Aging immune system

Podcast transcript

INTRO
Welcome to Docs in a Pod, presented by WellMed. Over the next half hour, Docs in a Pod will educate you about the health and wellness of adults everywhere. Co-hosts Dr. Rajay Seudath and former television broadcaster Gina Galaviz will share information to improve your health and well-being. And now here are Gina Galaviz and Dr. Rajay Seudath.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Welcome to the award winning Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed. I'm your host, Gina Galaviz Eisenberg. Ron Aaron is on special assignment today. I'm so pleased to have you with us today. Our program is available on podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're also on the radio in several cities in Texas and Florida. Each week, we talk about a variety of health and wellness issues that impact Medicare eligible seniors and others. Our Docs in a Pod co-host is Dr. Rajay Seudath. Hello. How are you today?

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Hello there, Gina. Glad to be on again.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
All right. We're glad to see you. Well, we can hear you, and I can see it from where I'm sitting. Dr. Seudath is a board certified family medicine physician. He's a Tampa native and lead physician for Optum. He's at the University location in Tampa. So, stop by and say hello. He earned his medical degree from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He's got a passion for primary care and guiding his patients to meet their health care goals. While maintaining his patients’ values, he enjoys educating patients and caregivers on a variety of health and wellness topics, so don't hesitate to ask him questions when you see him. Before his career in medicine, he's worked many jobs, but working as an English teacher abroad was the inspiration that led you to family medicine. Is it still hold true?

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Absolutely. I think with this job, being able to teach and seeing patients grasp their understanding of their disease processes and their health in general is so fulfilling.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Well, you do a great job. Everyone just raves about you, so we're going to have a great show today. Fascinating topic. One that truly involves all of us. What is our immune system and what happens to it as we age? I mean, I have some ideas because I feel like I'm experiencing it. We all have an immune system. It's a complex network of cells, tissues and organs that work together to protect our bodies from infections, diseases and other harmful substances. Dr. Mobley is our special guest today, and while I'm introducing you, just please jump on in. She graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2003. She obtained her master's in business administration from Saint Joseph's Hobbs School of Business and Doctor of Osteopathy from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. In 2015, she moved to Tampa, Florida, where she started her hospitalist career with Optum, and she later developed a skilled nursing facility program for the Tampa and Orlando areas and became lead physician and later associate medical director. She frequently speaks at conferences on topics like cancer, medical disparities, domestic violence, and motivational subjects, aiming to inspire future generations of medical and business professionals. That's so important. Right now, she is the post-acute care medical director at Optum Florida. Welcome, Dr. Mobley and talking about the aging immune system.

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
Hello. I'm happy to be here. I think this is a great topic, especially as we are entering our flu and now COVID season, as well as hurricane season and having a decreased immune system can be impacted by all of those things that I just stated.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
How do we know we have a compromised immune system or what do we need to do to boost it?

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
If we're talking about a normal person, as we age, we know that our heart gets slower, our joints get weaker. Well, our immune system comes from different organs in our body as well, and that too, also slows down. Our immune system is consisted of T cells, B cells and antibodies that we have to a lot of different things that could be particularly infectious bacteria or viruses. So, as we age, they tend to slow down and unfortunately become weaker. There are a lot of different reasons for that. We can go to specifics if anybody has any questions, but unfortunately, having a slower and weaker immune system definitely makes them more vulnerable to infection, to cancer, as well as the effectiveness of vaccinations, which are extremely important right now during flu and COVID season. So, as you get more chronic illnesses, which also are more frequent the older you get, these can have a negative effect on each other. A weaker immune system can predispose you to more chronic diseases and certain chronic diseases can put you at risk for a weaker and slower immune system.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Dr. Mobley, I'm going to ask you, how do you know if you have an immune system that needs boosting? But before we do that, I just want to reintroduce you to everyone who may be just joining us to the award winning Docs in a Pod with our co-host, Dr. Rajay Seudath. I'm Gina Galaviz Eisenberg. Our podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. We're also on the radio in several cities in Texas and Florida. Dr. Brooke Mobley is our guest. How do we know if we need to boost it? Are we getting more colds? Is that a sign? Are there signs that tell us to talk to you?

