1)Reflections of American life
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By Jagdish Rustagi
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Life longevity
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In this segment, I would like to consider longevity. Whatever the motivation, everyone wants to live long. Recently I visited with friend who is ninety years old and is in good health. A few years ago he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given six months of life. In conversation at that time, he mentioned that he had writing projects to last six years and he wanted to live at least that long. Luckily he has been able to complete some projects so far and no body knows if he will be able to exceed his own expectation. To attain a long life is regarded somehow very welcome and we get blessing from elders “Aushmaan-May you live long”. We pray “Jeewaim Shardah Shatam-May I live for hundred years". After reading my autobiography in Hindi, my elder brother was very much pleased and gave me a blessing to live longer than him. He recently passed away at age 88 so if his blessings have any importance, I can expect to live at least that long.
In my understanding, prayers and blessings are capable of contributing very little to human longevity. Scientists have been studing the problem of aging for long time. Experiments on animals to understand aging and how to slow the aging process have been going on for quite some time. Last year, I enrolled in evening course at Stanford University on aging. The course was meant to discuss the causing of aging and how to stop or slow the process of aging. Except a few young students for whom it was required course, most of the attendees were retired persons. We discussed many scientific studies on animal starting from nematode worms to monkeys, most of the studies have definitely shown that fifty percent reduction in food caloric intake increases life span from 30 to 70 percent. That is, if you restrict diet of animal so that it contains half of the calories usually given, then the animal is likely to live much longer. It is quite simple to conduct experiments on food intake on animals, as you can have a control group and experimental group, which gets food with, reduced calories and thousands of studies have been done so far. On humans, however, the effect of caloric reduction in food, to increase life cannot be easily conducted,
Since to demonstrate the effect on elongation of life span take hundred years.
It is a sin to suggest that we reduce calories in our diet especially before the sumptuous lunch to be served here very soon and for which we are waiting so anxiously. The studies on humans have demonstrated, however caloric reduction in diet does reduce the incidence of age related diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer, Parkinson and heart diseases. A study, which followed up subject over a period of twenty years in Canada, has recently been published to verify such findings. It can be concluded on this basis that caloric reduction will also increase life span in humans.
In many eastern cultures, emphasis is placed on fasting and this may be a way of caloric reduction. Our customs provide various occasions for fast and with so many goodies available with fats and sugar, who like to forgo the delicacies in daily living. Sometime one wonders as to the use of long life if you cannot enjoy ordinary pleasures of life. A recent article in the journal of American association of retired persons (AARP) has proposed another method of “ good long life.” It is stress reduction and researchers at University of California, San Francisco, have given laboratory experiments, which provides reasons for stress reduction to increase life span at the cellular level. They have also given interviews of ten persons, from about a group of four million above the age of 85, asking them about the secret of their long life. Essentially, they have given ways of reducing stress since stress accelerates aging. Individuals have different ways of reducing stress; Among the many are the following given by the interviewees:
I Game of bridge
2 Music
3 Daily prayer
4 Daily exercise
5 Social work
6 Developing close friendship
7 Optimistic outlook
8 Humors
9 Work
10 Altruism-seeking welfare of others
It is no doubt the main stress reduction technique is keeping yourself busy in whatever activity you are interested. Of course we have examples here of people having good long life with interest in writing, publishing, photography, meditation, yoga, arts and crafts, volunteering etc. The final conclusion of this discourse is that to enjoy good long life, participate in activities of India community center and observe fast when you are not able to come here.
2) AGING AND MEMORY
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I remember a quote from Munshi Prem Chand's novel that forgetfulness is very useful. We all know that if we remember all our miseries and misfortunes, life will be impossible to live. We have to learn to forget. But with advanced age, various natural reasons lead to loss of memory. Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases are the curse of old age. It is estimated that 4.5 million people suffer from Alzheimer and about a million people have Parkinson in the United States.

Some time ago, my esteemed friend, Suresh Sharma ji reminded me to return his articles which he had given me for comments. I said that I had returned them already and actually I gave some lame excuse for him not remembering that I gave him the articles. I never thought that I had forgotten that the day I brought the articles to return to him, he did not attend Chajju ka Chaubara and consequently, I had taken them back. I was astonished to find these articles on my desk under a pile of papers. I tried to reconstruct the events and realized that my memory is not as sharp as it used to be. This was not serious matter as Sharmaji ignored the whole episode when I returned his articles. But suppose it was the sum of a thousand dollars which he loaned me. If my memory failed and I said that I had already paid it back when he inquired about the loan, not only that would have ended our friendship and his action
may have taken other forms.

We all experience some loss of memory with aging. It is recognized fact that with aging, we start forgetting names of people, dates of important appointment and recent events-like what we ate for breakfast this morning. Short term memory and remote memory are not affected by aging as shown by research at the Silberstein Aging and Dementia Research Center of the New Youk University School of Medicine. Right here in our Chaubara, there are persons like Arya Bhushan who can describe events in great detail even if they happened fifty years ago.

When you start losing recent memory like where you put your car keys, the onset of dementia may have taken place. Dementia is a group of brain disorders that causes memory loss and causes decline of mental functions over time. Alzheimer is one such disease. There is a 50% chance that an individual over 85 will get Alzheimer where damage to brain cell is widespread. It is only a neurologist or a geriatric psychiatrist who can diagnose the disease. We can do something to keep mentally healthy. They are given next.
1. Pay attention.
2. Have good nutrition and regular exercise.
3. Keep list of appointments.
4. Place important things at the same place like keys, glasses, wallet...
5. Repeat new names and commit them to memory.
6. Learn new things like memorizing sanskrit slokas.
7. Keep mind busy with intellectual games like bridge, go , and solving puzzles.

Do not worry if you forget names, places, routes, dates sometimes. Everyone is likely to do that--young or old.

(Writer was a professor at Ohio State University,Ohio USA.)
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