10 Ways to Increase Blood Circulation in Legs & Feet (Naturally)

Increasing your blood circulation in your legs, feet, and hands naturally – is not as hard as you may think – and can improve blood flow related health conditions – immensely .

In fact, the simple tips you’ll find below are mostly effortless, work super-quickly, and you may even enjoy applying them. 😊

Did you know?

Tingling hands and feet, hair loss, constant fatigue, hypertension, headaches, feeling cold, aching muscles, swelling feet, and ankles, dry itchy skin, varicose veins, anxiety, chronic inflammation, memory loss, sluggish digestion, heart disease – are all associated with poor blood circulation.

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What Causes Poor Blood Circulation?

We have an uncanny ability to spend hours on end sitting down, usually at work, and when we’re done with that we’re so exhausted we become one with our couches at home.

•  When we don’t move, blood circulation decreases . Every cell lacks enough oxygen and nutrients and nothing functions the way it’s supposed to.

That’s why sitting makes us much more tired than an hour of walking.

• The second most common cause is our  food and diet . The modern American diet of processed foods and insufficient fruit and vegetables allows for plaque build-up in our arteries followed by a narrowing of our blood vessels.

Overweight is another common reason. The more belly fat you lose, the better your arteries are able to expand when needed, allowing more flow of blood, the researchers at John Hopkins University found.

• Finally, poor blood circulation can be a warning sign of serious diseases like weak heart muscles, hardening of arteries, and Peripheral Artery Disease.

10 Ways to Increase Blood Circulation in Legs & Feet

Obviously, the best way to improve blood circulation in your extremities is to completely change your lifestyle.

Switching to a real food diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding household toxins are the best ways to go, but this can be really hard for most people.

So, to make it more practical, discover 10 super easy ways to give a good boost to your blood circulation, and fast.

1. Best Foods & Herbs to Improve Blood Circulation

Generally,  fiber and antioxidant rich foods  are well-known for their ability to encourage blood circulation, but some specific circulation-boosting superfoods, herbs, and spices are:

1. Sunflower seeds – these contain a lot of Vitamin E, a particularly effective circulation-boosting nutrient.

Other Vitamin E rich foods are nuts, dark leafy greens, and tomatoes. Toss all of them in your salad, add some pure olive oil, and your circulation-boosting (yummy) salad is ready.

2. Cod Liver Oil – Cod liver oil is a nutrient powerhouse, especially Vitamins A, D, E, and omega-3 fatty acids. The fermented kind is even better.

3. Lemon, Orange, Vitamin-C-rich foods – lemons and oranges contain citrate, which naturally improves circulation. Vitamin C that they offer is also important because a lack of it is associated with the narrowing of the arteries.

Other foods rich in Vitamin C are dark leafy greens (especially kale), bell peppers, fresh herbs, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwi fruits, etc.

4. Cayenne Pepper – Chili peppers are well-known for their ability to increase blood flow, strengthen arteries, and stimulate the heart. The main medicinal properties of cayenne are derived from a chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin is the ingredient that gives peppers their heat.

👉 You can add 1/4 teaspoon ground Cayenne Pepper to your green juice, you can add it to soups and you can use it topically for swollen ankles and feet by making a paste with water and olive oil.

Basically, any food that is naturally spicy will increase your blood circulation. Mustard, ginger, and the all-mighty Turmeric are a few examples.

5. Ginko Biloba – Ginko is often used as a natural remedy for memory problems for its ability to help with blood circulation problems in the brain. Varicose veins can also be relieved with Ginko.

👉 The most common way to use it is through a supplement, like this one.

6. Garlic – garlic was found to “cleanse” the blood and prevent plaque build-up in the arteries. To get the benefits you’ll have to eat it raw (No more than 1 clove of garlic a day).

7. Berries – all berries are high in fiber, antioxidants, and just about every nutrient on earth. And they taste so great so it’s easy to snack on some every day, right?

8. Beet Juice – beet juice or beet powder is high in nitrates, which your body converts into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes blood vessels and increases blood flow to muscle tissues.

Note: Make sure to check for contraindications if you’re taking other supplements or prescribed medication.

 Easy Juice for Poor Blood Circulation 

If you find it hard to incorporate all these foods, herbs, and spices in your diet, the easiest thing to do is to juice it up.

Toss a few dark leafy greens in your blender, add 2 slices of ginger, orange juice (or the whole fruit), a few Goji berries, 1/2 teaspoon ground Cayenne pepper, 25 sunflower seeds, and there you go – a sweet, bitter, spicy circulation-booster made by you.

2. Best Exercises to Boost Blood Flow 

Rebounding was declared as  the best exercise of all time  by no other than NASA and is my favorite exercise.

Jumping on a rebounder (or trampoline), even for just a few minutes (a few times a day) is a super-easy way to instantly boost your blood circulation from head to toe while enjoying a good lymphatic system cleanse.

