Elderly people should pay attention to tonification in their daily lives, especially during the winter season. They must eat more foods to regulate their physique. If there are middle-aged and elderly friends who often feel weak, they can eat a variety of tonifying products, but they should try to avoid taking health products containing medicinal ingredients. They can use Chinese herbal foods to make soups, or eat more chicken, duck, fish, and meat, which are tonifying foods, and also observe whether they have high blood lipids and hypertension.

When is it most suitable to take tonics during the winter?

There is a custom of ‘tonifying during the nine days of winter’ in the folk, which is determined according to the view of ‘one Yang is born at the Winter Solstice’ in traditional Chinese medicine. Traditionally, it is believed that the Winter Solstice is the dividing line of climate change in the three months of winter. From this point on, Yin begins to recede, and Yang gradually returns. At this time, tonification can reinforce the body, nourish the essence, and cultivate the vital energy, making the dormant state contain lively vitality.

Of course, if an elderly person has obvious symptoms of deficiency, it is not necessarily necessary to wait until the Winter Solstice to start tonifying. As long as one can achieve differentiated selection of materials and scientific tonification, tonifying early in the winter can still have a good effect on improving the symptoms of weakness.

There are many tonifying products available for the elderly to take during the winter. When choosing tonifying products and taking tonics, one should pay attention to mastering three points:

One, for the characteristic of strong appetite and good absorption during the winter, it is appropriate to choose high-calorie, high-nutrient, rich in flavor and color, and strong in tonifying power foods for tonification, such as animal tonics like mutton, dog meat, beef, and chicken.

Two, according to one’s own condition, identify the location of the deficiency syndrome, and under the guidance of a professional Chinese medicine doctor, carry out targeted tonification and persist in it throughout the winter.Three, if one already has a disease, the choice of tonifying substances should be appropriate, and it is best to follow the doctor’s advice and not to take tonics blindly. For example, diabetics can use raw ginseng as a tonifying product, but should avoid licorice and drugs with a high sugar content. For those with high blood lipids, arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cholecystitis, gout, and other diseases, it is not advisable to use drugs and foods with high protein, high fat, and high polysaccharides, such as turtle, mastic, longan, bull penis, and deer tendons. Because eating such foods and drugs will反而助长病情发展，导致血脂升高、血黏度增加、血中尿酸增多、血压升高，结果越补越糟。

Four, it is not advisable to take tonifying wine for a long time. The tonifying wines available for the elderly include the Ten-Complete Tonifying Wine, Goji Wine, Job’s Tears Wine, Yam Wine, Ginseng and Fleece Tonifying Wine, Ginseng Tonifying Wine, Cordyceps Tonifying Wine, and others. Generally, take 1-2 times a day, about half a liang each time. However, the elderly should pay attention to the opinion of ancient physicians that taking two or three doses of medicinal wine in winter and stopping after the Spring Equinox. Considering that most commercially available tonifying wines have a high alcohol content, as well as the impact of long-term drinking on the liver, it is not necessarily the longer the wine is drunk, the better.