How circulation, digestion, and emotional balance may quietly influence memory and long-term brain health.
Many people assume Alzheimer’s disease is simply a consequence of aging. Traditional herbal medicine offers a different perspective—suggesting that declining vital energy and insufficient circulation to the brain may quietly contribute to memory loss. In this article, we explore how blood pressure, emotional balance, and digestive vitality may influence long-term brain health.
What have you noticed?
Perhaps you have noticed this in an elderly parent or relative.
They walk normally.
They eat well.
They seem physically strong.
But suddenly they pause in the middle of a sentence because they cannot remember what they were about to say.
Or they repeat the same story again and again, unsure whether they have already told it.
Moments like these may appear small—but they can be the earliest warning signs that the brain is no longer receiving the nourishment it needs.
What if Alzheimer’s disease does not begin in the brain?
What if the real problem starts much earlier—with something most doctors rarely worry about: low blood pressure and declining vital energy.
Many people believe lower blood pressure is always safer. But when the brain does not receive enough nourishment over time, the consequences can be serious.
In traditional herbal medicine, this loss of nourishment is described as insufficient vital yuanqi reaching the brain.
And when the brain slowly runs out of this vital energy, memory may be the first thing to disappear.
But this raises an important question
If Alzheimer’s is not simply the result of aging, what actually causes the brain to lose its memory and clarity?
To answer that question, we need to look at an idea that modern medicine rarely discusses—the role of vital energy and circulation in nourishing the brain.
01 What Really Causes Alzheimer’s?
When most people think about Alzheimer’s disease, they assume the cause must be something dramatic—genetics, plaques in the brain, or aging itself.
But sometimes the story begins much earlier and much more quietly.
Consider something that sounds almost harmless: chronically low blood pressure.
Many people think low blood pressure is a good thing. After all, it reduces the risk of blood vessels bursting and may protect against stroke. But there is another side to the story.
Low blood pressure can mean reduced blood flow to the brain.
And when the brain does not receive enough nourishment over time, the consequences can be profound.
So the real question becomes:
Could insufficient circulation—and the loss of vital energy behind it—play a role in Alzheimer’s disease?
To understand this idea, we need to explore an important concept in traditional herbal medicine.
02 Traditional Herbal Medicine Concept of Yuanshen
In traditional herbal medicine, there is a fascinating concept called Yuanshen (元神).
In Western philosophical language, you might call it the primordial spirit—the deepest level of consciousness and vitality that animates life.
Ancient practitioners described two locations associated with this spirit:
Shencang (神藏) – an acupoint near the chest
Shenting (神庭) – an acupoint located on the head
While the exact interpretation varies among classical texts, the underlying idea is clear:
The brain and the heart work together to sustain the human spirit and consciousness.
This leads to an important observation.
The brain is often both the final destination of disease and the starting point of aging.
Think about it.
Many illnesses begin elsewhere in the body but only become truly serious when the brain becomes involved.
For example:
Mild high blood pressure may cause few symptoms.
But severe hypertension often brings dizziness and tinnitus, warning signs that the brain is under strain.
Similarly:
Cardiovascular disease may begin with palpitations or chest pain.
But when symptoms reach the head—confusion, dizziness, or cognitive decline—the situation has become far more dangerous.
On the other hand, the earliest sign of aging often appears in the brain.
When we are young, our thoughts are quick and flexible. Memory is sharp.
But once memory begins to fade—even if the body still appears strong—the process of aging has already begun.
03 A Real-Life Case: When the Mind Ages Before the Body
Let me share a story that illustrates this point.
An elderly woman in a rural village lived to the remarkable age of 99 years old.
For most of her life, she was incredibly strong. Although she was only about 1.5 meters tall, she worked tirelessly in the fields during her youth.
Even in her nineties she remained active, washing the family’s clothes and managing daily chores.
Everyone believed she would certainly live to be 100.
Then something unexpected happened.
At the age of 96, she welcomed a great-grandson.
The joy she felt was overwhelming.
Because she had only one son and one grandson, the arrival of a great-grandson meant the family lineage would continue. She was so proud that she wanted to show the baby to everyone.
Naturally, the family worried.
After all, she was already in her nineties.
One day, while the family was busy, the old woman quietly slipped out of the house—with the baby.
When her son realized they were gone, panic set in.
After searching everywhere, he eventually found her happily showing off the baby to neighbors far from home.
From that day forward, the family watched her closely.
But something had changed.
Her behavior became increasingly unusual. She seemed obsessed with the child and unaware of the risks involved.
Within a year, when she was 97, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease became obvious.
She wandered away from home repeatedly.
Once, the entire village had to search for her.