3. Far Infrared Heat

Heat is a quick way to temporarily increase local blood circulation.  Heat expands the arteries  (vasolidation) and capillaries and allows for the blood to flow more easily and effectively.

But, if you don’t like taking hot baths every day, an infrared heating pad is not only more convenient but more effective than a regular heating pad.

Infrared rays are proven to penetrate 2-5 cm deep, heating the body from the inside out, while ambient temperature stays relatively cool.

Infrared therapy dilates your arteries, gets your heart beating faster, and burns calories without moving a muscle.

👉 See the other amazing benefits of infrared therapy.

4. Acupressure Mat

An acupressure mat, the modern-day bed of nails is truly a fast and easy way to  improve blood circulation in a matter of minutes. 

When you lie on an acupressure mat, dozens of little spikes (it doesn’t hurt) stimulate pressure points in your back, which makes your body “hurry” and send extra blood to the area.

This, of course, boosts circulation and relieves pain and stress – sometimes immediately.

This is the acupressure mat that I have at home if you want to see what I’m talking about.

5. Dry Brushing

Daily dry brushing has many benefits, one of them is boosting circulation in your legs and feet. It can really warm you up on a cold winter morning.

Brush in upward, circular motions toward your heart. Move the brush in a clockwise manner and go over each area of skin twice.

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Did you know?

Dry skin brushing may help to soften hard fat deposits below the skin while distributing fat deposits more evenly. This may help to diminish the appearance of cellulite.

According to Dr. Mercola, dry brushing is also said to help reduce cellulite by removing toxins that may break down connective tissue, although some believe the effect is temporary.

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6. Self Massage – Foam Roller/Infrared Foot Massager

Regular massages can really help you improve your blood circulation. But, since most of us can’t afford frequent massages, using a self-massage tool is a great alternative.

A foam roller is an amazingly effective tool for boosting blood circulation in your legs and feet, and you won’t need anyone’s help to use it.

The Best Way to Massage Your Feet to Boost Blood Flow

📢 If you want to increase blood circulation in your feet, I highly recommend that you get an infrared foot massager.

7. Water

The more you stay hydrated, the better your blood will flow. Add some water to the mud river, and it will flow better, right?

I know, I’m not great with metaphors.

8. Breathing Exercises

If not the quantity, then the quality, right? If you have poor blood circulation and your cells don’t get enough oxygen, why not add more oxygen to every breath you take?

 Deep breathing a few times a day  is an easy (and very relaxing) way to increase the oxygen in your blood and thus your entire body, and even to instantly lower your blood pressure!

9. Stretching

Some would claim stretching is not an easy way like I promised, but I consider it to be because it’s fun.

Any stretch (meaning you don’t have to become a master in Yoga) will boost your circulation immediately.

Get up at work or at home and do some stretches. Imagine you’re a cat and you’ve just woken up (again) from a long sleep.

Breathe and enjoy that amazing and relaxing feeling of just stretching for fun. Not to lose weight, not to work out, not for anything. Just for fun.

👉You can see stretching exercises for leg circulation.

 10. Inversion Therapy

Hanging upside down or even just inverting at the slightest angle helps your body to “work” with gravity to  ease the circulation process. 

Gravity helps your blood return faster and more effectively from your legs back to your heart and all the way to your brain.

The immediate results are improved brain function, collagen-boosting in your skin and joints, muscle relaxing, stress relief, and pain relief (which is almost immediate).

I am a great fan of inverting, and if you are not, you probably don’t know these fascinating little-known facts about inversion therapy ( why actress Eva Mendez and author Dan Brown use it every single day…).

Remember to keep your results by living healthy (and as naturally as possible), moving your butt, and laughing each and every day, and your blood flow will thank you by the end of today, I promise.

And now over to you:

Have you tried any of these methods to boost blood flow? do you know of a better way? Share with us in the comments below.

To your health and happiness,

Meital

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References

Chauhan, Mukul. (2018). Blood Circulation Stimulation Properties of Cayenne Pepper:A Review. 11.

McCarty MF, DiNicolantonio JJ, O’Keefe JH. Capsaicin may have important potential for promoting vascular and metabolic health. Open Heart. 2015;2(1):e000262. Published 2015 Jun 17. doi:10.1136/openhrt-2015-000262

Cugusi L, et al.; Working Group of Gender Cardiovascular Disease of the Italian Society of Cardiology. Effects of a mini-trampoline rebounding exercise program on functional parameters, body composition and quality of life in overweight women. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2018;58:287-94. DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.16.06588-9

Klatz RM, Goldman RM, Tarr RS, Pinchuk BG. Gravity inversion therapy. West J Med. 1983;139(4):538–540.

Russo MA, Santarelli DM, O’Rourke D. The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human. Breathe (Sheff). 2017;13(4):298–309. doi:10.1183/20734735.009817