50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 643 Hardcore Health Products

This is a thank-you gift from Sun Zhiwei to Dr. Annie: a bottle of 82 Bordeaux Lafite red wine.

At that time, although everyone knew that the 82 Bordeaux red wine was of good quality, the price was not as outrageous as it would be in later years.

A bottle of 82 Lafite is now only around $1000, which includes import tax. Sun Zhiwei has collected some over the past two years.

Not only Lafite, but also the red wines produced by wineries in the Bordeaux region were of very high quality back then due to the climate.

Sun Zhiwei has collected some wines from several of the better-quality Bordeaux wineries.

However, it was only later, because of a movie, that the 1982 Lafite became a symbol of high quality and thus became so famous in China.

Now, he could just give a bottle of wine worth thousands of dollars as a gift to an alcoholic.

Sure enough, Dr. Anne's eyes lit up when she saw the label on the bottle.

She quickly took the wine and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, I really like this gift."

Having received the precious and beloved gift, Annie became even more earnest in sharing a lot of knowledge and precautions about pregnancy and childbirth with the two of them.

Although it wasn't their first pregnancy, the couple listened attentively to Dr. Anne's explanation.

What puzzled Tong Jiajia was that some of what Dr. Annie said contradicted some of the things that traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in China say.

However, due to the need to keep her identity a secret, everyone assumed this was his first child, so she couldn't ask and could only keep her doubts to herself for the time being.

After seeing Dr. Anne off, the group removed the unpalatable turkey and served a large plate of prepared dumplings as the main dish for their Christmas Eve dinner.

Everyone was satisfied as they ate the familiar dumplings.

Fortunately, Tong Jiajia had the foresight to prepare in advance. Otherwise, everyone would have gone hungry on Christmas Eve.

Lying in bed that night, Tong Jiajia finally asked about the issues the doctor had mentioned that she should pay attention to.

So, is the doctor in the US right, or the doctor in China right?

"Both are correct."

"Huh?" Tong Jiajia was a little dumbfounded. "What do you mean 'both are correct'? How can two opposite answers both be correct?"

"How could it be impossible? The various precautions given by the doctors are all things they have encountered before, or things they have learned from the experiences of their predecessors."

"They're all giving us experience, so what's the difference?"

"Different? Hmm. Different medicine?"

"Neither. The biggest difference is that the pregnant women who provide them with experience are different."

Tong Jiajia didn't understand, but she didn't ask anymore. She just looked at Sun Zhiwei and waited quietly for him to explain.

"Whether it is traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine, both need to study existing medical records, so they are all empirical medicines."

"However, Western medicine has developed a theory to explain their experience and uses various medical devices to corroborate their results."

"However, Western medicine still has many errors, and it will only continue to improve after new research results come out."

"The most typical example is the 'bloodletting therapy,' which was used from before Christ until the 19th century, a period of 2000 years."

"Decades ago, when radium was first discovered, it was wildly popular because of its amazing power to destroy cancer cells."

At that time, radium was called "angel rays", "the light of God", and "the hope for marital harmony".

"For men, it can improve thinking ability, relieve stress, refresh the mind, and enhance male virility; for women, it can beautify the skin, rejuvenate, and whiten the skin." "Doctors all say that 'radium' is good, the human body needs it, and it won't hurt to get a radium scan now and then."

"At its peak, there was even 'radium water' available on the market to replenish the radium element needed by the body."

"Back then, 'radium' was sold as a health supplement and food additive, and you could buy 'radium' in food stores."

"Many housewives buy 'radium' to make 'radium' water at home."

"The method is simple: find a jar, put in radium, add water, and soak it overnight."

"By the second day, the water in the jar had powerful health benefits, such as refreshing the mind and beautifying the skin."

"At that time, 'radium' water was the most hardcore health product. It was the favorite of all social classes: the rich, the academic elites, and the unscrupulous doctors were all fans of radium-containing drinks."

"This is much more exciting than Ultraman or Godzilla-infused liquor."

"This is radioactive water. Drink more of it and you'll become a superhero. What is a hardcore health supplement? This is a hardcore health supplement."

"At the craziest time, women would even hang a few radium stones on their underwear and bras."

"It wasn't until new research discovered that radium's radioactivity was harmful to the human body that this craze for 'radium' was gradually banned."

"Therefore, we should not blindly believe in Western medicine; it has also developed through twists and turns."

"Traditional Chinese medicine is a typical example of empirical medicine. Because the core theories of traditional Chinese medicine, such as meridians and acupoints, have never been scientifically verified, it has been called 'pseudoscience' by some people with ulterior motives."

"The truth is that traditional Chinese medicine has been treating Chinese people for thousands of years, and hundreds of millions of Chinese people have been relieved of their illnesses because of traditional Chinese medicine treatment."

Photo: Acupuncture bronze figure at Hong Kong Island Museum
"Although modern scientific methods cannot verify it yet, that only shows that current science has not yet developed to the point where it can verify traditional Chinese medicine."

"This actually demonstrates the sophistication of traditional Chinese medicine, rather than suggesting that it is fake."

“Our ancestors have used it for thousands of years, and you’re going to completely negate it with just one sentence? That’s definitely not right.”

"When I said 'both are correct,' I meant this: both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine are empirical medicines, but they summarize the medical experiences of different ethnic groups."

"Traditional Chinese medicine has long been used and spread among East Asian people."

"Because most of its medical records come from people of Asian descent, the experience it summarizes is mainly aimed at people of Asian descent."

"However, most of the medical records in Western medicine come from Caucasians, and there are significant physiological differences between the two races."

"This is due to differences in their racial genetics, geographical location, and dietary habits."

"It's like 'postpartum confinement'. Many Western women have ice-cold beer the day after giving birth, they don't care."

"No one has ever done any statistics on whether they will experience bone pain or other problems when they get old."

"I think it's highly likely, but they don't believe it's just because they didn't 'rest in confinement' after getting pregnant."

"That's why I say that traditional Chinese medicine is not wrong either; both are 'correct'."

"We can take a comprehensive look at it, and pay attention to everything that's uncertain."

"As for diet, we should follow the methods of our ancestors. We are yellow people, so it is safer to follow the methods of our ancestors."

After hearing his explanation, Tong Jiajia felt relieved, and the two of them turned off the lights and went to sleep without saying a word that night.

(End of this chapter)