1 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: Everyone, Welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. Today we 2 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: are going to investigate why the age of onset of 3 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 1: a lot of cancers seemed to be getting younger, and 4 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 1: it appears to be an almost global phenomenon. Now, you 5 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: may have seen in the news a few months ago 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: there was a headline doing the rhymes that showed an 7 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: explosion in bil cancer incidents in the under fifties. And 8 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: one of the leading theories as to why this was 9 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: occurring was the declining quality of our diets and specifically 10 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: the huge increase in ultra process food consumption. And the 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: thinking was that there were twin drivers. The crap that's 12 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: in ultra processed foods, such as flavor enhancers and multifiers 13 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: and preservatives that we know now damage the lining and 14 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:06,119 Speaker 1: create an unhealthy microbiome. And then there's the double wamy 15 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: of the crowding out of nutritious food that feeds a 16 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: positive microbiome and a healthy cut lining. Clearly, if you're 17 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: eating more crap food, you're eating less healthy food, so 18 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: we get this double wammy effect. Now, this week I 19 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: read a thought provoking article from the Journal of the 20 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: American Medical Association Oncology that highlights increased rates of many 21 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: different cancers in younger people, and it actually explores what's 22 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: going on and whether or not that these increased cancers 23 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: in young people are actually a symptom of accelerated biological aging. 24 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: So let's start with the background. Traditionally, cancer has been 25 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: a disease that we associate with older age, but recently 26 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: there's been a noticeable bump or a spike in cancer 27 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: diagnosis among people under fifty. And we're not just talking 28 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: about borl cancer that I mentioned earlier. It's also breast cancer, 29 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: pancreas cancer, kidney cancer, and even head and neck cancers. 30 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: It appears to be global. It's growing, and it's affecting 31 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: millennials and Gen zs born in the eighties and the nineties. Now, 32 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: in this article, they actually suggested that some of the 33 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: usual suspects explain this, things like poor diets, sentary living, pollution, 34 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: increased microplastics, and even antibiotic overuse. Now, what if these 35 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: cancers aren't just random or lifestyle driving, but what if 36 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: they're actually assigned that these people are biologically older than 37 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 1: their birth certificates suggest So, as you will be well 38 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: were chronologically is the number on your birthy cake, and 39 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:02,279 Speaker 1: it's a blunt instrument. Biologically, is is what's happening underneath 40 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 1: the hoot how your sales, tissues and organs are actually functioning. 41 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: And twenty years ago I actually developed a biological age 42 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: test and that was used in lots of gyms that 43 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: basically give people a needs and based on their fitness 44 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: and strength levels. But more recently there's been a lot 45 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: of these biological aging clocks that you may be aware of. 46 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,520 Speaker 1: I've talked about some of them that look at the 47 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: aging of cells and different processes in a body, epigenetic 48 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: markers and all of these sorts of things, things like 49 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: grimm AADs that are out there and they're now used 50 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: in lots of research studies. So these studies show that 51 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: two people can both be forty, but one may have 52 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: a biological age of a sprightly thirty five and the 53 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: other are weary forty eight. And it's kind of like 54 00:03:56,320 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: comparing at twenty ten Toyota Corolla. It's been lovingly serviced 55 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: and driven by one very careful owner to one that's 56 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: been doing laps in a dirt track in the outback. 57 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: So when we see thirty five year olds being diagnosed 58 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: with cancers we normally associate with people in their sixties. 59 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: Maybe they're just aging faster. And here's a concept that 60 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: I loved that was outlined in the paper, the expose home, 61 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: and it is the total sum of everything your body's 62 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: being exposed to over time. Crap, food, pollution, stress, poor sleep, 63 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: poor social conditions, financial stressors. It's the whole chaotic buffet 64 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: of modern life. And if the exposed home has gone 65 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: off the reels by ultra processed diets, chronic stress, loneliness, 66 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: even trauma, lack of physical activity, all of this speeds 67 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: up your internal war intern and that's what's by accelerated aging. 68 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: And you will be aware that I have talked about 69 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: the different hallmarks of aging, and here's the thing. Aging 70 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: and cancer share many of the same biological pathways, and 71 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: some of those I covered in that series on the 72 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,479 Speaker 1: twelve Hallmarks of aging, the ones where there's a very 73 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: very clear overlap or things like DNA damage that's the 74 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: big one, and mitochondrial dysfunction inflammation. Tellome are shortening, and 75 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: their suggesting is that some of the others may be 76 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: affected as well. So if you're aging faster at a 77 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 1: cellular level cancer might not wait until retirement to come knocking. 78 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: So here's the thing that we can all act on. Right, 79 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: the same behaviors that slow aging can actually help prevent 80 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: cancer if we flip them in terms of the impact 81 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: that we're having on them, or they are the behaviors 82 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 1: that we're having. So we're talking here in terms of 83 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: reducing aging and reducing your risk of cancer, doing regular exercise, 84 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:12,080 Speaker 1: having caloric moderation. So I don't mean starvation, I just 85 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: mean not overeating. And we are a society of overfed 86 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:21,039 Speaker 1: and undernourished individuals. What I mean by that is we're 87 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: consuming too much calories and their crappy calories, so our 88 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: nourishment is actually going down. That affects many of our 89 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: cellular processes. The third one is avoiding smoking, avoiding binge 90 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: drinking then would be the fourth one. Then it's about 91 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:44,360 Speaker 1: minimizing unmanageable stress, not the stress that helps us to adapt, 92 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: but the stuff that actually breaks us down. And then 93 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: it's about building strong social networks, because we know that 94 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: loneliness is shocking for your health, but having good social 95 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: networks is actually very good for your health. And then 96 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: exposure to nature, having good sleep, having a sense of 97 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: meaning and purpose in your life. Basically, the lifestyle that's 98 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: good for your brillan, your mood and telomeres is also 99 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: the best defense against these early onset cancers. And there's 100 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 1: even this whole field emerging called gyro science which looks 101 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: at slowing aging itself as a way to prevent a 102 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: host of diseases, cancer included. So what does this mean 103 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,679 Speaker 1: for all of us? Well, maybe it's time we started 104 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: looking before the age of fifty as the magic number 105 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: for cancer screening as it typically is right now, Maybe 106 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 1: we need biological age based guidelines because if you're thirty 107 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: eight but your biology is more like fifty eight, you 108 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: should probably be screened sooner. And it also means that prevention, 109 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: the fundamental stuff that I talk about all the time, 110 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: like movement, nutrition, connection, sleep, it is more powerful forever. 111 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: It's not just about how long we live, but how 112 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: soon before disease shows up. And the data in Australia 113 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: and other countries is showing that people are getting chronic 114 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 1: disease earlier and early. It's not just cancer. And this 115 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: basically say is that we are aging at a much 116 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: faster rate than we were decades ago. So the new 117 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: longevity mindset's not just about living longer, it's about not 118 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: breaking down too early. It's about increasing your health span. 119 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 1: So the big takeaway here is if early onset cancer 120 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: is a sign of accelerated aging, which it does appear 121 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: to be, then our day to day choices are more 122 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: than just healthy habits. They're actually investments in cancer prevention. 123 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: And we don't need to live like monks, but we 124 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: do need to pay attention to the life that we're 125 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: living inside of our body. And I think the big 126 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 1: thing here is really around kids, because the kids who 127 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: are walking around these days eating crap diets, not moving 128 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: very much and overwegh it. As young children and teenagers, 129 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: they will definitely be getting cancer and other diseases much 130 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: sooner than their parents. So on that tragic note, that's 131 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 1: it for me for this week. Catch you next time.