Promoting Better Blood Circulation for Health

Blood delivers essential nutrients and oxygen throughout the body and allows muscles to keep working. Blood flow also helps remove harmful waste from the body and maintains overall functionality. Clearly, then, inadequate circulation causes many health problems. Proper blood flow is absolutely essential to living a healthy life, and must therefore not be neglected.

There are many foods which specifically help in the department of blood circulation, and whether you’re suffering from inadequate circulation or not, you would certainly do well to incorporate as much of these foods into your diet as possible so you can either alleviate the symptoms you already face or ward off any of the unfortunate conditions which will inevitably result from having bad blood circulation. In fact not having optimal blood flow won’t necessary lead to any serious health problems, but it does have the result of leaving you not feeling as good as you otherwise should be. The point is that no matter what your own circumstances might be, it is certainly important to maintain healthy circulation.

You may have already heard a lot of talk about the Japanese diet; it has gotten considerable attention because the Japanese people have the longest life span in the world. This is probably partially a result of the Japanese having good blood flow, and this can be attributed to certain elements of their diet. Greasy fish contain high quantities of omega 3 fatty acids and make a massive contribution to healthy blood flow. Look to salmon, tuna, halibut, herring, and eel for great sources of omega 3s. These fish will help control your cholesterol levels and your blood sugar, both key elements to healthy blood. What’s more, the aforementioned fish also contain Taurine, an amino acid which regulates blood pressure. Altogether these fish keep your blood healthy in so many ways it’s incredible, so try to incorporate these fish into your diet at least a few times a week.

One of the most common blood related afflictions that people suffer these days is a lack of iron in the blood, called anemia. As a result of not having enough iron in the blood people often develop very pale skin, as well as feelings of lethargy. The less iron you have in your blood the more tired you’ll be, and many people go a long time without realizing that they are actually anemic and could have had more a lot more energy if they'd adjusted their diet. Beef, pork, and chicken liver are particularly high in iron, though if you still cannot get enough there are many iron pills on the market. However if you get your iron out of food there are added benefits. For example, chicken liver also contains heparin, this means it reduces blood clots and consequently has a large effect on blood circulation and heart health in particular.

Apples are the archetypical healthy food, especially seeing as how they are also delicious and inexpensive they have become pervasive in our diets. Fortunately apples also play a major role in healthy blood circulation. Apples contain pectin, a substance which actually mitigates the collection of cholesterol along the lining of blood vessels. This keeps blood flowing properly and reduces the chance of clotting. Many studies have been conducting to examine the health benefits of apples and they have demonstrated that they have a considerable effect on reducing the chance of heart attack due to their ability to promote better blood flow.

A guide to foods for healthy blood circulation wouldn’t be complete without considering any vegetables. We’ll therefore turn to the green cabbage, a vegetable which is very rich in vitamin B9, otherwise known as folic acid. Folic acid is very good for blood flow, but when cooked the cabbage loses a lot of its folic acid so cabbage is best eaten raw. Cabbage also contains vitamin K, an essential vitamin to prevent blood clotting. Another vegetable to consider is broccoli, which contains high amounts of selenium, a mineral which is known for its positive effects of blood flow.

It may not surprise you that nuts are also very important to promote blood flow. Many nuts are high in vitamins A, B, PP, C, E, magnesium, iron, and calcium. All of these nutrients contribute to better blood circulation, so look for walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, peanuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. However it is best not to eat too many nuts, its no secret that nuts are often very high in fat.

One last food to consider is the orange; Vitamin C promotes good health in many ways. Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C helps your body digest iron, which is important for reasons we saw earlier. The soluble fiber in oranges helps reduce bad cholesterol in the blood and some of the other acids contained in the orange reduce the chances of liver disease or overall blood failures.

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