If the blood in your body doesn’t circulate properly, it can lead to things like your leg falling asleep or even a heart attack. Learn how to improve your circulation.
Circulation is essential to good health. Besides letting blood flow smoothly in the body, proper circulation delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body. It also helps take away waste products.
If you’re wondering how to improve blood circulation in legs or how to improve circulation in hands, the answer is the same.
Find out how to improve blood circulation naturally in five simple ways below.
Improving Circulation
Before we get started, let’s get some obvious tips out of the way. For example:
- Reducing saturated fats in your diet
- Not smoking
- Moving around instead of sitting still for extended periods
These are all things you should always keep in mind if you want better circulation. In addition, try the following five tips and start bettering your circulation today.
1. Jogging Around the Block
An easy way to start improving your circulation is through regular cardiovascular exercise. Whether it’s jogging, cycling, or walking, being physically active promotes better circulation.
According to a 2003 review, exercising helps with oxygen production and use. If you’re feeling too tired to exercise, keep in mind that better circulation can minimize fatigue.
2. Add Oily Fish to your Diet
If you’re looking for foods that improve blood circulation in legs, eat some fish.
However, not all fish come with the same benefits. Consuming oily fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines can improve circulation.
Oily fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which help promote cardiovascular health.
Other good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are kale and supplements. However, oily fish is the best source for this circulation-improving ingredient.
3. Balance your Iron
Iron makes hemoglobin, which makes up red blood cells, which carry oxygen. Consuming iron-rich foods like spinach or red meat helps your body maintain the mineral, but make sure you have the right balance.
According to a 2013 study, there may be a link between too much iron and people with high cholesterol. Make sure your body has enough iron but not more than it needs.
4. Healthy Weight to Go
Individuals who are overweight can suffer from a few health issues, including bad circulation.
Losing weight improved circulation for overweight women in this 2009 study. It also increased their adiponectin levels, which is a protein associated with vascular function.
5. Downward Dog Time
Yoga is not just a trendy low-impact exercise. Through bending, stretching, and twisting, yoga helps compress and decompress the body’s veins resulting in better circulation.
One of the most popular and simplest yoga positions is downward-facing dog.
By putting the hips and heart above the head, this yoga position allows gravity to increase blood flow to the head and improves circulation.
Look into various yoga positions or taking a yoga class. Don’t worry if you’re not stretchy or bendy enough at first – yoga positions are easy to modify for beginners.