activity has been found to bemaybe the most important
lifestyle attribute that we mustmust all imbibe across the life
course.
So from as young as possible wemust imbibe the habit of
(10:51):
exercise or physical activity.
So we're all expected to get atleast 150 minutes of quick
paced walk, so you don't reallyhave to go and spend time or
money in a gym.
Again, this also could be donein a social group, so you're
walking with your group of fouror five or six, whatever, and
(11:12):
this translates to about 30minutes of walking minimum five
times a week.
The other target for physicalactivity is 10,000 steps a day,
and what that means is that wecan't be sitting for a prolonged
period of time.
What I tend to advise myclients to do is after every
(11:34):
hour to make sure they get upand move, and I've also
recommended to some of them toget you know the fit bits to be
able to track their steps.
And really when people can takeownership, you know.
So that's one of the thing thatyou know that I enjoy in
geriatrics, or in geriatricpractice, we come to
(11:56):
decision-making with the clientand their family members.
We do not impose anything, sowe make them understand why this
is important, have them takeownership.
And I've had clients who cometo me.
This man was only taking maybe500 steps a day, but once he
(12:16):
started counting and he couldnow do a thousand and after, you
know, after a few weeks, he wasable to do three thousand.
He was so excited.
That was the first thing he wasreporting to me once he walked
through my consultation room.
So having people take ownershipreally helps.
But I guess also they must bemotivated and that motivation
(12:39):
might require you counseling,you know, over and over and over
.
And having them also get socialsupport, so family support that
is meaningful Also helps themto be able to take ownership of
these issues.
That gives them, you know,better health.
So physical activity reallyreally important.
(13:01):
So if one is able to follow thislifestyle, practices or habit
across a life course, becauseaging doesn't begin at 60.
That's usually the firstquestion I ask at you know,
presentations.
We know that it begins frombirth, but actually now newer
(13:24):
evidence is showing us that itbegins from conception.
So the milieu, the environmentin which the fetus grows, it's
very important.
If the mother is an alcoholic,being battered by a husband who
engages in domestic violence,the mother is a chronic smoker,
all of that affect thatenvironment in which the fetus
(13:47):
grows.
And such people have been saidnot to age, as well as those who
grow in an environment that isfree of all of those negative
conditions.
So it's a life-cost approach.
For us to actually live longand healthy, we have to imbibe
(14:07):
those attributes.
So children must haveappropriate vaccination.
They must be prevented fromthose early life diseases
cholera, malaria, pneumonia thatcould shorten their lives.
The same thing, the next band,the adolescents, must also have
appropriate education onprevention of unnecessary
(14:29):
pregnancies.
That can affect, you know, notjust physically but
psychologically, and you knowsuch a young girl does not grow
up free of psychological burden,because we know health is not
just physical but it's social,it's psychological.
So it's a life course approach.
Do you live in an environmentthat is free of violence and the
(14:52):
wars?
We know, if we look at theworld today, there's a lot of
displacement from the wars andthat brings on a lot of
psychological issues, lots ofsocial issues.
People are now dependent on thestate or others for their
livelihood, and those are someof the things that also affect
(15:13):
how this individual's age goingforward.
Dr Bola Sogade (15:16):
Well, thank you.
I like the fact that you linkedaging to when the sperm and the
egg connect with each other,the environment under which the
sperm and the egg connect witheach other at conception, so
even before we are born, we areaging.
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (15:36):
Very interesting.
Dr Bola Sogade (15:37):
Yes, and I'm glad that you made that
connection.
Another thing you said was thissocial connectivity as one of
the pillars, and I wanted to tiethat to just to clarify that it
doesn't mean that as an olderperson, you are sitting down
with your phone and connectingto social media with no activity
(16:02):
and talking to your friends onsocial media.
So when you talk about socialconnectivity, you are talking
about physical engagement withother people.
I have, you know, personallyhad family members that you know
(16:35):
.
You know I missed thatloneliness developing in them.
A lot of older people now theyall have a smartphone, they're
on Facebook, they are onInstagram, they're on social
media.
So you are talking aboutactually getting out of your
house and being with a group ofpeople doing physical activities
(16:56):
.
Is that correct?
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (16:58):
Right, that's absolutely correct
Because, remember I said, thebenefits are so many.
You're out there, you mighteven be walking with them,
you're having conversationsabout your children,
grandchildren, you're sharingexperiences.
Yes, because on the socialmedia, in fact, that's something
that is risky for older people,because we've seen older people
(17:21):
being defrauded financiallyfrom the social media connection
.
So it's often not so meaningfulto just sit there, because then
you are at risk of being preyedon by some of the cyber crime
fraudsters.
So we need you to be in thespace with other people.
(17:46):
It encourages movement, itencourages brain tasking
exercises you might be playingSudoku, you might be playing
Ludo, like one of the games thatwe play around here.
So it encourages so many otherpillars.
So the social connection istied to so many of the other
(18:09):
lifestyle habits that are reallystrong pillars for healthy
eating.
So, yes, I know COVID sort ofprevented that, and then people
now are forced to connect onsocial media, but really, now
that we have the freedom toengage physically, many more
(18:29):
people should do that.