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
There will be some signs. Unfortunately, the majority of the signs and symptoms you are going to get are going to be after being affected by something. So, let's say if you are over the age of 45, I want you to assume that your immune system is decreased from when you were 25. If you are somebody who has had a long-standing history of high blood pressure, diabetes, COPD, asthma, allergies, assume that your immune system has been weakened. If you are somebody who gets frequent illnesses, you are around somebody who just has a common cold and not many symptoms at all but you tend to have pretty severe symptoms for 7 to 10 days, assume that your immune system is weaker. So, there are a lot of different things that we can do to help boost our immune system. After COVID, I think it's important for anybody to boost their immune system, even starting with young children because we learned very quickly that there are certain illnesses we do not quite know about yet and that there is a risk and a chance that they can be entered into our world, our country, our city, our geographical area, and we want our bodies to be as prepared as possible. So, healthy lifestyle habits are important no matter what. They are important for longevity, they are important for chronic diseases, and they are going to be important for your actual immune system. Having good hygiene is going to be important for your immune system and avoiding environmental toxins. So, if you have grandbabies or are around a lot of children and they tend to be petri dishes for bacteria and viruses, it may be important if they are sick to wear a mask, to make sure you are washing your hands, and that they are washing their hands. That you are using bleach whites to wipe off counters and handles and sink handles and spouts and things of that nature. Managing your stress. Stop smoking if you're somebody who already smokes. Decrease your alcohol intake. Then of course, there are some supplements that can definitely benefit in boosting your immune system. While herbal supplements aren't regulated by the FDA, there are a few very reputable brands, and it does not take much to just research what those reputable brands are. There are certain supplements that have been studied, and they have definitely shown to have an improvement on immune system. Zinc is one of the herbal supplements that studies have shown can help boost immune system. It actually helps the development of your immune system, and a study has shown that it has decreased respiratory tract infections in people when they take zinc supplements. Glutamine can help increase T cell and B cell growth. It can help support the immune system. Elderberry helps increase white blood cell development, and that is another cell that we use in our body to help fight infections. It also can decrease the development of certain illnesses such as flu and respiratory tract infections, as well as it can alleviate viral symptoms. While a lot of viruses don't have a particular treatment or a medication you take to get rid of it, some of these supplements, elderberry specifically, can at least help control those symptoms. Aconitia has also been studied to show a decreased risk of developing a cold as well as decreasing your symptoms by 36 hours. Anybody who's been sick knows that common colds can last anywhere from 3 to 10 days and decreasing it by a day and a half can get you back to work sooner, can get you around your family sooner, and can just help with your normal, daily living when you're feeling better.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
That's great. Dr. Seudath, when patients come in, and Dr. Mobley, please jump in as well, and they're taking a lot of other medications and they want to start taking these natural herbs, what's the process to get started?

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Whenever you see your provider, you should always bring your medicines because your list, their list, the cardiologist lists, somebody's list could be off. So, it's more important to know what you have. Typically, what we'll do is we'll look at those kinds of medicines, we'll look at those supplements and see, is it safe for you to take. On the whole, they typically are. There are only a few disease states where I would say, no, you absolutely can't take agnathia, or magnesium would not be a good choice for you, or a high dose of zinc wouldn't be good for you. So, keeping within those therapeutic ranges, keeping it within the regular ranges, not going overboard with very, very high amounts or going over what's recommended on that bottle. One of the things I also wanted to touch on that Dr. Mobley had brought up was having intake of herbs of things that help. I like the idea of food as medicine. So, eating healthier, eating more antioxidants, berries, vegetables, staying away from processed foods, stay away from those saturated fats. As we're getting into cold, flu and COVID season, really trying to have more of those fresh herbs in the foods that you're eating like thyme and oregano. Using those kinds of phytochemicals in the daily foods can also help to boost your immunity as well as the supplement.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Well, we're going to continue the discussion in just a moment. We’re taking a short break. I'm Gina Galaviz Eisenberg, along with Dr. Rajay Seudath.

AD
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GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Thanks so much for staying with us on the award winning Docs in a Pod. Our podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Gina Galaviz Eisenberg. Back to immune system and the risk we face as we age. Dr. Seudath, will you continue what you were discussing a little earlier? We're talking about some disease processes and how we can boost our immune system.

