5 Ways To Improve Your Blood Circulation

Proper blood circulation helps in transferring nutrients and oxygen to various parts of the body. 

Lack of good blood circulation causes diseases due to harmful foreign particles entrapped in the tissue.

Here are some ways to improve your blood circulation:

1. Exercise

When you do aerobic exercise, the blood flows to all the parts of the body, and the arteries circulate. 

Exercise is part of a heart-healthy program that gets the blood pumping through the heart and through the arteries of the heart.

Exercise is known to decrease your risk of common circulatory disorders, such as heart attacks, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.

A simple exercise like walking, which anyone can do is one of the easiest ways to increase blood circulation level. Exercising also increases blood circulation which helps the muscles and other tissues.

2. Eat low cholesterol foods

Cholesterol can cause plaque buildup in the inner lining of the arteries. 
They gradually narrow and eventually narrow so much that the flow of blood through the arteries is so sluggish that blood clots form (called thrombi).

If thrombi happen in the brain, you can get a stroke. If thrombi happen in the heart, you can get a heart attack. 

If thrombi develop in the arteries of the legs, you get a peripheral vascular disease. Low cholesterol foods don’t contribute to getting cholesterol plaques.

3. Eat soluble fiber

Soluble fiber soaks up cholesterol in the gut so that less cholesterol is absorbed by the GI tract.

Common sources of soluble fiber include:

·         Oatmeal and oat cereal

·         Blueberries

·         Psyllium

·         Oranges

·         Apples

·         Nuts

·         Strawberries

·         Beans

·         Dried peas

·         Flaxseeds

·         Carrots

·         Celery

·         Cucumbers

Soluble fiber, in particular, decreases the amount of LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream, which is the kind of cholesterol that makes arterial plaques.

4. Build strong leg muscles

Circulation is more than just about arteries. In order to keep blood flowing, you need to have your veins bring the blood back from the periphery of your body. 

Veins that aren’t supported by strong valves and strong muscles can be sluggish and the flow can stagnate in the legs.

This leads to venous dilation called varicose veins. 
You can prevent varicose veins and improve your circulation by keeping the muscles of your legs strong, avoiding standing for long periods of time, and by wearing compression stockings, especially if you don’t exercise much or if your job requires long periods of standing.

If the veins become sluggish and dilate, you can get leakage of blood from the veins so that the veins become irritated, creating a condition called superficial thrombophlebitis, a painful condition involving inflammation in veins that have poor circulation.

5. Stop smoking

Good circulation requires excellent air exchange between the de-oxygenated blood and the oxygenated blood is taken in when we breathe fresh, oxygenated air.

Smoking can do damage to the small bubble-like alveoli that are where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange places within the lungs.

You need healthy lungs for good circulation and for good air exchange that will provide enough oxygen to tissues in the rest of the body.

Smoking also contributes to vascular disease and increases the risk of various types of heart disease.

Healthy blood circulation not only makes you healthy, it improves how you look by promoting a healthy skin color and glow.

5 Hazardous Behaviors That Can Damage Your Health

Many people are searching for ways to live healthier. Most know that this can easily be achieved through proper nutrition and regular exercise. 

However, there are also other factors that have an effect on your health, and some are maybe easily overlooked. Here are 5 dangerous behaviors that can harm your health.

Smoking

It’s no secret that smoking kills. Despite the fact that people are aware of all the health risks associated with smoking, many still do it. 

It is without a doubt one of the unhealthiest habits in today’s society. This habit can literally cost you your life.

While lung cancer is often associated as the most significant risk with smoking, in fact there are many other conditions that are caused by cigarettes that can debilitate and result in premature death.

Some of the most notable health risks associated with smoking include respiratory problems, such as chronic bronchitis, kidney cancer, leukemia, infertility, stomach cancer, oral cancer, throat cancer, and an increased risk of stroke and heart disease.

Excessive Drinking

Alcohol is a substance that is meant to be consumed in moderation. Did you know that alcohol is actually considered poison by the body? This is why the body prioritizes its metabolism process before anything else.

Having a drink with your friends once in a while or a glass of wine with dinner is totally acceptable and actually good for the heart. 

However, if you start drinking in excess and especially as a coping mechanism for problems in your life, then you’re going to be facing a much bigger problem.

Many people overlook the risks that go along with excessive drinking, even though there are a lot of them. 

Some of the best known health risks of alcoholism include dementia, colon cancer, liver disease, stroke, depression, liver cancer, hepatitis, anxiety and premature death, just to name a few.

