What foods can help your blood flow smoothly? Introducing the causes of poor blood circulation and how to improve it!

To aim for a healthy body, it is necessary to improve blood circulation so that oxygen and nutrients can be easily distributed to all parts of the body.
However, if the wastes are not removed from the body, the blood circulation slows, which not only affects your health but also your skin.

This article introduces the causes of poor blood circulation while providing tips, foods, and drinks that help to improve the blood flow.
Please feel free to follow our recommendations if you suffer from stiff shoulders, coldness, or skin concerns. We hope this information is useful to you!

• 3 causes of poor blood circulation
• Symptoms of poor blood circulation
• Check out the warning signs of poor blood circulation
• What you can do to improve your circulation?
• Foods & drinks that help the blood flow smoothly
• Let's boost your blood circulation with our recommended supplements.

3 causes of poor blood circulation

Let's find out the 3 causes of poor blood circulation.

1. Lack of exercise or sedentary Lifestyle
2. Poor Nutrition
3. Not drinking enough water

Lack of exercise or sedentary Lifestyle

A lack of exercise or sitting for a long time can be dangerous because it can cause the body to develop poor circulation and lead to more severe problems such as increased blood pressure and cholesterol.

So, exercise or moving around every hour helps the circulation as it increases blood flow, gets your heart pumping blood around your body faster, and helps flush the blood through your arteries.

Poor Nutrition

Consuming too many sugary or fatty foods may cause high blood cholesterol levels and trigger atherosclerosis.

Let's try to eat healthier, nutritious foods such as fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits, which will help smooth your blood flow.

Not drinking enough water

When you do not drink enough water or your body is dehydrated, the blood becomes more concentrated and viscous, slowing the blood flow and causing poor circulation.

Drinking plenty of water is important for our health as well as a wide range of other health conditions, and it helps the blood flow smoothly around the body.

Symptoms of poor blood circulation

What are the symptoms of poor circulation?

1. Coldness
2. Eye strain
3. Stiff shoulders, pain in the lower back, and joint pain
4. Swelling

Coldness

Poor blood circulation can also contribute to feeling cold because blood cannot flow through your body at a normal rate, causing heat to not distribute well in your body and making your body unable to retain warmth.

In addition, if you feel coldness continuously, it can easily cause you to have a cold, get a headache, or have pain in various parts of your body.

Eye strain

When you overwork your eyes by staring at computer or smartphone screens for a long time, it will reduce your blood flow to your eyes, lead to eye strain, and may cause blurred vision, difficulty focusing, and other symptoms.

Stiff shoulders, lower back pain, and joint pain

With a reduction in blood circulation in the body, muscles also become stagnant, causing the muscles to become tense and inflamed, resulting in pain.

For example, the neck and shoulders, which support the head, are more likely to become painful. Also, the lower back and joints are prone to pain, causing stiff shoulders, lower back pain, and joint pain.

Swelling

Swelling of the legs is also caused by poor circulation.

Blood in the legs is returned to the heart by "contraction of calf muscles" = "muscle pump action”. However, prolonged sitting or standing postures reduce the muscle pump action, resulting in poor blood circulation. This causes inflammation of the blood vessels, and the water in the blood seeps out of the vessels. When the seeping water accumulates between the tissues, it leads to swelling.

Check out the warning signs of poor blood circulation

Since the signs of poor circulation are easily visible on the face and body, please check if you are suffering from any of them.

If you find any of them, we recommend that you adjust your lifestyle as well as move your body to improve your blood circulation.

Signs on the face

• Hair loss and thinning hair
• A red face
• Dark spots
• Acne prone skin
• Have a tinnitus
• Dark eye circles
• Bloodshot in the eye and blurred vision
• Broken capillaries around nose
• Dark red gums
• The tongue color turns to black and red

Physical signs of poor blood circulation

• A bruise or redness on the skin heals slowly.
• Skin becomes pale or bluish in color after cold exposure.
• Skin goes red or gets a bruise mark easily when touched or pinched.
• Slow wound healing
• Easily have a stiff shoulder
• Numbness or tingling in the leg or hands
• Red palms
• Chest pain or feeling hurt around the heart
• Low back pain
• Be constipated
• Hemorrhoid symptoms will get worse.
• Get bad period cramps
• Coldness in the lower leg or foot

What you can do to improve your circulation?

In order to keep your blood flow flowing smoothly, you should be aware of the following points:

1. Drinking enough water
2. Improve your eating habits
3. Using the stairs instead using the lift
4. Moving or stretching around every hour
5. Take a warm bath instead of showering
6. Do not wear shoes that interrupt blood circulation

Drinking enough water

Whether the weather is hot or cold, the body loses water through sweat and excretion and evaporates when breathing as well. So it is necessary to drink enough water to avoid dehydration.

Well-hydrated blood allows oxygen and nutrients to reach every corner of the body. Water is also essential to improve blood circulation and eliminate unnecessary waste from the body.

Improve your eating habits

The food we eat is also important for blood circulation because good nutrition will help the blood flow smoothly. However, if your diet is too sugary or fatty, it may cause high blood cholesterol levels and trigger atherosclerosis.

In order to improve blood circulation, you can change your eating habits by eating low-sugar and low-fat foods. Please feel free to learn more about the foods and drinks to help improve your blood circulation below.

Using the stairs instead using the lift

If you do not get enough exercise, you should try to take the stairs at the station or at work instead of using the lift. The calf muscles are called the "second heart" and act as a pump to pump blood throughout the body. Taking the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator will strengthen the calf muscles and improve blood circulation.

