Shanna M 00:11
It's time to be well with your health. I'm Shanna.

Nimeet K 00:14
and i'm Nimeet.

Shanna M 00:14
Welcome to the Adventist Health Care & You podcast. We are discussing an important topic today your health and turning 50.

Nimeet K 00:22
Yeah, I think it's a very exciting topic, and I know we have our expert Dr. Ogechi Anyaoku who is an internal medicine physician with Adventist Medical Group and Fort Washington. Welcome Dr. Anyaoku.

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 00:32
Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Shanna M 00:33
We think of turning 50, right, it's a milestone, we celebrate it, when you turn 50, it's you know, it's a big deal. It's also a big deal when it comes to your health too Dr.Anyaoku, right?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 00:44
It is, absolutely.

Shanna M 00:45
A lot of things start changing. What are some common health concerns, misconceptions around turning 50?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 00:51
So turning 50 is a milestone for people because it is really a time of reflection. I think people tend to start to think about how their life was up until that time, the decisions that they've made, their health status. And it's a time for them to kind of take control and do things better if they didn't do it right the first half because they realize that, okay, they probably lived around at least more than half or half of their lifespan. So it's really a time to make changes if you need to,

Nimeet K 01:19
That's great, and I think, you know, turning 50, it may be just a time to reflect and make either better choices, or just reflect on some of the choices you made in the past as well. What are some of the common misconceptions about turning 50?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 01:31
So I hear a lot that people think as they get older that they don't need as much sleep, which is not true, you definetly still need less sleep anymore, you definitely still need at least seven to nine hours of sleep in general, as an adult, it doesn't change. So that's one. And then I also hear that people think that they don't need to be physically active or as physically active, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

Nimeet K 01:54
I was gonna say it's probably the opposite.

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 01:56
It's the opposite. You want to be more physically active, and if you are very physically active, you want to continue that, it's not an excuse for you to just slow things down and be like, ah, now I'm 50, now I can just take a break. Yeah

Shanna M 02:08
Well, maybe that's sort of the stigma around turning 50, or getting older is that you slow down, but you don't have to.

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 02:16
Absolutely, in fact, it's better for your health to keep going.

Nimeet K 02:19
So in terms of my health, like how often should I visit a primary care provider after I turn 50?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 02:24
Every year, you want to make sure you're seeing your primary care provider annually so that you can get your annual checkup, you can make sure that you're not at risk for developing any chronic diseases like diabetes, or high blood pressure, high cholesterol. And then just to keep a track on your health. If you do have chronic conditions, though, you want to make sure you're seeing your provider much more often than once a year, probably every maybe four to six months or so.

Nimeet K 02:48
Oh, great. So typically what you do before turning 50, you would continue that as well, you know, you don't get superpowers persay.

Shanna M 02:57
I was looking forward to that. After someone turns 50, what other types of screenings are important to either begin or especially continue?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 03:07
So there's been a lot of changes in the guidelines, especially around cancer screening. 50 used to kind of be the age, you definitely want to make sure that you have started by 50. But for the most part, a lot of the screening starts before 50. So for breast cancer screening, usually we start around the age 40 for women, and even for prostate cancer for men, we can start earlier but definitely by 50, you want to start. In terms of colon cancer screening, that used to definitely be age 50, but now it's 45. And then depending on your family history, it could be sooner than that. And then for women, cervical cancer screening starts between the ages of 21 and 25. And that continues up until the age of about 64.

Shanna M 03:44
Okay, so you know, you may start at 40 or 45, depending on you know, your health history for some cancer screenings. As you get older and even beyond 50, you still need those screenings. So just because you maybe reached 60 or, you know, I don't need those anymore. No, you still do.

Nimeet K 04:02
So how crucial is, you know, maintaining healthy balance in terms of your diet, and what are some of the steps that people can take to improve their nutrition? As they're reflecting back.

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 04:11
It's extremely important, it's your fuel. So you want to make sure that you're giving your body the fuel that it needs, you want to make sure that the foods that you're eating are high in nutrients, so lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and low fat dairy. It's just like a car, you want to give your cars or fight fuel so they can work optimally. So same thing for your body. One of the things that I like to recommend for people is to add a fruit and or vegetable to each meal. That's an easy way to make sure that you're getting a lot of nutrients in your diet. So for breakfast, you can add some fruit, for lunch you can add either a you know a side of salad or veggies and fruit and then for each meal just the same way.

Nimeet K 04:46
It's great, I struggle personally with fruits and adding that to my daily regimen but I think I'm gonna work on that as I approach 50 in the future. So as people are approaching 50, and they're reflecting back, you know people should also reflect forward and look at their health as well. What are some of the recommendations that you have as they're reflecting on their health, for for the remainder of their journey?

Shanna M 04:54
Yes

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 05:06
You know, I think it's actually important to start even thinking about what you want. In your future. When you're younger, you want to make sure you know, and it's documented well, how you want to be taken care of as you get older, who you want to take care of you. And one of the documents that we use a lot in healthcare is called an advanced directive, and this is a document, it's a legal document that does just that, it names a healthcare provider for you, who's going to take over your care if you can't, say you're in an accident or something happens where you can't make decisions for yourself, you appoint somebody in that document. And then you also give instructions on how you want to be cared for whether or not you want CPR, whether or not you want blood transfusions, things like that, if you're unable to make that decision for yourself at some point.

