Community Should Know about Aging and Cognitive Health
By C. Naseer Ahmad
Washington, DC
As we age, both our body and the mind are subject to decline. Te toll taken by the aging process is dependent
upon a number of factors some of which we
can control - like our lifestyle
and diet - and others - like
the gene pool, potential hereditary diseases and environmental hazards – are beyond individual control.
With time, our cognitive
health – i.e. the ability to clearly think, learn,
and remember – becomes at risk, especially in
advancing years. Tere are a number of things
we can do and should do to actively try to
maintain cognitive health.
Courtesy of the German Embassy in
Washington, we learn about an interesting
conference on Cognitive Health in Berlin in
November 2018. Tis fascinating event brings
together experts from academic institutions,
medical professionals, and pharmaceutical
industry as well as technology companies to
exchange ideas and explore new initiatives on
cognitive health.
A very useful report by Harvard Medical
School describes a six-step program for maintaining cognitive health. “Te heart of our
cognitive ftness program, however, involves
lifestyle changes,” say the expert at Harvard
Medical School.
• Step 1: Eat a plant-based diet
• Step 2: Exercise regularly
• Step 3: Get enough sleep
• Step 4: Manage your stress
• Step 5: Nurture social contacts
• Step 6: Continue to challenge your
brain
Te National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging (https://www.nia.nih.
gov/) provides very useful information that reinforces these simple concepts advised by Harvard Medical School. In fact, there is a lot of
practical information for those who are aging
– or caregivers for the elderly.
Te awareness about relationship of an
active lifestyle involving physical exercise is
felt across the world. Sarah Boseley, Guardian newspaper’s Health Editor, wrote on July
3, 2018 that “walking is just not enough, according to a new review of the evidence from
Public Health England (PHE)”. According to
PHE, “in older adults, poor muscle strength
increased the risk of a fall by 76%.” About the
recommendations of British Health experts,
the article reminds that “fewer people have
taken on board the need to stand more and
sit less and muscle strengthening and balance
have been largely forgotten.”
In a point related to the lifestyles brought
up by NIH, Harvard Medical School as well as
Cleveland Clinic’s helpful tweets, the German
news service Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com)
informs that “the number of cancers related to
unhealthy lifestyles has increased over the past
ten years, according to a study by the Global
Burden of Disease Cancer Collaboration. Lung
cancer, which is greatly associated with smoking, was found to be the most common deadliest type of cancer, with two million diagnoses
and 1.7 million deaths in 2016. Bowel cancer is
the second most common cancer.”
Aging, however, need not be considered
negatively. “Longevity has its place,” said Reverend Martin Luther King in his “I have been
to the Mountain Top” speech before his unfortunate death at a young age at the hands of a
cruel assassin.
Living amongst us are some role models
who are exemplars of a meaningful active retirement and robust physical activity. Take for
example, a former colleague Bill Kennedy of
Charleston, SC with whom I worked in Egypt
at the Ministry of Finance on a US AID project
and saw him run daily in the oppressive Cairo
Heat. At 84, he still runs and swims in the creek
near his house. At 85, Chaudhry Fazal Ahmad
is sharp as a whistle and drives regularly to the
Mubarak Mosque, Chantilly, Virginia to make
the call to prayers – despite having some issues recently with a pace-maker – and actively
serves his community in recording member
donations.
Another example is Dr Riaz Haider, a retired associate professor at George Washington
University and an eminent physician who has
recently authored the book “A Triumphant
Voyage – Great Achievements in Cardiology.”
During lunch recently at the Congressional
Country Club, Potomac, MD, Dr Haider explained to me his exercise regimen – continuing at age 84 - in the gymnasium of his club
where he still plays golf and tennis regularly.
In the context of cognitive health, NIH
notes that continued social play an important
role for a meaningful life. Tis is where periodic lunch or dinner meetings with Dr Haider
become important because in addition to nutritious meals, one get a lot of food for thought.
As we have common friends, these lunches
provide an opportunity to discuss achievements of friends like Dr Akbar Ahmed and
fnd ways to support such friends.
Healthy and sustainable relationships are
those that focus on greater social good rather
than being self-centered. For example, the
lunch time discussion with medical experts
like Dr Haider would be on education, helping
some Pakistani or other students at the International Student House, where he serves as a
Board Director or helping the community in
general.
Education, perhaps continuing education,
is the key to many problems faced during the
aging process. Tis is a point stressed HE Ambassador Martin Dahinden, Switzerland’s Ambassador to the US and Board Member, World
Demographic and Ageing Forum during a detailed discussion in his ofce on “Aging.”
Each person within the larger community
can fnd role models to follow, groups to associate with or help those in need. In my own
little community, there is a society of elders –
formally known as Ansarallah – that convenes
regularly holding educational seminars and
even old fashioned physically intensive games
like kabadi. All these activities are consistent
with the guidelines coming out from NIH and
Harvard Medical School for maintaining cognitive health in advancing years.
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