The Best Herbs to Improve Circulation

Good blood circulation is essential for the body’s overall health and proper functioning. Improving it can benefit the heart as well as muscles and arteries throughout the body. While a healthy lifestyle, including a nutritious diet and regular exercise, is a must for good circulation, a number of herbs can help improve it, decreasing your risk of heart disorders that claim millions of lives around the world every year.

Garlic

Consuming garlic on a regular basis is one of the best things you can do to improve overall health, including heart health and circulation. Its been used for centuries as a popular medicinal remedy – and today, herbalists use it to help improve a number of heart and circulatory conditions. A 2006 study  published in The Journal of Nutrition, found that this pungent herb can help improve circulation while reducing blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

Ginkgo biloba

This herb is also an effective circulation booster. It’s well-known to help improve memory due to its ability to increase blood flow through the brain and is frequently used in Germany by physicians to treat varicose veins.

Not only does it increase blood flow in the brain, it also improves blood flow to the heart and lessens the demand on the coronary system for oxygen. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, lab studies have shown that it improves blood circulation by opening the blood vessels and making blood less ‘sticky’.
Cayenne
Using cayenne externally can also improve poor circulation, by rubbing capsicum-based creams or infused oils onto the skin. Used internally, it can help stimulate the heart, regulate blood flow and strengthen the arteries and capillaries.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn is known to help prevent conditions like atherosclerosis and congestive heart failure as well as to reduce blood pressure. It contains powerful antioxidants that are thought to strengthen blood vessels and stimulate blood flow. Analysis of 14 studies found that it was especially effective for managing symptoms associated with chronic heart failure.
A four year study out of Germany on the benefits of hawthorn found that it improves contractions in the veins and heart while also dilating the heart which increases blood flow throughout the body.
Ginger
Ginger is another well-known herb that helps get the blood flowing. It’s said to aid circulation due to a number of factors, including components like amino acids and minerals that help make the blood more fluid, helping to prevent the onset of vascular disease. It also keeps blood from clotting in the arteries and can even lower blood cholesterol levels.
It’s impossible to have good health without good blood circulation – a healthy lifestyle combined with beneficial herbs can help you to achieve it.
-The Alternative Daily