Good circulation means clean arteries, a strong heart, and overall good health. Blood brings not only oxygen to our every single cell, but it also carries vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients where they’re most needed.
Taking care of your circulatory system is trickier than you think, you need to maintain proper blood pressure, a healthy heart, unblocked arteries, and robust, elastic artery walls. The good news is that food can help. Here are 11 foods that may help you improve your circulation.
#11 – Berries
Berries are amazing; they’re not only colorful and deliciously sweet, the perfect addition to any pastry and the soul of the best cheesecakes, but they’re also beneficial for your circulatory system. Their secret? Antioxidants that strengthen your arteries.
The sweet bite-sized fruits also have anti-inflammatory properties that diminish pressure on your circulatory system; berries can even regulate your blood pressure improving artery dilation.
#10 – Green Tea
There are few better sources of antioxidants than green tea. Asian cultures have known about the health properties for centuries, and it’s been party not only of their traditional medicine but also of their everyday lifestyles.
Enjoying a cup of green tea every morning is a lovely habit and will keep your arteries strong and healthy.
#9 – Dark Chocolate
More good news. Dark chocolate can be too much sugar if eaten without moderation, but in small doses, like a small bite every day, chocolate is quite useful for your circulatory system. Again, antioxidants are to blame, this time from the roasted cacao beans.
Make sure you source dark chocolate with a high percentage of cacao; it’s the healthiest kind.
#8 – Hot Peppers
Spice up your life with a little heat. Hot peppers have a pungent substance called capsaicin that makes us sweat and blush, and it’s that feeling what makes peppers good for your circulatory system.
Capsaicin helps our bodies release nitric oxide that relaxes and expands our arteries.
#7 – Onions
Onions give that extra flavor to everything, and they’re used in almost every world cuisine. The root vegetables have potent anti-inflammatory properties that reduce your blood pressure. Onions also lower triglycerides levels and bad LDL cholesterol.
Quercetin in onions is the compound responsible for the smelly veggie’s health benefits, and studies show it can reduce all circulatory system-related illnesses, including heart diseases.
#6 – Cinnamon
Cooking with cinnamon will fill your house with heartwarming aromas reminiscent of your childhood, but it will also take care of your circulatory system. Extensive amounts of polyphenols, powerful antioxidants, help keep your heart and arteries strong. The aromatic spice also decreases cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
One other big health benefit of consuming cinnamon regularly is that it might decrease insulin resistance, particularly useful for people with diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
#5 – Garlic
Delectably aromatic when roasted, but perhaps too much for a hot date, people have used garlic in traditional medicine since the beginning of times. Garlic aids with all kinds of cardiovascular diseases as it reduces blood pressure and hypertension. It also helps lower harmful cholesterol levels; garlic even fights infections.
There’s more; garlic has reasonable amounts of iron, and aids against anemia — blood iron deficiency.
#4 – Olive Oil
Olive oil is an essential part of the Mediterranean diet, the healthiest way to eat. This green-hued oil is also a tremendous source of antioxidants that will keep your arteries in shape. Oleic acid, an unsaturated fat in olive oil, is excellent to lower harmful cholesterol levels and clear your veins.
A natural anti-inflammatory too, cooking with olive oil can reduce the risk of having a stroke, and will improve your blood vessel health.
#3 – Fatty Fish
Tuna, sardines, salmon, and mackerel are just a few examples of fatty fish, also known as bluefish. According to the National Institute of Health, eating fish once a week can lower the risk of heart disease by 15%, which is a lot.
Also, fatty fish have exorbitant amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are unsaturated fats that can lower bad LDL cholesterol in your bloodstream.
#2 – Turmeric
If you’ve had a few curries in your lifetime, you know turmeric well; it gives curry its glowy orange color. Turmeric is not only a flavoring agent, but it’s also part of traditional medicine.
Turmeric has a bioactive compound called curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory that will lower your blood pressure when consumed often. The healthy substance also restores your artery walls, preventing clotting.
#1 – Ginger
As most foods above, ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and can help you lower your cholesterol levels. Making the aromatic root part of your diet can reduce by 8% the risk of hypertension and 13% the risk of coronary heart disease.
When combined with other ingredients above, like turmeric, onion, peppers, and garlic, you can have a super-meal that will improve your circulation effectively.
Keep that clock ticking!
Food can help you maintain a healthy circulatory system, but you need to help food help you! You must exercise too.
Get your blood pumping and feel better in no time. If there’s one thing you have to take care of, it is your ticker.
