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How to Improve Your Circulation
Improving your circulation is not just healthy for your heart and blood vessels. Having healthy circulation benefits every cell of your entire body. The flow of your blood through all of your tissues impacts how well you think, feel, move, and live. It affects your lifespan, fertility, level of comfort, and digestive processes.
Healthy circulation boosts energy and moods. Let’s look at some of the best ways that you can easily begin to improve your circulation today.
1. Maintain a Healthy Blood Pressure
Keeping your blood pressure within a normal range prevents heart attacks, strokes, and many other serious illnesses. Diet, exercise, herbs, and medication may all be used to promote a healthy blood pressure.
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2. Lose Excess Weight
In addition to reducing high blood pressure, taking off excess weight will help to prevent diabetes, heart attacks and many other illnesses.
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3. Eat a Heathy Diet
By eating a diet that benefits your circulation you will improve your level of wellness overall. Eat a diet which contains large amounts of fresh produce. Many studies support the use of a very low fat, vegetarian diet as a boon to cardiovascular health.
Consume most of your protein from plants. Soy products, whole grains, and legumes are low cost, low calorie, fat free sources of protein. Include traditional grains and seeds in your diet. For example quinoa, an easy to prepare food, is a terrific source of protein which contains all eight essential amino acids.
Other things to consider:
- Walnuts, chia, flax, and hemp are heart healthy foods which contain high quality fiber and essential fatty acids.
- Include cold deep water fish in your diet regularly. Salmon, herring, mackerel, and sardines contain healthy essential fatty acids which reduce inflammation.
- Inflammation is a major factor in the development of circulatory and other disorders. Limit your intake of processed foods as they promote inflammation and contain empty calories.
- If you choose to include animal products in your diet, eat lean meat only.
- Watch your portion sizes.
Use healthy oils, such as flax, walnut, olive, and canola. Do not reuse cooking oils. Only consume fats in small amounts. You can include fat containing foods such as limited amounts of walnuts and avocado in your diet as they contain heart healthy fats. Try using mashed avocado or hummus on sandwiches as tastier, healthier alternatives to mayonnaise.
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4. Have a Glass of Red Wine
A glass of red wine each day can help you to relax and it improves your circulation. It contains a plant compound called resveratrol, which enhances the health of your circulation. Avoid excess alcohol consumption as that can damage your heart and blood vessels.
Alcoholic beverages are contain empty calories which can contribute to weight gain. White wines, Beer and hard liquors do not offer the protective benefits which red wine provides.
Regular consumption of too much alcohol increases blood pressure; particularly in your vital organs including the liver and kidneys.
If you do not like to drink alcohol, supplements of resveratrol are available. Follow instructions on the product label.
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5. Consider Using Herbs to Promote Cardiovascular Health
Many herbs have been traditionally used and proven by modern research to benefit circulation. You probably have some of the right in your home and yard.
- Garlic reduces levels of unhealthy LDL cholesterol. It helps your body to maintain a healthy blood pressure.
- Ginger is a mildly stimulating warming herb which has been used by Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners for thousands of years as an aid for circulation.
- Cayenne pepper dilates blood vessels and improves circulation throughout all of the tissues of the body.
- Hawthorn is a common shrub which balances blood pressure. It is unlike pharmaceuticals in that small amounts of hawthorn are used to increase the blood pressure if it is low, while larger doses reduce hypertension. It improves cardiac function. Hawthorn relieves tension in the blood vessels, keeping them strong and flexible.
- Dandelion leaf is a fabulous source of vitamins, and minerals. It relieves the body of excess fluid. Unlike diuretic pharmaceutical medications, dandelion provides the body with healthy potassium rather than depleting it of the mineral.
- Olive leaf promotes blood vessel relaxation. This aids flexibility and supports a healthy blood pressure. It contains many beneficial antioxidant compounds.
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6. Get Some Exercise
Exercise reduces stress and inflammation. It improves cardiovascular health and general wellness. If you have hypertension, your blood pressure will reduce if you engage in a regular exercise program. By exercising, your body will maintain a higher metabolic rate for several hours after your cease the activity. This serves to increase your energy level and enhance weight loss.
If you are like most people, when you think about improving circulation, what comes to mind is the circulation of your blood. Other types of circulation occur in your body however. The fluid in your brain and spinal cord circulates. Your lymph circulates. Exercise is the best means for promoting the circulation of all of the lymph and cerebrospinal fluid.
Yoga, swimming, walking, and rebounding exercises promote the healthy flow of fluids throughout your body.
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7. Do Not Smoke or Chew Tobacco
Tobacco causes your blood vessels to constrict and harden. Your blood pressure will increase throughout your entire body. The critical veins and arteries which connect with your heart and lungs are stressed. Your chance of having a heart attack or stroke increases dramatically.
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8. Control Your Blood Sugar Levels
If you have diabetes, or prediabetes, you are at risk for heart and blood vessel disease. Diabetics have a much higher incidence of hypertension, than non-diabetics do. Consult with your health care provider for specific instructions. Take your medications as prescribed. Check your blood sugar levels as often as recommended by your health care provider. Keep your diabetes well controlled.
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9. Take Steps to Reduce and Manage Stress
Examine your life. What causes your stress? What promotes relaxation and happiness for you? Take steps to eliminate or reduce the stressors in your life while maximizing the aspects of your life which make you happy. Do you need to work on your time management skills? Are there tasks which you can eliminate or delegate? Yoga, meditation, time with friends, solitude, play, and spiritual support are important for stress management. Increased stress puts you at risk for a wide array of health problems including cardiovascular ills.
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10. Spend Time in Nature
Multiple research studies prove that spending time in natural environments is beneficial for health and wellness. Hypertension is reduced. Stress levels are lowered. People who spend time in nature report less pain and increased feelings of connection and well-being. All of these factors enhance the health of your heart and blood vessels.
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11. Get Regular Medical Checkups
See your health care provider on a regular basis. It helps to have a partner who is an expert about circulatory wellness. Obtain diagnostic tests as ordered. By identifying potential problems early, you will have better outcomes for the rest of your life. Optimizing circulatory health is a key to a long vital life.
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