Foods For Blood Circulation: Poor circulation is a common problem caused by a number of conditions like Peripheral artery disease (PAD), diabetes, obesity, smoking, and Raynaud’s disease. Reduced blood flow cause unpleasant symptoms, such as pain, muscle cramps, numbness, digestive issues, and coldness in the hands or feet.
Although circulatory issues are often treated with medications but eating certain foods may also help improve blood flow. When combined with exercise, hydration, weight management, and no smoking habit, a healthy diet can help optimize circulation, or blood flow.
Foods To Improve Blood Circulation
1. Beetroot
Beetroot is a superfood that is rich in nitrate. Nitrate is said to be good for humans because the body turns it into nitric oxide, which helps to relax blood vessels and improves blood flow to tissues and organs throughout the body. On the other hand, the beetroot juice helps to lower the systolic blood pressure.
2. Berries
If wondering how to increase blood flow, berries are the best option. Berries are rich in anthocyanin, which is an antioxidant responsible for berries' red and purple hues. Anthocyanin protects the artery walls and helps keep blood vessels flexible. They also stimulate the release of nitric oxide to lower blood pressure.
3. Pomegranates
Tart pomegranate seeds are rich in nitrates and antioxidants that boost circulation. These compounds keep arteries wide open, or dilated, and they help lower blood pressure. This further leads to better blood flow to the brain, heart, muscles, organs, and tissues. It is said that athletes who eat pomegranate seeds notice the increased blood flow which boosts their performance.
4. Garlic
Garlic is rich in compound called 'allicin' which helps blood vessels relax. People who eat ample amounts of garlic experience improved blood flow through the heart. This further helps blood flow through the heart more easily and helps reduce the workload on the heart. Blood pressure is decreased when the heart doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood.
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5. Spinach
If one is suffering from high blood pressure, they should include spinach in their diet. This leafy green vegetable is rich in nitrates. The body converts the nitrates in spinach to nitric oxide making the blood vessels wider to let the blood flow more easily. Eating spinach makes arteries flexible and decreases blood pressure.
6. Turmeric
Turmeric is a yellow spice used commonly in Indian cuisine. The spice derives its golden yellow color from the compound curcumin. Curcumin in turmeric helps increase nitric oxide levels thus widening blood vessels. When blood vessels are wider, blood flows more easily and reaches the heart, brain, organs, muscles, and tissues.
7. Grapes
Deep purple grapes are rich in antioxidants that help boost blood flow by relaxing blood vessel walls, helping blood vessels work better. Grapes contain compounds that decrease inflammation and make blood less sticky, so people who eat grapes are less likely to suffer from blood clots. Grapes are a sweet treat that helps curb circulation issues.
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