Shanna M 05:50
So that's like the legal document that outlines sort of what you want in those types of cases. How does living a healthy lifestyle now, affect your health as you age? and so I'm not quite 50, but I'm sailing closer, what can I do now to begin to prepare for that?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 06:10
So you want to just make sure that you are making good, smart, healthy decisions in terms of what you're doing, in terms of your lifestyle. So making sure that you are exercising regularly, generally we recommend 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week or 150 minutes in total, and during the week, and then as well as eating properly to fuel your body optimally. Also, you know, managing your stress, sleeping appropriately, and making sure that you have really good social connections, those are all things that impact your life, because they do decrease your risk of developing chronic diseases in the future.

Shanna M 06:46
Now, women have something that happens as they begin to get older, as they get closer to 50 and then moving into their 50s, that's a little different than men. And I, especially being bombarded with these types of things on social media, perimenopause and menopause. What recommendations do you have as women start to reach that stage of life? Which is I mean, it can happen as early as what how early? Can it start?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 07:11
It can start in the early 40s.

Shanna M 07:14
Okay, and then move into the 50s. So what types of questions do you hear what should women be looking out for, especially when it comes to that transition?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 07:15
So it is a big transition, because there is quite a large hormonal shift. So women's bodies do change. And they're go from more of a gynaeoid shape to a more of an androgenic shape, so more like a man. So they do start to carry more weight into the waist area, which does increase our risk for other conditions like cardiovascular disease. So it is a big transition, but all the same rules apply. So making sure that you are living a healthy lifestyle, exercising and doing all the things that you know, you should do. But yeah, it does come with some other symptoms that are uncomfortable, like hot flashes, and things like that. So there's a lot of just kind of lifestyle, things you can do, make sure you're dressing in layers and things like that, make sure that you're sleeping in a very cool environment. And sometimes, you know, you might need medication because those symptoms can be overwhelming, and they can start to interfere with your daily life. So primary care provider is a great place to start, because we can help you with that in terms of medications if needed. But if it's something that we feel uncomfortable with, then we can refer you to a gynecologist as well.

Shanna M 08:25
Or just tell you where to start. Because sometimes, you know, you may not understand what's going on at first, you know, you may think you're too young, or, oh there's no way this is happening to me yet, you know, and so your primary care is a good place to start.

Nimeet K 08:39
That's why it's so valuable to have the primary care provider and your visits at all times. Because if you're not sure about certain things, or certain specialties, a primary care provider could guide you accordingly and say, you know what, this is where you can practice. But if you're not comfortable that as a provider, you could consult with other providers or send them to the providers for for their workout.

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 08:56
Right and you know, there is no question that's off limits, you ask any question that you have. And if your provider doesn't know, they can refer you to somebody who does know.

Shanna M 09:03
don't want to leave men out of this, because, you know, they turn 50 too and face transitions, is there anything in particular for men as they enter in that stage of life that they should be particularly or should be aware of?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 09:17
I think in terms of screening, the only one that's, you know, really particular to men is prostate cancer screening. And just like I mentioned, that can start as early as 40, again, depending on your family history, depending on your history, and then also just making sure that you're also staying active eating well, sleeping well, and managing stress.

Nimeet K 09:37
Right. I think those are great suggestions. For sure.

Shanna M 09:39
Yes, for sure. All right. Anything else you want to add Dr. Anyaoku to those folks of us getting closer to 50 and have already crossed that line?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 09:49
Yeah, you know, I think it's really important to make sure that I mentioned this before but having really good social connections, because one of the things that we do see is the onset of loneliness, sometimes for some people, and as well as just kind of, you know, people do retire, so now they don't know what to do with their time. So I think it's important to make sure that you're having good connections and getting involved in other activities, keep your mind busy, because again, that can also decrease your risk of developing things like dementia. So,

Shanna M 10:20
Okay, you know, before we go today, mental health, you know, we talk about that a lot for young, for young people. But that can certainly be an issue that you deal with, as you age and turn 50. Is that something that you also address as part of a visit or that you see in your patients?

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 10:41
Absolutely. And again, with every annual physical, we are addressing that, we're asking those questions. And then of course, if patients come in with concerns, we also delve a little bit deeper into that.

Nimeet K 10:52
I think emotional connection in the society, our communities, highly valuable, right and, and having the right connections to you know, people who are active, people who are engaged people who are, you know, minds of the right thing, like, it's good to have that connection, so you keep busy. Because if you're not, then you know, your mind wanders off into other direction. So I think it's just having that the community is so powerful.

Shanna M 10:52
Okay.

Ogechi Anyaoku, MD 11:14
Right? Because one of the other things is, you know, dealing with aging parents, so a lot of times, you know, at that age at your 50 you're starting to deal with taking care of your elderly parents, which can be a big burden. So, again, that social support and having other people to lean on is really important.

Shanna M 11:14
Oh and it's a big change, you know, when you turn 50, there's a lot of stuff that begins to happen, you know, your kids, if you have children, they're getting older, your if you don't, or you know, your friend groups getting older, your family is getting older, as there's just a lot to deal with, too. And so that can affect you. In fact, your emotions affect your health, too. And so keeping that connection, ensuring that you have a primary care provider that you like, and listens to you, and you feel good about and knows your health history is important. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Dr.Anyaoku for coming today. We always love having you!

Nimeet K 12:05
To find out more information by Dr. Anyaoku. Please visit AdventistHealthCare.com and click on Find a Doctor to search. Information will also be available in today's show notes. To learn more about Adventist Medical Group please visit AdventistMedicalGroup.org. We would also love to hear from you so you can let us know any feedback you have on the podcast by leaving a review or you can email Podcast@AdventistHealthCare.com, and let us know what healthcare topics you would like to know more about. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, thank you and be well!