Dr Bola Sogade (18:31):
Thank you, you know.
So that brings me to what somepeople might consider cutting
edge facts about actuallyslowing down the aging process,
and it makes me wonder can,scientifically, you know, can we
really slow down the pace ofaging?
And I know there's some newclass of medications that are
(18:56):
under research that they thinkmight eliminate aging cells.
Can you talk to us about, youknow, this cutting edge
senolytics, these drugs thatmight slow down the aging
process?
Dr. Ogugua Osi-Ogbu (19:11):
Right.
So part of a big umbrellaphysiological process in aging
is inflammation.
So when we look at all of thechronic medical conditions that
we see there's a recurringprocess and that's that there is
excessive inflammation.
(19:32):
So, and we do describe aphenomenon called inflammation
aging.
So when you look at olderpeople and look at their the
level of inflammatory markers,interleukin-6, tumor necrosis
factor, you have higher levelsin older people compared to
(19:55):
younger people.
So it tells us that with agingwe have a lot of inflammation
going on.
And so with inflammation we havealso an accumulation of what we
call senescent cells, or cellsthat are really now no more able
to replicate to have goodfunction.
(20:16):
So they accumulate and and soreduce function where they have
accumulated.
And so the senolyticssenolytics, meaning, they're
supposed to lyse the senescentcells are being put forward as
possible intervention to reducethese senescent cells and
(20:57):
function could then bemaintained or preserved.
And you know one or two of themI think the Sertinib was
actually initially being usedfor cancer treatment and now
being further researched as apossible drug to delay aging, if
(21:18):
we're able to reduce theaccumulation of cynicism cells
as we age that are being able toincrease some kind of genetic
reprogramming that can increasethe level of more youthful cells
(21:41):
and reduce the number of cellsthat have aged.
So if we're able to have anincreased number of pluripotent
cells, I guess, which is alsothe technology for stem cell
therapy, then you're able tothen rejuvenate younger cells
that can give more, so almostgoing back to more youthful
(22:04):
function.
So skin would not wrinkle asmuch, your heart cells, your
heart, become a little strongeras a pump Joint degeneration is
regressed and people don't haveto deal with aches and pains as
they age.
So those are some of the thingsthat we're looking into now.
(22:25):
But I must say that if we're,because all those age-related
chronic disease conditionsdiabetes, hypertension,
dyslipidemia, osteoarthritis andall that If we imbibe the
healthy lifestyle across thelife course, we should actually
(22:46):
be able to prevent thedevelopment of those conditions.
There was a study that followedover 200,000 people in the US
and they looked at, were able tocome up with habits that would
prevent the development ofdiabetes.
Exercise was a major one,eating right Again, plant-based
diet, no alcohol, no smoking.
(23:07):
So it's possible for us toactually live without these
conditions as long as we canimbibe the healthy lifestyle
habits.
But, yes, it's promising thatwith ongoing research we might
(23:27):
actually be able to have peoplelive longer without disability.
But look into the blue zones isalso showing us that and it's
all about lifestyle.
In those areas they pacethemselves.
There's no undue stress.
I think that was the lastpillar that I missed out that we
(23:48):
must pace and get into a placeof meditation or taking a break,
because it's very possible togo your entire 24 hours and go,
go, go, go, go without even aminute to so places where they
have imbibed practices likemeditation, yoga, people have
(24:14):
actually tended to also livelonger without the visibility.
So the lifestyle habits are veryimportant.
Can we get into imbibing themacross the life course?
I know a lot of people justprefer let me just take a pill
to live longer, let me take apill to.
But really, if we can imbibethose lifestyle habits, we can
(24:39):
actually live longer free ofthose lifestyle related diseases
.
The attitude we also putforward remember you and I were
talking about that earlierbefore we started this that it's
all about putting up a positiveattitude and that comes also
with certain practices like sospirituality is another pillar
(25:05):
that has been linked to healthylifestyle, longevity being, and
I guess that helps us to dealwith the stresses of life, you
know, if you can unburden to ahigher being that you believe in
.
You know what I have.
I have these issues, but I knowI can deal with it.
(25:25):
Now you know, and you say aprayer believe that that's going
to help.
It is a way of relieving one ofundue anxiety and being able to
maintain a stable state ofmental health.
And that's also very importantbecause with increasing age, the
(25:48):
losses that people go throughput them at risk of some anxiety
.
Am I going to be next?
My spouse has died, my friendshave died, I don't have the
income that I used to have, somehave even lost offsprings.
All that contributes to a lotof anxiety, and some even become
(26:11):
depressed and can go intosuicidal ideation.
And studies have shown us thatwhen older people conceive
suicide they tend to succeedmore.
They tend to get it tocompletion, compared to younger
people.
So it's important that weprovide an environment that
(26:36):
keeps them mentally stable sothat they are not getting into a
state of thinking life is notworth living, and so the chronic
disease burden, the chronicpainful situation, must be put
under great control.
They must also have socialsupport, not just from the
(27:00):
friends but also family members.
That would make them feelrelevant and want to continue to
live life.
Dr Bola Sogade (27:07):
Wow, thank you so very much for that.
Next episode.
You know what are just some ofthe practical things that
family members can do to helptheir older persons.
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