Circulatory disorders occur mainly in the cold season. These home remedies can gently stimulate blood circulation – and warm us from within.
Circulatory disorders: a common evil
Numbness, calf cramps, constantly cold feet and hands: the list of symptoms of circulatory disorders is long. Around every third German over 40 is affected by poor blood circulation. However, most of them have long had no idea: Only when one of the blood vessels is more than 70 percent blocked do the first symptoms appear. It is all the more important that we stimulate blood circulation and treat complaints in good time!
What are circulatory disorders?
Our organs only receive sufficient oxygen and nutrients if our body is properly supplied with blood. If the arteries are blocked or narrowed, the blood can no longer flow unhindered – this is called circulatory disorders. And these can be very dangerous as they can cause serious illnesses. For example, arteriosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries caused by deposits, occurs in many cases. This in turn can cause heart attacks and strokes, among other things.
Circulatory disorder in winter
But even those who are otherwise spared from poor blood circulation can be affected by cold limbs in autumn and winter. The reason: In the cold, the body concentrates on keeping vital organs such as the heart warm and uses more energy for this. Therefore, all blood is pumped to the center of the body and limbs such as arms and legs cool down faster.
Promote blood circulation: what harms blood circulation?
Circulatory disorders can have various reasons the following causes are often present:
- Bad diet (high in fats and sugar)
- Lack of exercise
- nicotine
- alcohol
- diabetes
Persistent stress can also have many negative effects on our health – poor blood circulation is just one of them.
How can you improve blood circulation?
If we want to promote blood circulation, we should first try home remedies instead of the prescribed film-coated tablets from the doctor, that warm inside and out. These 7 healthy helpers are great for blood circulation:
- Chili: Spicy dishes with chilli really heat us up from the inside. When it's cold, dishes such as chili con or sin carne should be on the menu more often – they are delicious and can promote blood circulation.
- Ginger: There is hardly anything that ginger cannot do: It boosts the immune system and stimulates the metabolism, and ginger also helps against bad breath. And: The hot substances in the tuber warm us up completely from the inside and improve blood circulation. Our blood vessels are therefore happy to have a nice cup of ginger tea when it's cold.
- Garlic: Garlic strengthens the blood circulation and has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, as it lowers blood pressure and can prevent deposits on the vessel walls. Garlic also prevents platelets from sticking together during blood clotting, known as platelet aggregation.
- Massages with rosemary oil: A massage alone stimulates the blood flow – rosemary oil even intensifies the effect. Rosemary is not only effective against circulatory disorders, but also prevents tension.
- Alternating showers: To get the morning off to a swing, alternating showers are ideal for promoting blood circulation. In addition, they generally stimulate the circulation. In a alternating shower, the body is showered three times alternately with cold and warm water from top to bottom. The cold phase should always be the last when showering!
- Treading water: Pastor Kneipp already knew: treading water or pouring a leg gently exercise the blood vessels and can promote blood circulation in the legs. Hand and foot baths: Since our hands and feet in particular quickly get cold when the blood circulation is disturbed, we should pay special attention to them.
- Warm hand and foot baths: They widen the blood vessels and ensure that we are well supplied with blood down to the tips of our fingers and toes. Tip: A little rosemary oil in the bath water also helps here.
Health: Even more tips for good blood circulation
If you want to promote blood circulation in general, you should also follow the following tips:
- Healthy eating: A balanced diet with a lot of fiber (for example from whole grain products), some lean meat, lots of fish, fruit and vegetables and some lean dairy products ensure good blood circulation. Those who largely avoid sugar and fat can do a lot to improve blood flow.
- Move: If you sit in the office all day and then loll on the couch in the evening, you not only lose muscle faster and gain weight, but also increase your risk of circulatory disorders. If you incorporate some exercise into your everyday life, you not only do a lot for your health in general, but can also promote your blood circulation. A short walk every day after lunch, for example, improves blood circulation. If you want to do even more for your blood vessels and muscles, you should also exercise at least three times a week for 30 minutes each time. A combination of strength and endurance training is particularly good.
- Non-luxury foods: Alcohol and tobacco in particular are known for their negative effects on our blood vessels and are generally not exactly healthy. In order to protect the heart, it is best to do without both completely or treat yourself to a drink or a cigarette only in exceptional cases.
Reading tips: Your blood circulation is great, but you are interested in the effects of various other home remedies? Then have a look at our articles Home remedies for a cold, home remedies for a cold or home remedies for a cough.
Do you want to exchange ideas about health topics? Then we recommend our BRIGITTE Community to you!
Sources:
Kraft, K .; Stange, R .: Textbook Naturopathic Treatment. Georg Thieme Verlag, 2009
German Society for Vascular Surgery and Vascular Medicine, www.gefaesschirurgie.de