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
We were talking about supplements and when can you take them? When shouldn't you take them? One of the processes or one of the diseases is diabetes. It's very prevalent in our population, so things like gummies, when you're taking a melatonin gummy or you're taking a multivitamin gummy or a fiber gummy, those gummies have carbs in them and that can shoot your blood sugars up. You can get spikes all the way up into the 300’s.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Even sugar free?

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Even sugar free. So, that's one of the things that can happen. High blood pressure. If someone is taking ashwagandha supplements, there are some other herbal supplements that can have some interactions. So, you want to make sure you're going over that. Kidney disease. Taking high doses of vitamin C, which is citric acid. Your kidneys are part of the organs that help to regulate the acid in your blood. So, high doses of vitamin C when you have kidney disease could be a little more detrimental. It could be a little more of a worry.

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
I would definitely say that regardless of what your past medical history is, before taking any particular supplements, please discuss it with your primary care physician because not only do you want to make sure it doesn't interact with any of your medications, you want to make sure it's a reputable company. As I stated earlier, herbs are not regulated by the FDA, and if it's not a reputable company, you don't know what's in the pill that says echinacea. So, always confer with your primary care doctor before starting any new medication, even if it's something the cardiologist tells you to take. It's going to be important to discuss that with your primary care physician and have it compared to the other medications you're currently taking.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
In wanting to boost our immune system, looking at the big picture is so important. Supplements and also eating. I like the whole healthy eating. Dr. Seudath, you mentioned berries. Some folks are going, oh, I've just had two cartons of strawberries, and that's really overdoing it.

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Right. If you're having two cartons of strawberries in one sitting, yes, that could certainly be overdoing it. But two cartons of strawberries in a two-week period or in a one-week period, that could be something that's helpful. Again, getting more to fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. The fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants, those are going to be things that help with immunity. I just wanted to touch quickly on immune system immunity as well as inflammation, because sometimes you'll see something as an anti-inflammatory and immunity booster, and they're a little bit different. Boosting immunity is going to be something that's going to prevent you from getting infected by something as opposed to an anti-inflammatory could help you if you have a lot of inflammation in your body, say, from rheumatoid arthritis to local diseases. So, it's just a little bit of a difference, but both of those ideas can be helpful for you in your aging body.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
With COVID, everyone was washing their hands and then come out of COVID and washing hands doesn't seem like it's a priority. Is it as simple as keeping your hands clean to help boost your immunity?

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
What keeping your hands clean does is it avoids environmental toxins. It doesn't necessarily boost your immunity. So, one way for us to decrease our risk of getting infections is doing both of those things. Avoiding environmental toxins, boosting our immune system, so that is healthy eating. Increasing exercise can help your immune system.

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
Yes.

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
Manage your stress, not smoking, decreasing alcohol. All of those things are lifestyle habits that we should instill in our lives. Also, good hygiene. Make sure you're brushing your teeth. People don't understand that poor oral hygiene can lead to heart disease. Make sure you're getting good sleep. Sleep can boost your immune system. Appropriate sleep. People don't realize how important sleep is to our bodies. It is our body's chance to charge. When we go to sleep, we put that phone on the charger, and that's closing our eyes and truly getting into REM sleep is our body charging itself. It can help with chronic conditions, it can help with boosting the immune system and it can help with stress reduction. All of those things are going to be important for a healthy lifestyle.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Dr. Mobley, describe to our listeners environmental toxins. Maybe list some of those so they can spark some ideas in their head.

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
Children are an innate environmental toxin.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Amen.

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
You want to make sure that you are cleaning public surfaces before you utilize them. Do not assume that they are cleaning them appropriately. I can go into a whole bunch of disgusting studies that I will not do on this podcast. Just know that public areas are not as clean as you would expect them to be. So, carrying Clorox wipes or any kind of bleach wipe is going to help in cleaning off those surfaces. Making sure you are properly utilizing the inside of your elbow when you cough so that you are not spreading germs. Making sure you are washing your hands after you touch any surface or any area on your body. Avoid high-traffic, sickly environments. I tell people all the time in my skilled nursing facilities, my goal is to get patients out as safely and as swiftly as possible, because you can be in there for hip fracture, but four people are in there with pneumonia and because of close contact and people not using proper hygiene, they then can develop pneumonia just by going to a rehab facility for hip fractures. So, you want to avoid high risk, environments as well.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Wearing a mask, that's still okay. I see a lot of folks still wearing masks.

