How To Boost Your Blood Flow!

Shake up your diet and help improve circulation

- Ali Horsfall

If you regularly have cold hands and feet, get tingles and cramps, and suffer with digestive problems, it could be due to poor circulation. Age, lack of exercise, general health, and hereditary conditions can all be major causes. You can help boost blood flow in the body by staying at a healthy weight, being physically active and getting enough sleep. But that’s not all – adding certain foods to your diet has also been shown to improve circulation.

‘For optimal health, you should aim for a variety of different foods and colours in your diet,’ says Valentina Cartago, nutritional therapist at Bio-Kult probiotic dietary supplements. However, if your goal is supporting healthy blood flow, some foods may be better than others, based on the type of nutrients they provide.’ Here’s what to add to your plate…

Turmeric

‘This golden spice is used in ayurvedic medicine and can be added to curries and stews, but also to warm beverages such as lattes,’ says Valentina. Its active compound is curcumin, which has antioxidant properties, in addition to promoting blood flow.

Walnuts

These are a plant source of anti-inflammatory omega-3, and can be added to many dishes for an extra crunch and nutty flavour. ‘Walnuts are rich in circulation supporting compounds and studies have shown they are beneficial for reducing high cholesterol,’ says Valentina.

Cayenne pepper