Eating In Front Of The TV

This is something that many people do, but while it can greatly contribute to poor health maybe easily overlooked. 

Instead of taking the time to really enjoy their food, most people would rather wolf it down while watching a movie or TV show. However, there are several health risks that are associated with this activity.

First off, it will draw all your attention to the TV instead of your food, which will make you eat more than you should or normally would simply because you do not pay attention to how much you have eaten.

You will be so distracted by what you’re watching that you won’t even see how much you’ve eaten until it’s all gone. 

If you enjoy eating junk food while watching TV, then you will most likely form a habit of doing this, which means that you will bring a few snacks with you every time you want to watch something, even when you’re not particularly hungry.

Drinking Calories

Nowadays, many people find water to be boring, so they avoid drinking it every chance they get. This has been made worse with many companies now making flavored water. 

Nevertheless, soda is still the most famous substitute for water, even though it is loaded with calories, sugar, and chemicals.

Not only are these beverages filled with sugar and unhealthy chemicals, but they will also make you drink your calories instead of eating them, adding inches to your waistline, and getting nothing in the way of nutrients for your body. 

The next time you want to buy a can of soda, make sure to think twice about whether you really need those extra calories.

Having Too Much Junk Food

Having too much junk food in your house is a bad idea. Simply by knowing that you can get a junk food snack anytime you want will make it hard for you to resist the temptation to indulge in unhealthy foods.

It’s always easier to grab a bag of chips than to cook a healthy meal in order to satisfy your hunger. 

However, this will only make you lead an unhealthy lifestyle. Instead, you should throw away all of that junk food and keep healthy stuff on hand.

Therefore, avoid these harmful habits and behaviors as much as  possible to live a healthy, happy life!

Don’t Let Back Pain Ruin Your Life - Try These Tips Instead

Do you have any back pain experience?

It is projected that anywhere from 70 to 85 of all adult men and women will experience some degree of back pain at some point during their life.

Back pain can be instigated by medical conditions, injuries, or even poor posture. This collection of tips and tricks will help you to more efficiently manage your back pain.

Use your legs whenever you lift anything. You have to have a strong base with your legs and your body needs to be even. 

Hold the object you are lifting up close to you as you lift from your legs. This will help prevent any back injury that might occur.

In order to minimize back pain cause by injured or strained muscles, apply ice to the injured area. 

Although heat may feel better on the skin, it does nothing to reduce the inflammation, which is what is causing the back pain. 

Ice, however, will help reduce the swelling and inflammation. Reducing the inflammation relieves back pain.

To avoid getting back pain, you need to make sure that you exercise on a regular basis. This will help increase and strengthen the muscles in your back. 

You just need to be cautious that you are not lifting weights that are too heavy and that you are not doing anything else that could actually cause an injury.

It is important to learn how to lift carefully in order to avoid back pain and injury. 
When you lift securely, you use the large muscles in your legs to spare your back. 
Bend at the knees, suck your stomach in and keep the item close to your body as you lift.

Heat has also been found to be an effective way to relieve back problems, especially lower back pain. 

Heat therapy, such as heating pads, wraps or baths are inexpensive and easy to do. It's best to alternate back and forth between ice and heat therapy to get the best results.

Just like with any other type of illness, regular checkups with your doctor can go a long way in preventing back pain and various back problems. 

Your doctor is trained to keep an eye out for such complications and symptoms, and he or she can do a lot of things for you.

Back pain can be devastating, both physically as well as emotionally. Yoga has been proved to reduce pain, use of pain medication, and disability. 

Yoga develops flexibility and strength, creating balance in the body. When the body is out of balance, pain is the result.

One of the actions you can do to help relieve back pain is to strengthen your core. Do sit-ups and any other form of exercise that will strengthen your abdominal core, which in turn will help ease your back pain.

Make sure you do each exercise correctly, though. You certainly do not want to cause yourself more pain. 

Back pain can most often be the result of being overweight. Start off walking; adding time and mileage to your treks.

When you can actually breathe while walking, start a strength and flexibility program. 
To make sure you keep on task, drag a friend along with you, or if you don't have a friend available, pop in a DVD in your living room.

Whether you are suffering from back pain caused by a sports injury, on-the-job accident, or preexisting medical condition, follow the advice from this article to keep your pain levels in check.

Hopefully, you will gain insight into your treatment options and alternatives for achieving long-term relief from your pain and suffering.