Nutrients That Will Promote Good Blood Flow
Your blood courses through a network of nearly 100,000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries each day. Keeping your blood flowing freely helps ensure that cells throughout your body receive optimal delivery of oxygen and nutrients and prompt removal of waste products. Certain nutrients offer potential benefits specific to the circulatory system.
Omega-3 essential fatty acids may help prevent arterial plaque formation, according to a study published in the September 2012 issue of the "Journal of Surgical Research." In the tissue culture study, human white blood cells grown together with endothelial cells -- the cells that line blood vessels -- were exposed to the essential fatty acid eicosapentanoic acid, or EPA, for either four or 24 hours. Results showed less attachment of white blood cells to endothelial cells, a process that impairs blood flow and promotes arterial plaque formation. By contrast, addition of the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid, a prominent fatty acid in the average American diet, resulted in significantly elevated levels of inflammation and promoted arterial plaque formation.
Vitamins A, C and E
Antioxidant vitamins A, C and E may improve blood flow by preventing oxidation of cholesterol, one of the main causative factors in arterial plaque formation, according to a study published in the January 2012 issue of the journal "Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine." Oxidized cholesterol also reduces activity of nitric oxide, a substance that promotes blood vessel dilation, note researchers. Antioxidant vitamins may promote healthy blood flow by preventing damage caused by oxidized lipids and also by relaxing arteries, conclude researchers.
Magnesium, a mineral that works together with calcium to regulate muscle function, may help prevent calcification of arteries, according to a study published in the journal "Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation." In the tissue culture study, magnesium significantly reduced deposits of calcium phosphate, a salt that forms when phosphate levels are high. Researchers called for further studies to determine how magnesium works to inhibit arterial calcification.
The B-complex vitamin folate may help reduce inflammation and prevent arterial plaque formation, according to a study published in the December 2012 issue of the journal "Molecular Immunology." In the tissue culture study, mouse white blood cells grown in low-folate conditions produced two to three times as many inflammatory molecules and significantly less artery-dilating nitric oxide. These preliminary results indicate that folate may improve blood flow by reducing inflammation that leads to plaque formation and by promoting blood vessel relaxation.
- Journal of Surgical Research: Effects of Fatty Acids on Endothelial Cells: Inflammation and Monocyte Adhesion
- Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine: Antioxidant Vitamins in Atherosclerosis--Animal Experiments and Clinical Studies
- Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation: Magnesium Prevents Phosphate-Induced Calcification in Human Aortic Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells
- Molecular Immunology: Folate Deficiency Enhances the Inflammatory Response of Macrophages
- The Franklin Institute: Blood Vessels
Tracey Roizman, DC is a writer and speaker on natural and preventive health care and a practicing chiropractor. She also holds a B.S. in nutritional biochemistry.