Eventually the police found her 20 kilometers away in another village, after a steamed bun vendor noticed she was eating food without paying and seemed confused. The vendor suspected she had lost her memory and called the authorities.
The police eventually traced her home and brought her back.
From then on, the family had no choice but to keep her indoors for her own safety.
Her Alzheimer’s continued to worsen.
Eventually she no longer knew whether she had eaten or not. She would ask for food repeatedly, believing her family was starving her.
Yet physically she remained surprisingly strong.
Even near the end of her life:
- She could walk normally
- She had a strong appetite
- Her teeth were still intact
This raises an important question.
If her body was still strong, why did her mind fail?
04 Why Did Alzheimer’s Develop?
Traditional herbal medicine offers an intriguing explanation.
There is an old saying:
“Joy slows the flow of Qi.”
At first glance this sounds strange. After all, joy is usually considered healthy.
But traditional medicine makes an important distinction.
Moderate joy nourishes life.
Excessive joy can disrupt the flow of Qi.
When emotions become overwhelming—even positive ones—they can disturb the circulation of yuanqi, the body’s vital energy.
In this case, the old woman’s overwhelming excitement over her great-grandson may have slowed the movement of her Qi, weakening the heart-qi that supports mental clarity.
According to traditional theory:
The heart houses the spirit (Yuanshen).
When heart-qi becomes insufficient, the spirit cannot remain stable.
This may lead to:
- Restlessness
- Confusion
- Unusual behavior
Over time, insufficient heart-qi may also reduce the supply of vital yuanqi to the brain, which requires abundant energy to function properly.
05 Blood Pressure and Brain Health
Let’s return to the issue of blood pressure.
Many people ask:
Which is more dangerous—high blood pressure or low blood pressure?
Both carry risks.
High blood pressure
- Blood rushes forcefully toward the brain
- Cerebral vessels may rupture
- Stroke can occur suddenly
Low blood pressure
- The brain receives insufficient blood supply
- Cognitive function may slowly deteriorate
- Memory and mental clarity suffer
In traditional herbal medicine, this lack of nourishment to the brain is seen as insufficient vital energy reaching the head.
06 Early Warning Signs to Watch For
Many people dismiss the earliest symptoms.
But the following signs deserve attention:
- frequent dizziness
- tinnitus
- insomnia
- forgetfulness
- tremors in the hands or feet
When someone:
- forgets what they were about to say
- repeats the same thought again and again
- remembers distant events but not recent ones
These may be early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease.
The risk increases with age because vital yuanqi naturally declines over time.
07 Why Prevention Matters So Much
Alzheimer’s disease does not only affect the patient.
It profoundly affects the entire family.
There is an old saying:
“At the bedside of a long-term patient, filial devotion grows thin.”
This is not a criticism of families.
It simply acknowledges reality.
Caring for someone with advanced Alzheimer’s for eight or ten years can exhaust even the most devoted relatives.
The patient may still walk, eat, and move normally—but cannot remember anything.
Daily life becomes a constant cycle of supervision and worry.
That is why prevention is so important.
08 The Solution: Protecting the Brain by Strengthening Yuanqi
If early symptoms appear—dizziness, insomnia, memory problems—the most important step is to restore the body’s yuanqi (vital energy).
In traditional herbal medicine, this begins with the Spleen–Stomach System.
Why?
Because this system transforms food into yuanqi that nourishes the entire body, including the brain.
Strengthening digestion helps replenish the body’s yuanqi, which in turn supports mental clarity and long-term vitality.
For practical guidance, you may follow the tag SpleenStomachRevitalization in the Resources section of our website.
09 Alzheimer’s disease rarely appears overnight
In many cases, the brain has been slowly losing nourishment for years—long before memory problems become obvious.
Traditional herbal medicine reminds us that the brain does not function alone. It depends on the steady support of the body’s vital energy, which is produced through healthy digestion and proper circulation.
When that vital energy becomes insufficient, the mind may be the first place where the decline becomes visible.
This is why protecting brain health begins with strengthening the body’s foundation.
In the next article, we will explore an important question:
Are the foods we eat truly nourishing the body—or quietly weakening the very system that produces our vital energy?
10 Looking Ahead
Today’s world offers endless food choices.
But the real question is not what tastes good or what is expensive.
The real question is:
Does the food we eat truly nourish the body?
Can it strengthen the spleen-stomach system so that the body produces abundant yuanqi?
In the next article, we’ll explore what to eat—and how to eat—to truly support long-term vitality and brain health.
What Should We Eat to Truly Nourish Vital Energy?
Part of the Life Cultivation Series on spleen-stomach revitalization, sleep wellness, and fatigue recovery.