Preventive methods for geriatric diseases

The core answer to the prevention of geriatric diseases has never been how many health supplements to eat after the age of 60 or how much special exercise to do. Instead, it is to start layered and dynamic intervention that suits your own situation from around the age of 40. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. All methods must be dynamically adjusted according to your basic physical conditions, living habits and even family history. If you are late, the effect will be reduced by half, and copying other people's methods may lead to pitfalls.

Last year, when I was doing health education for the elderly in the community, I met 57-year-old Uncle Zhang. He had always believed that "prevention is something you should do when you are old." When he was in his forties, he drank two taels of white wine every day and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. His physical examination showed that his blood pressure was too high. What happened was that I suddenly suffered from amaurosis fugax last winter. I went to the hospital to find out that the carotid artery was stenotic by nearly 30%. It was then that I panicked and asked what specific medicine I should take. In fact, if I had adjusted my diet and quit smoking ten years earlier, I would never have reached this point.

When it comes to taking medicines and health care products, there are actually different voices in the academic community. The Western medicine system generally does not recommend that healthy elderly people take multivitamins and antioxidant health products on a regular basis. A few years ago, the Lancet also mentioned that excessive supplementation of vitamin E in healthy people will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Unless a blood test confirms the lack of a certain nutrient, the usual intake from the diet is enough. ； However, the traditional Chinese medicine principle of "preventing disease before it becomes ill" would suggest that elderly people with weak constitutions should use some ingredients from the same source of medicine and food for conditioning. For example, those with qi deficiency who always feel weak and sweat when moving can occasionally drink some astragalus water. For those with yin deficiency who often have dry mouth and tongue and warm palms, there is no harm in soaking some Ophiopogon japonicus and dendrobium. As long as they do not replace regular medication, both ideas have basis. There is no need to argue about right or wrong.

Rather than worrying about taking supplements, what affects the risk of age-related diseases more are the small details you do every day but don't take seriously at all. Aunt Li from the same community is 66 years old. She usually has normal blood pressure and blood sugar. She is used to sitting up and getting out of bed suddenly when she wakes up in the morning. Last winter, she suddenly suffered from postural hypotension due to this movement. She fell and fractured her femoral neck. She lay there for three months. Her body was originally very strong, but she developed a mild form of pneumonia. Now she can't walk easily. Don’t underestimate this little trick. Elderly people with high blood pressure and atherosclerosis can avoid more than 80% of the risk of falls caused by orthostatic hypotension by lying down for 30 seconds when they wake up, sitting up for 30 seconds, and hanging their legs on the side of the bed for 30 seconds before getting up.

There is another pitfall that everyone often steps into, which is to go vegetarian in order to lower blood lipids. Not long ago, a 70-year-old aunt came for consultation and said that she only eats vegetables and dare not even eat eggs. Why is her blood fat still high and she keeps catching colds? A blood test showed that her albumin is extremely low and her immunity is also poor. Nowadays, the nutrition community has long stopped advocating a vegetarian diet. Eating about one or two ounces of white meat (fish, chicken breasts, etc.) every day and two or three eggs a week will not affect blood lipids at all. On the contrary, malnutrition caused by long-term vegetarian diet is more likely to induce anemia, decreased immunity, and other problems. Those who eat whole grains every day should also pay attention. For the elderly with poor gastrointestinal problems, whole grains should account for one-third of their staple food. Eating too much may lead to indigestion and damage to the gastric mucosa.

When it comes to exercise, there is no need to count steps. I have seen several elderly people wear out the menisci of their knees just to make up for 10,000 steps a day. In fact, there is no need to work that hard. Add ten minutes of brisk walking when you go out for a walk every day, or play Ba Duan Jin at home, or even do a slow-paced square dance. As long as your heartbeat is 20-30 times faster than usual, and you are not out of breath and cannot speak complete sentences, the exercise intensity is enough. The most important thing is to persist, not to move for a long time at a time.

I have been doing elderly health management for almost eight years, and the most common misunderstanding I have seen is following the trend in maintenance. Uncle Wang downstairs takes aspirin to prevent blood clots. You should also buy it. If you have gastric ulcers and poor coagulation function, taking it may easily cause gastric bleeding. ； Others say that deep-sea fish oil can lower blood lipids, so you buy a bunch of it and eat it. If your blood lipids are normal, there is no additional benefit and it is a waste of money. Get a targeted physical examination every year, and take the report to a doctor to help you adjust your prevention plan. This is more reliable than any Internet celebrity maintenance method.

In fact, after all, there is nothing mysterious about the prevention of geriatric diseases. Just don’t get involved with your body, don’t blame minor problems, and don’t blindly believe in any folk remedies. Eat well, sleep well, and worry less. It will be more effective than any expensive skin care products.