How to improve blood circulation?

What exactly is blood circulation and how does it help your body to function properly?

The pumping heart is responsible for continuous movement of blood throughout the body. Together the heart and blood vessels carry out the circulation of blood through the entire body. Arteries take the oxygen-rich blood from the heart to all parts and the veins take the blood, this time with carbon dioxide, back to the heart.

What triggers a poor blood circulation?

There are several reasons that affect our blood circulation in the body:

• Smoking is one of the main causes for a bad blood circulation as the carbon monoxide present in it damages the layer of cells, allowing fats and plaque to stick to vessel walls, hence hampering the regular blood flow.
• Nowadays, our sedentary lifestyle does not allow adequate time for exercising. Lack of exercises and mobility in day to day life can also be one of the reasons of poor blood circulation.
• Bringing on fast foods regularly trigger obesity obstructing the flow of blood.
• High/low blood pressure and cholesterol becomes one of the prime reasons of poor blood circulation.

How to improve blood circulation?

 1. Avoid Drinking

While it is okay to drink occasionally, over consumption of  alcohal can lead to a host of health problems that include heart problems. If you are consuming alcohol regularly, it is time to cut back on the number of times you drink in a month. Instead, make healthier choices like red wine that contains antioxidants and is known to help improve to your cholesterol and blood flow when consumed in moderate amounts

2. Keep Yourself Hydrated

Our organs require staying hydrated to function properly. Water is responsible for flushing toxins from our system and improves the blood circulation helping body to avoid any health hazard.

3. Get Nutty

Eating healthy nuts including almond and walnuts help in bettering the blood flow. Eat nuts that are high in vitamins A, B, C and E and those which are high in magnesium and iron. Nuts can help improve circulation by reducing inflammation and oxidative damage in the arteries.

4. Green Tea Alert

If you are drinking milk tea too many times a day, switch to green tea that is healthier and stimulates your bodily functions. Green tea helps in widening blood vessels in the body, ultimately increasing the blood flow

5. Skip Stimulants

You must reduce the intake of stimulants like caffeine to let your blood circulate without any obstruction. Reduce sugar and caffeine that dehydrates your body every time, as for improving your blood circulation your body requires a lot of hydration.

6. Reduce Salt Consumption

Intake of excess salt can lead to raising blood pressure and cause bloating, which in turn hampers the blood flow. Hence, if not normal food, you must reduce processed food consumption like canned foods, ketchup sauce, frozen foods containing high amount of sodium.

7. Root to Root

Add some more garlic, onions and ginger in your grocery list- not only do they stimulate the health of your circulatory system but also have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that will help keep your digestion process in place. They also contain organosulfur compounds that help the body to fight infection and flush out the toxins     

8. Increase Consumption of Herbs

Herbs are very safe and effective when it comes to treating any sickness. The family of herb also includes ginseng roots that are known to strengthen immunity and increase blood circulation.

9. Dark Chocolates

Good news for all the chocolate lovers!
 Dark chocolate contains cocoa, which has flavonoids that further links to improving blood flow.

10. Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne used as fresh pepper or dried spice helps increasing the metabolism rate and strengthening arteries and blood vessels.

11. Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are super rich in vitamin E that avoids forming clots in the blood. You can also try olives, nuts and pumpkin seeds.

12. Citrus Fruits

Try citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruits as they contain vitamin C, which further helps in lowering sugar and inflammation.

13. Watermelons

Watermelons contain lycopene which is a natural antioxidant linked to improving circulation. You can have tomatoes, apricots and pink grapefruit as well.

14.Avocados

Avocados are rich in omega 3 fatty acids that support cardiovascular system and increase blood circulation. You can find the same in raw seeds like flax seeds and chia seeds.