Moving or stretching around every hour

If you work at a desk for a long time, you should move your body or stretch every hour, such as by stretching your back, arms, legs, or body. Effectiveness can be expected. Stretching not only unwinds your body but also helps you relax.

Take a warm bath instead of showering

Warming the body improves blood circulation, so take a bath in a hot tub for about 10 to 15 minutes.

However, if the water is too hot, you may become flushed or your sympathetic nervous system may become active, causing you to tense up, so it is important to bathe in lukewarm water.
Since hot water at 38–40 degrees Celsius can help increase the parasympathetic nervous system and relax you, you should try it!

Do not wear shoes that interrupt blood circulation

The soles of the feet also act like a pump to circulate blood. However, wearing high-heeled shoes, such as high heels, or shoes that constrict the feet too tightly can put a strain on the feet, causing blood flow to slow.

Poor blood circulation can lead to tired, cold, and swollen feet, so you should switch to sneakers, sandals, or slippers at work to avoid putting strain on your feet.

Foods & drinks that help the blood flow smoothly

It is important to adjust your eating and drinking for good blood circulation. Poor nutrients cause the blood to become sluggish, leading to poor blood circulation.
Moreover, in your exercise routine, try to improve your foods and beverages.

Let's look at some examples of foods and drinks that can improve blood circulation.

Foods to help improve your blood circulation

Let's find out the following foods that can improve your blood circulation:

Vegetables
Vegetables contain many nutrients that are good for blood circulation.
In particular, we recommend green and yellow vegetables, which are rich in vitamins and minerals and high in antioxidants, which prevent the aging of blood vessels and arteriosclerosis. When blood vessels are kept healthy, waste is also less likely to accumulate.

Fruits
Fruits are rich in vitamins and polyphenols, which have antioxidant properties.
Citrus fruits contain vitamins C and E, and apples and blueberries, which are rich in polyphenols, are especially recommended. Mixing them in your daily meal will help prevent the aging of blood vessels.

Natto (Fermented soybeans)
Natto contains an enzyme called Nattokinase, which is effective in dissolving blood clots and improving the clogging of blood vessels while making it easier for blood to circulate.

Also, vitamin B2 contained in natto promotes lipid metabolism and reduces blood cholesterol.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms contain dietary fiber, which lowers blood sugar and prevents the absorption of cholesterol. In addition, reducing blood sugar and cholesterol can easily make the blood flow smoothly.

Also, lenthionine and guanylic acid contained in shiitake mushrooms prevent platelets from hardening in blood vessels and can be expected to make the blood flow smoothly.

Seaweeds
Seaweeds are rich in a dietary fiber called alginic acid, which prevents the absorption of cholesterol and expels it from the body. Also, eating seaweeds first at mealtime can suppress a spike in blood glucose levels, which can be expected to improve the blood circulation effect.

Blue-backed fish
DHA and EPA in blue-backed fish prevent the aging of blood vessels.
DHA improves the elasticity of blood vessels and the flexibility of red blood cells.
EPA interrupts the absorption of cholesterol and lipids while preventing the formation of blood clots.

Drinks to help improve your blood circulation

In order to improve blood circulation, you should also be aware of what you drink on a regular basis. For example, the ingredients in green tea and cocoa can be expected to improve your blood flow.

Green Tea
Green tea contains catechin, a type of polyphenol that has antioxidant properties and prevents the aging of blood vessels. Also, it decreases blood cholesterol and prevents the formation of blood clots. Let's try to drink a cup of green tea every day.

Cocoa
Cocoa contains cacao polyphenols that can be expected to make blood vessels supple due to their antioxidant effect. Also, it has the effect of lowering blood pressure, which promotes blood flow and makes the blood flow smoothly.

Red wine
Red wine contains a polyphenol called resveratrol that improves the elasticity of blood vessels and makes them more supple. Also, it has antioxidant properties, preventing the oxidation of cholesterol in the blood.

However, there is also a point of caution when drinking it.
Since it is only alcohol, drinking too much can be counterproductive by stressing the blood vessels. So please drink it in two glasses or less.

Black Vinegar
Black vinegar contains citric acid and amino acids that help maintain healthy blood vessels, prevent fat from accumulating in the blood, and prevent platelets from clotting.
It can be used for cooking or as a black vinegar drink.

Water
Water is essential for blood circulation. If your body is dehydrated, the water in your blood will also decrease, and your blood will become more concentrated and viscous. So, you should drink 2 liters per day to be good for hydration.

Here are the nutrients that help boost blood circulation:

Citric acid	vinegar, pickled plums, and citrus fruits (e.g., lemons)
EPA	blue-backed fish (e.g., saurys, sardines, and mackerels)
Alginic acid	seaweeds (e.g., wakame and kelp)
Vitamin C	fruits (e.g., strawberries, lemons, and oranges), green peppers, sweet potatoes, and spinach
Vitamin E	vegetables (e.g., pumpkin, asparagus, crown daisy, and Chinese chives), fish (e.g., salmon and mackerel), nuts, and kiwi fruit
Polyphenols	green tea, cocoa, red wine, and grapes

Let's boost your blood circulation with our recommended supplements.

Lifestyle disorders and lack of exercise can cause poor blood circulation, which can lead to various health problems.

Blood that has become thick due to poor circulation can be improved by reviewing lifestyle habits. To make your blood thinner, try to improve your eating habits and adjust your disordered lifestyle.

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