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
Absolutely. If you are somebody who has a decreased immune system, it could be because of chronic conditions, it could be specifically because of lung conditions like asthma, COPD, anything like that, you are more delicate than the normal resting of your age. I would highly suggest wearing a mask in large, populated areas. On airplanes, we are sharing filtered air with somebody. Concerts, sporting events, things of that nature. They may not look the cutest, but it doesn't matter what you look like if you don't live. So, you can make your mask as fashionable as possible but make sure that you are keeping yourself safe so you can continue to look fashionable.

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
That idea of wearing a mask in certain areas, it can be a challenge to talk to your patients to try and convince them. One of our patients said, I didn't want to wear a mask at church. How big is your congregation? About 500 people. Okay, that's a large congregation. That's going to be a very large gathering of people coming together to worship. Yeah, that's why I don't want to wear my mask. I want to be able to sing. I want to be able to do hymns. I want to be able to worship like that and have people see me do that. And I said, I understand that, but you can worship and still keep yourself safe. You can still sing. You can still do hymns, but you have to recognize you're not 25 anymore. You're not 55 anymore. You are 75. You need to be able to be here to 76. To be here to 85. When you bring it up that way, when you show them that I'm not trying to stop you from living your life, I, in fact, want to enhance your life. That's one of the ways that sometimes we have to break it down for people so that they can understand, yes, masks are very helpful, and you can do the things you want to do.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
Explain to us what alcohol does to your immune system. A lot of my friends who like to have their cocktails, they sure get sick a lot and get more colds and what have you than I do. It's because we don't drink anymore. We haven't in a few years now. So, what is alcohol due to your immune system? That's the big question.

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
I feel that that's one that is multifactorial. I feel that it has a couple of different pieces to it. One is it has to do with the acidity of your stomach. Alcohol can affect the PH of your stomach. That is one of the ways that we basically neutralize some infectious agents in our body. For instance, if you're taking a medicine that cuts down the acid in your stomach on a long period of time, that can affect you. So, that's one way. The other thing is alcohol on a regular basis affects the mucus and the lining of your intestines. It can affect the lining of your throat, especially if you're drinking hard alcohol, not beer. If you're having scotch on the rocks four times a week or every single day, or you are having a double every Saturday and Sunday, that undiluted alcohol is going to affect the mucosal cells of your mouth, of your nasal passages and of your esophagus going down. That’s our first line when it comes to intercepting any airborne viruses, bacteria, any of those things. So, alcohol, in a sense, is decreasing your defense and it's allowing them to come in and basically invade your cells. I believe there's also on a systemic level, a way that it decreases the actual immunity of your cells. I'm not quite sure the passive physiology. I can look into it, and I can get back to us on that one.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
We have about a minute left. Dr. Mobley, what can we do to boost our immune system? I know you're not going to finish it all, and I guess our listeners can just give you a call and make an appointment to find out more.

DR. BROOKE MOBLEY
I would say absolutely healthy living is going to help decrease almost everything. As long as you are trying to live a healthy life, you are exercising regularly, you are staying away from highly populated areas and you are taking your medication as described by your primary care physician, you should be in good shape.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
That's probably the best immunity booster just by eating healthy. Dr. Seudath, what would you say?

DR. RAJAY SEUDATH
I would say absolutely living healthy, seeing your provider and doing what you can. Even small amounts help.

GINA GALAVIZ EISENBERG
All right. Thanks for joining us today on the award winning Docs in a Pod. I'm Gina Galaviz Eisenberg along with Dr. Rajay Seudath. Thanks to our special guest, Dr. Brooke Mobley. In the words of the late Charles Osgood, I'll see you on the radio.

OUTRO
Executive producer for Docs in a Pod is Dan Calderon. The producer is Cherese Pendleton. Thank you for listening to Docs in a Pod presented by WellMed. Be sure and listen next week to Docs in a Pod, presented by WellMed.

DISCLAIMER
This transcript is generated using a podcast editing tool; there may be small differences between this transcript and the recorded audio content.

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