Elderly health lecture content

There has never been a universal health template suitable for all elderly people. All exercise, diet, and health plans must be based on your physical foundation, living habits, and even personality. Copying the "standard answers" online will easily lead to pitfalls.

When I was giving a lecture at Xingfu Road Community last week, as soon as the projector was set up, Aunt Zhang in the front row came over with a short health video that she had been watching for half a night: "Doctor, look, it says that you must walk 10,000 steps a day and eat three red dates and a handful of wolfberries. I do it every day. Why do my knees hurt recently and my blood sugar keeps going up and down?" ”

Don't tell me, we have encountered this situation of copying standards too many times. When it comes to walking, doctors from different departments give different advice, and there is no absolute right or wrong: the clinical experience of orthopedic doctors is that if you have knee arthritis, O-shaped legs, or plantar fasciitis, you should walk more than 10,000 steps a day, let alone 10,000 steps. Taking more than 6,000 steps may aggravate cartilage wear and tear. Previously, we treated a 72-year-old Mr. Wang. He listened to the "walking health theory" on the Internet and couldn't walk 20,000 steps a day. Within three months, the meniscus was worn to the point where he could not squat normally. He finally underwent minimally invasive repair surgery. ； But from the perspective of cardiology, if there are no bone and joint problems, elderly people who usually have high blood lipids and mild hypertension can walk seven to eight thousand steps a day. If they walk at a slightly faster pace and they can feel a slight breathlessness, they can see positive changes in blood lipids and blood pressure for two months. They are much more effective in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease than taking ordinary health supplements.

Talking about the red dates and wolfberry that Aunt Zhang asked about, many elderly people always think that "food supplements are warm in nature and there is no harm in eating them." In fact, this is also true. We often encounter diabetic elderly people who follow their sisters to eat red dates to replenish qi and blood. Little do they know that the glycemic index of three dried red dates is higher than half a bowl of white rice. If you eat red dates in the morning and still eat staple food as usual, it would be strange that your blood sugar level does not rise. Some elderly people have heard that American ginseng can replenish qi deficiency, so they brew a large cup of it every day. If they have a hot constitution, they will most likely suffer from swollen gums and constipation within half a month. This is what happened to Grandma Li who came for consultation last time. The pain was so severe that she drank porridge for three days before she recovered. There is actually no absolute right or wrong here: Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to syndrome differentiation and dietary supplements, and you must first consider whether you are cold or hot before choosing ingredients. Western medicine pays attention to the quantification of nutritional elements. As long as the sugar, fat, and protein you eat are included in the total daily intake, you can actually eat something. The combination of the two ideas is much more reliable than relying on one statement alone.

Oh yes, this time we have specially added emotional health content that many people tend to overlook. Many elderly people think that "health means eating well, sleeping well, and having no problems." In fact, for people over 65 years old, long-term emotional instability can cause much greater damage to blood vessels than an occasional meal high in oil and salt. A colleague from the psychiatry department shared a case before: 68-year-old Aunt Liu used to take two types of antihypertensive drugs for high blood pressure, and her blood pressure fluctuated up and down. Later, she enrolled in a Chinese painting class at the University for the Elderly. She went out to sketch with the teacher every day and chatted with classmates. Within half a year, she was able to reduce her antihypertensive medication to one type, and her blood pressure was very stable. To put it bluntly, don't keep an eye on whether your children have responded to messages every day, don't compare your pension with your old neighbors, and don't worry about the increase in vegetable prices by a few cents. Once your mood is good, many minor problems will disappear on their own.

During the on-site Q&A, an old man took out a so-called "Quantum Health Cup" and said that he bought it for 2,000 yuan. The seller said that drinking the water in it can lower blood sugar. We took a blood glucose meter to the old man to test it on the spot. There was no difference between the water soaked in the cup and ordinary boiled water. If you really believed this and stopped the anti-diabetic medicine, you would be the unlucky one in the end. In fact, every time we hold a lecture, we will leave at least half an hour of free time for questions. We are afraid that everyone will be fooled by the health rumors and scams on the market. If you are really unsure, it is better to ask the doctor from a regular hospital directly than to listen to 10,000 words from a door-to-door salesperson.

Finally, let me tell you the truth. Everything I talked about today is just for reference. Your own physical feeling always comes first: if you feel knee pain after walking 3,000 steps, don’t force yourself to make up the number of 10,000 steps.； If you feel angry after eating wolfberry once, then don’t touch it no matter how good others say it is. We will talk again next time. You can bring your recent physical examination report. We can chat one-on-one and come up with a customized plan that is the most suitable health prescription for you.