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Your body’s circulatory system is responsible for carrying blood, oxygen, nutrients, and hormones throughout the body. The system is made of blood vessels like the arteries which help the blood flow away from the heart and the veins which carry it back towards the heart. However, when this flow is compromised, symptoms of poor circulation may arise. Poor circulation is most commonly found in your extremities like your legs and arms but is not considered a condition itself. Instead, it is a result of other health conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart, and arterial conditions. That is why it is important to always figure out the underlying cause instead of just treating the symptoms.
One of the biggest problems with poor circulation is that cells are not getting enough oxygen to function properly. Symptoms vary from person to person, but can cause a lot of discomfort and pain like muscle cramps, tingling, numbness, and throbbing in your legs, hands, fingers, feet, and toes. You may also experience pins and needles sensations on your skin, chest pain, and cold fingers and toes.
The most common conditions that reduce your blood flow and cause poor circulation are:
Smoking - The chemicals from doing so damage your blood vessels.
High Blood Pressure - The pressure and force of the blood that pushes against your blood vessel walls weaken, making it difficult for blood to flow through.
Atherosclerosis - Plaque builds up inside your arteries, which reduces blood flow.
Diabetes - Too much sugar in your blood can cause harm to your blood vessels.
Obesity - This can cause many medical concerns that limit blood flow.
Although medications can be a treatment option, this will not address the root cause of the issue. Luckily, like with most health conditions, there are many lifestyle habits we can adopt to reduce our risk of poor circulation. For example, creating a consistent exercise routine. The best activity to improve circulation is aerobic exercise. This includes brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dancing, rowing, and boxing. And many of these activities can be done for free, like going outdoors for a jog or finding a boxing workout on YouTube. Exercising regularly increases blood flow, strengthens your heart, and is great for your overall health.
Next is nutrition. What you put in your body is the foundation of your health. Reducing your intake of processed foods and sugar and focusing on whole foods can set you up for success. Incorporating foods like fish, leafy green vegetables, berries, and avocados can do wonders for your heart health.
The last tip is managing your weight. I believe it is important to not just focus on losing weight but to create a lifestyle that supports your healthy weight. Depending on what your health puzzle looks like, the two previous tips are a great starting point. For more personalized recommendations you should consider partnering with my team. We are dedicated to solving your health puzzle with natural solutions. Through extensive lab work, we can create a plan to improve your health, mind, body, and spirit. Click here for more information!