Brain Health is a Community Effort: Drs Ayesha and Dean Sherzai on PYP 609

Doctors Ayesha and Dean Sherzai founded the Healthy Minds Initiative (HMI) to scale their impact on the tragic epidemic of dementia plaguing the world today. The first thing that we have to understand is that the majority of dementias are preventable through diet and lifestyle. The Sherzai's acronym NEURO—nutrition, exercise, unwinding, restorative sleep, and optimization—encapsulates the pillars that can determine our cognitive trajectory as we age. Second, individual behavior change is hard. And it's especially hard when the community norms are unhealthy.Third, traditionally underserved and marginalized communities are bearing the brunt of the damage and ensuing tragic consequences.And fourth, circling around, those communities can actually become leaders in the public health crusade against toxic lifestyles, since their empowerment can become the solution. HMI exists to empower communities to spread both the message and practice of lifestyle medicine. But in order to do that, the Sherzai's and their partners can't come in as experts. Instead, they approach as curious partners, willing to learn, and willing to stick around and provide support for the long term, and not just until the latest research grant runs out. In our conversation, we talk about the need for systemic change in research models that prioritize community engagement and sustainability. And we talk about what sustainable progress looks like, and can look like—in other words, a blueprint for community engagement and empowerment that can create a grassroots, decentralized, democratic health movement.LinksThe Healthy Minds InitiativeThe Brain DocsNourishing Our Brains and Preventing Dementia with Ayesha Sherzai, MD: PYP 279The Role of Science in Public Discourse and Racial Justice: Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, MDs: PYP 414The Alzheimer's Solution, by Drs Ayesha and Dean SherzaiThe 30-Day Alzheimer's Solution: The Definitive Food and Lifestyle Guide to Preventing Cognitive Decline, by Drs Ayesha and Dean Sherzai