Ways to Increase Blood Circulation
A lot of recent studies are showing that a poor blood circulation drastically increases your odds of developing heart disease or having strokes. When you think about it, it’s not really that much of a surprise as with so many of the blood disorders, there are knock on consequences. While a lot of focus has gone into the various ways of lowering cholesterol and saturated fats, not much focus has gone toward ways to increase blood circulation.
Some people just naturally have poor blood circulation due to genetics. Having said that, armed with a little knowledge, anyone can increase blood circulation by taking a few simple steps. By far the easiest way to increase blood circulation is to be more active, and the reason activity and regular exercise crops up as a preventative or cure for many ills is because it’s so effective.
Now, no one is saying that to be healthy you have to go out and purchase exercise treadmills or any other types of home gym exercise equipment as a little light exercise for around 30 minutes a day is all it takes to dramatically increase blood circulation. Light exercise can mean just a pleasant stroll around the block a couple times, or walking to a nearby store. Heavier exercises, like running, swimming, or weight lifting, will of course increase blood circulation a lot too, and for the more fitness conscious of us maybe some home exercise equipment is perhaps not such a bad idea.
It’s also a good idea to watch your diet carefully if you are trying to increase blood circulation. One other common cause for poor blood circulation is obstructed or partially obstructed arteries, which can occur not only due to lack of exercise but a poor diet as well. Therefore, developing good healthy eating habits, or weight loss diet plans if you’re after loosing a few pounds, should be included in your fitness regime. Generally, keeping cholesterol and saturated fat levels in your diet to a minimum will help. A good diet by itself won’t increase blood circulation, but it’s important to note that a bad diet may hinder your other efforts.
One scary thing about poor blood circulation is that it often has no real identifiable symptoms. While many people with poor blood circulation are prone to losing feeling or going numb in their extremeties often, this isn’t noticeable in everyone. A particular condition associated with bad circulation is called PAD, or peripheral arterial disease. PAD is often connected to people who spend a large portion of the day immobile, especially elderly people. Taking steps to increase blood circulation is a good idea if you’ve been diagnose with PAD, or if you spend a lot of time immobile during the day.
It’s harder to increase blood circulation if you are immobile due to sickness or injury. However there are still steps you can take. There are special exercise devices designed for use by people with limited mobility you can look into, and there are also new medications designed to increase blood circulation that may help.
SUMMARY
Although circulatory disorders are most common in middle aged and elderly people, this doesn't mean it's not an issue with the younger generations too, because it can be. The cause of poor blood circulation can be many, but one common problem with younger people is down to lack of movement. My son fractured his femur some years ago and was bed bound for 8 weeks. It took quite a bit of time for the blood circulation poor skin tone, tingling, numbness, and discoloration to come back to his foot.
Another common symptom of poor blood circulation is dizziness, and also a prickly feeling in the limbs. Many folks like to take a vitamin for blood circulation but as with all medical conditions, always seek the advice of your doctor first, as self diagnosis can lead to further complications and it definitely not recommended.
