Published: 04/23/2011 - Updated: 02/06/2018
Author: K. Laura Garcés G
This is a not uncommon condition and appears when people have been through several crises, which generate narrowing of blood vessels preventing the blood flow to the periphery and surface and slowing the proper circulation to your hands and feet.
- Generally, this happens to people who live in humid and cold, climates which often suffer it severely during winter time
- Poor eating habits
- Lack of exercise
- Too much stress, anxiety or fear
- Retention of joy and consideration are emotional patterns that predispose this condition
- Hands and feet, during the crisis, become white or blue due to lack of circulation.
- If the narrowing of blood vessels occurs in other areas, these also get blue or white.
- Once the crisis passes and the blood circulation is restored, there is a tingling or throbbing in the affected area, signs that warn that the crisis has passed.
Treatments and natural remedies
Natural medicine is ideal for treating this type of condition. It is always advisable to avoid drugs because the body has a remarkable self-healing ability, it only requires the necessary information to restore balance and health.
Foods to avoid: as in any disease, you should always consider the diet, and in this case is very important to avoid all foods that are not healthy for the cardiovascular system, blood vessels or the bloodstream. Try to avoid dairy products, refined and processed products and those containing sugar (white). All of these foods only hamper the proper balance and harmony of the body.
Food to heal: to prevent and treat this condition, you must not neglect the adequate intake of vitamin E, which helps improve circulation. Also, include enough vitamin C (orange juice, lemon, strawberries, broccoli, etc.) as it maintains healthy the connective tissue and reduce inflammation. Starting your day with a juice or a bowl of citrus fruit or acidic (such as pineapple and guava) will help greatly. Pay attention also to the good intake of vitamin B and include calcium, omega-3 oils and zinc, which must be in your diet. Vegetable oils (soy, sesame, olive, etc.), nuts, oily fish like salmon, tuna, etc., olives, avocado, citrus fruits (orange, tangerine, lemon, etc.), tomato, seaweed foods rich in potassium, bananas, whole grains, legumes, etc. are very beneficial in your diet.
Two powerful foods to promote circulation: Blueberries contain vitamin P which helps to increase endurance by reducing capillary fragility. These are great for improving micro-circulation. Garlic is another food that cannot miss in your diet as it is the best friend in combating cardiovascular problems and improving blood circulation. Among its long list of benefits, it has vasodilator properties, which help that your circulation improves remarkably quickly. For best utilization, take garlic on an empty stomach with a glass of warm water daily and do not eat anything else during the half hour that follows.
Natural Alternatives: acupuncture, acupressure and bio-energy are really very effective alternatives to help regain the body's energy balance.
Phytotherapy: ginkgo, rosemary, ginger and prickly ash are some of the very effective options in treating this condition.
Goodbye to Stress: Exercise is a powerful tool to keep the body in perfect health. Exercise not only helps eliminate the toxemia of the body due to poor nutrition, but also helps break up toxins stuck and accumulated in the intestine and blood vessels, and debug bad fats. Besides all this, the exercise helps release tension, which often leads to endless suffering. To really heal your body, you need to keep an exercise routine at least of 20 minutes a day, the best disciplines to stay in shape are yoga (or Eastern practices such as tai chi, etc..), swimming, walking, etc.
Pay attention to what you feel: all diseases are closely related to the way we live and face life's experiences. Fear is closely related to the causes of this condition, you need to review what you feel and try a feedback to make you feel better. Look if you really are enjoying what you do.
If you live in cold climates, try to keep up with energy and activity: so that the blood keeps flowing and your feet and hands don’t get cool. If your limbs feel very cold, make a hot tea with honey, molasses or brown sugar. Remember to avoid white sugar. While drinking the tea, put your hands around the cup to warm and stimulate the circulation.
Prepare infusions with the herbs mentioned and take them whenever possible. Fresh ginger is very good; you can use it to prepare salads or tea.
Avoid taking tea at lunch; teas should be taken 20 minutes after eating. The ginkgo, rosemary and hawthorn tea can be prepared and taken 2 or 3 times a day.
To prepare the tea, take a teaspoon of rosemary, for example, and dissolve in a cup of boiling water. Let simmer a few minutes and then turn off and let stand 5 minutes. Strain and drink.
Other beneficial herbs for good circulation are:
- Horsetail: is a very good remedy to prevent hardening of the arteries and help reduce harmful cholesterol accumulated. Drink a cup after eating, one or two cups each day will be enough.
- Passion Flower
- Olive Leaves: have a hypo-tensive effect as a peripheral vasodilator and diuretic. It is used to lower blood pressure and prevent angina and cardiac arrhythmias. It can be combined with hawthorn.
- Rusco: is used to prevent varicose veins, hemorrhoids, heavy legs, swollen legs or ankles, etc.
- Hammamelis: the right medicine to promote good circulation, used and recommended in cases of varicose veins, hemorrhoids and heavy periods.
- Dandelion: rich in tannins and soothing properties, is very beneficial in peripheral circulatory problems (poor circulation in the extremities).
About the author