Reflections on a Lecture on Geriatric Disease Prevention and Health Care

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for preventing age-related diseases. It’s neither possible to achieve lasting health by simply taking supplements, nor can one blindly follow others’ health routines. Only by adopting personalized interventions that take into account one’s own physical condition can true effectiveness be achieved.

At the lecture held last Wednesday in the community activity room, the attendees were all elderly men in their fifties and sixties from the neighborhood. Aunt Zhang, who sat next to me, immediately pulled out a crumpled little notebook as soon as she took her seat; its cover was covered in notes detailing various “health tips” gathered from watching short videos. However, by the end of the first session, she already had a furrowed brow. She had previously heard a live-streamer promoting the benefits of nattokinase in “breaking up blood clots,” so she bit the bullet and bought a product that cost over 3,000 yuan. That very day, a Western medicine doctor specifically mentioned that elderly people with chronic gastric ulcers or poor blood clotting functions should absolutely avoid such anticoagulant substances, as it could potentially cause severe gastric mucosa bleeding. So frightened, Aunt Zhang immediately sent a voice message to her daughter, saying she would never order health supplements indiscriminately again.

Actually, it’s not just Aunt Zhang; my husband has also fallen into similar traps. He has had hypertension for nearly ten years. Previously, he heard from an elderly neighbor that eating vegetarian could lower blood pressure, so he avoided red meat for six months. However, during a physical examination last month, his hemoglobin was found to be low, and he was also diagnosed with mild muscle atrophy syndrome. During this lecture, doctors from the nutrition department specifically mentioned that the anabolic capacity of the elderly is inherently lower than that of younger people. If they deliberately adopt a completely vegetarian diet and consume insufficient amounts of protein, their immune system will weaken rapidly, which could lead to more significant fluctuations in blood pressure and blood sugar levels. After we returned home, we adjusted our diet by adding a boiled egg to our meals every day and drinking a glass of sugar-free yogurt in the afternoon. During these past half-month, we monitored our blood pressure, and the highest reading never exceeded 140, which is much more stable than before when our numbers used to fluctuate significantly.

Speaking of this, we have to address the topic of “flushing the blood vessels during season changes,” which has been a subject of debate for many years. This lecture didn’t provide a definitive “yes” or “no” answer; instead, it presented viewpoints from various fields. Western clinical doctors have clearly stated that in the absence of definite indicators such as coronary artery stenosis or transient cerebral ischemia, administering drugs that promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis twice a year is completely ineffective. Once the drugs are metabolized, their effects disappear, and instead, they can increase the burden on the liver and kidneys, as well as pose a risk of allergic reactions ； However, the traditional Chinese medicine doctors present also mentioned another possible scenario: If you have a constitution prone to blood stasis and often feel dizzy, with cold hands and feet, and thick, purple veins on the underside of your tongue, then using a small amount of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Astragalus membranaceus to brew as tea during seasonal changes can indeed help improve circulation. However, it is essential to first consult a qualified traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to determine your specific constitution before self-medicating.

What impressed me most during that lecture was the model of a hardened artery that the doctor brought along. When I went over to touch it, I was really shocked—it looked just like the water pipes in our homes that have been in use for over a decade. The scale buildup on the walls had accumulated over time; it was absolutely impossible for any “miracle drug” to remove it all in one go. Previously, everyone considered “walking 10,000 steps a day” as a standard for maintaining good health. This time, even the exercise rehabilitation specialists agreed with this view: For elderly people with degenerative knee conditions, walking too much can actually damage the menisci. It would be better to perform wall squats – 1 minute each time, three or four times a day. This exercise is more effective in strengthening the lower limbs than walking 10,000 steps ； If you usually enjoy practicing Tai Chi or Baduanjin, there's no need to change your routine. Such gentle, whole-body exercises are also recommended by Traditional Chinese Medicine. As long as you feel comfortable after doing them, without becoming out of breath or tired, it's definitely better than just forcing yourself to meet a certain number of steps.

I used to think that these community lectures were just for formality’s sake, but this time, I was really moved after attending one. When I got home, I organized the notes I had taken and gave some copies to Uncle Li who lives upstairs. He has had diabetes for several years and used to avoid eating any fruit at all. But now that he knows that fruits with a GI value of less than 55, such as apples, strawberries, and grapefruits, can be eaten in small amounts between meals without causing his blood sugar levels to spike, he enjoys them quite a lot. Yesterday, I saw him carrying a half-bag of strawberries at the entrance of the residential compound, cheerfully saying that after just checking his blood sugar, he ate three with no issues at all. Now, when we guys chat downstairs while enjoying the cool air, we never compare whose health supplements are more expensive. Instead, we talk about how many sets of squats we did today, or how we used half a spoon less salt when cooking spinach in the evening. These kind of practical, small changes are far more reliable than any expensive health products.