Circulation

Poor blood circulation leads to many degenerative trends, including rapid aging. I will explain how this happens and how to avoid such a fate in this section.
Many people are aware of the fact that if an artery leading to the heart gets clogged we experience a heart attack, or if an artery leading to the brain gets clogged we experience a stroke. Very few people, however, are aware of the fact that before this happens numerous tiny capillaries become clogged, and this leads to aging. These tiny capillaries lead to every organ and skin cell in your body. Some are so small that the blood cells may only pass through in single file. It only takes a tiny bit of plaque or a blood clot to clog these tiny capillaries. If the cells depending on the oxygen supply from the capillary that has been clogged are suffocated for long enough, they die. Some people theorize that we might feel a twinge of discomfort or pain in the spot where this happens. Our eyes have tiny capillaries through which the blood brings oxygen and nutrients in a single file line of blood cells. When these tiny capillaries get clogged, our vision becomes worse. When they lead to the brain, our memory or other cognitive functions become poorer. When it happens in our ears, hearing can worsen. When it happens to the spine, the back may go out, and so on.
What we want to aim for is optimal circulation, to keep all the cells in our body alive and well nourished. The living-foods lifestyle, provided that fat consumption is not in excess, does just that! There are many foods that can help improve circulation. Fresh pineapple, ginger root, fresh rosemary, daikon radish, cayenne pepper, garlic, and the dark green leafy vegetables (high in chlorophyll) are just a few of the commonly available foods that can stimulate circulation.
Some medical doctors recommend a baby aspirin a day to improve circulation, but aspirin suppresses white blood cell activity, weakening your immune system, and can be harmful to your liver.
If you want to take pills to improve your circulation, the previously mentioned herbs are available in most heath food stores in pill form. Other supplements that can improve circulation are coenzyme Q10, vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol, not dl-alpha-tocopherol), ginkgo biloba extract (do not ingest leaf powder, use only extract), bromelain, hawthorne berry, gota kola (herb), and chlorophyll.
What we want to avoid are all cooked fats (vegetable as well as animal) and all the chemical additives that are so common in processed foods. These are notorious for clogging circulation. The only oils that I use are cold-pressed oils, and I use them in reasonable amounts.
A common Naturopathic practice for cleaning out the capillaries is a form of hydrotherapy. It simply consists of alternate hot and cold baths or showers or a combination of the two. Start out very gradually at first, say 30 seconds hot and 30 seconds cold, and repeat this 4 times. After you get used to it, make the cold a little colder and the hot a little hotter, and spend 60 seconds in each. Repeat this 6 times. Always finish with warm to hot water after this form of hydrotherapy. I often travel to hot springs that are alongside cold rivers and enjoy this form of hydrotherapy.
If the cold water is cold enough and the hot water is hot enough, you will experience a feeling of pins and needles when soaking in the hot after the cold. This occurs because the cold water causes the blood to migrate to the inner parts of the body to maintain body temperature and the hot water causes the blood to rush to the surface of the skin in an attempt to cool the body. This causes the capillaries to open widely and then constrict with each change of temperature. The result is that plaque may eventually loosen and/or come off. Finishing with warm to hot water will keep the capillaries open for several minutes to allow the circulatory system to filter out the plaques rather than having them deposit in other capillaries. I suggest doing this every day if you have circulation problems and once per week for healthy maintenance. You should avoid hydrotherapy, except under medical supervision, if you have a heart condition or abnormal blood pressure.
Our blood needs adequate amounts of water to function properly. A dehydrated condition will not allow optimal oxygen and nutrient delivery to the cells of our body. Therefore, proper hydration is crucial for optimal circulation.