Herbs for Circulation

stephanie447

David Crow is my personal herbalist and I'll be asking him more about this when I have my next session with him at the end of the month...but I'm thinking that my circulation needs improvement for a variety of reasons.

He already put me on hawthorn, which is a great heart tonic. I also take gotu kola daily, and I have buckwheat with my breakfast as it contains rutin, which can heal blood vessels and improve circulation. I mix cinnamon with the buckwheat as it is also good for circulation (and lowering blood pressure).

In Ayurveda, arjuna is the go-to herb for heart and circulatory issues. This is been in some of my past Ayurvedic formulas I've taken though I'm not using it now.

There's probably some more in the back of my head I've forgotten...any other ideas or suggestions?

stephanie447

Oh yes, paprika is supposed to help with varicose veins...saw that in an online workshop through the American Herbalists Guild.

ltwickey

Any of your "warm" herbs: cayenne, ginger, black pepper, etc. Are you more concerned with your overall circulation or in a specific body region (legs)?

Torey

@stephanie447 Lucky you having David Crow as your herbalist.

What are your symptoms suggesting that your circulation is in need of a boost? Are you experiencing cold extremities? How's your cap refill? Do you have high cholesterol or plaque build-up?

There are a lot of suggestions in the discussion for High Blood Pressure. https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/845673/high-blood-pressure-what-kind-of-herbs-are-helpful/p1

The warming herbs already suggested are good. Garlic. Yogi tea was mentioned in the High BP discussion. Up your soluble fibre intake.

DurwardPless

Thank you for all the information. I want to avoid having an circulatory problems and this will help.

LaurieLovesLearning

Ah! We are currently going through some organic wheat that we just bought from a neighbor. It is fairly "clean", but we check it anyway. We have been leaving the wild oats & buckwheat that we find in it. It will go right into our flour. :)

David Crow, eh? Hmm. That could come in handy if we have a pressing question, with no answers, that comes up here. Haha

Great discussion so far!

stephanie447

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/883954#Comment_883954

Thank you! I have cold extremities and small fiber neuropathy due to an infection (and possibly previous damage thanks to floxxing). For years (starting in early 40s) I have woken up with stiff hands but I test negative for rheumatoid arthritis and other auto-immune. I now wear arthritis gloves when I sleep, which helps. Primary care physician says I have Reynaud's and venous insufficiency. Didn't give me much in the way of advice but said I could try using hand warmers and compression socks.

My heart rate goes into the upper 50s while I am resting (this seems to be hereditary and runs in the family) and I'm trying to figure out why my nerves get more aggravated when I rest. In ruling other things out, I'm thinking it might be in part poor circulation. So then there's the why of the poor circulation - did my veins or arteries get damaged with the infection? Is it in part due to my heart rate being a bit slow?

stephanie447

PS David Crow is not ridiculous expensively given his credentials...anyone can go to his website and request a consultation! I've had one session with him so far and he's quite thorough and obviously knowledgeable.

Tave

I just checked out his website. Awesome.

Torey

@stephanie447 Herbal treatments for Raynaud's include cayenne and ginger as warming herbs to keep the circulation going. Ginkgo has also been studied and has been shown to assist in about 30% of cases. This is a link to an article at Richters on herbs for Raynaud's. https://www.richters.com/show.cgi?page=QandA/Medicinal/19981231-2.html

This is a link to an article on TCM for Raynaud's. http://www.itmonline.org/journal/arts/raynauds.htm

Homeopathy may offer more options. But that is based on your totality of symptoms not just a diagnosis of Raynaud's. Here are a couple of links.

https://www.drhomeo.com/homeopathic-treatment/homeopathic-medicines-for-raynauds-disease/ https://www.rajeevclinic.com/disease/skin-diseases-39/raynaud%60s-disease-449.html https://www.omhomeopathy.com/post/2017/11/21/homeopathy-for-raynauds-disease

I have only once treated something similar. It was a case of Buerger's disease and the homeopathic remedy that prevented amputation of toes was Arnica. That might be something to try when you are having a bad episode.

nicksamanda11

Cayenne for sure!

karenjanicki

Do these help with lymphatic circulation also or only with blood?

Torey

@karenjanicki There are some herbs that are more specific for lymphatic circulation. Calendula, violet leaves, cleavers, red clover, red root, burdock, yellow dock, dandelion, gotu kola, bupleurum, figwort.

This is a link to an extensive article Michael Tierra wrote on The Five Stagnations. It is from a TCM point of view so there are more specific symptoms regarding wind, damp, dry, heat & cold that might help narrow down the type of stagnation in lymph that the individual is experiencing and the herbs or combinations best suited to each.

https://planetherbs.com/research-center/theory-articles/the-five-stagnations/

karenjanicki

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/885132#Comment_885132

Thank you! I appreciate you sharing that with me.

John

WOW! I'll be learning a lot here-thanks to all.

stephanie447

Thanks for all the great info! My hands and feet get cold a lot.

vickeym

I, too, have very cold hands and feet. Will be reading all of this and perhaps trying much of it as well. Seems a bit odd, for a person who gets such cold hands and feet to live in Alaska. lol

jowitt.europe

@stephanie447 I would say: garlic, garlic and once again garlic. And then, when you have enough of it, turmeric, Ginseng tincture, Ginkgo powder or tincture. Hawthorn you have already mentioned. And, yes, all the warming spices.

Garlic, turmeric and spices I would include in the menu, not take any food supplements, etc. I always have self made chilli oil and use it in all salad dressings.

Exercises for blood circulation and jumps for lymph flow.

karenjanicki

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/885678#Comment_885678

I think I have most of those herbs. How do you utilize them? Do you just cook with them or do you take them mostly in supplement form?

jowitt.europe

@karenjanicki most of the herbs I integrate in my brunch (we practice 16 hour fasting so our first meal is at 12 at noon)

Garlic is my favorite herb for circulation. I use it raw. I eat it every day. For our brunch we slice thinly a few cloves of garlic and put on a slice of bread and cover with a slice of salmon or trout. Another slice of bread is with sliced fresh turmeric and avocado on top. And the third is with cottage cheese and honey. We make bread ourselves- it is full grain rye and spelt bread. I have a bowl of self made yogurt and add dried stinging nettle seeds (they are also very good for circulation), evening primrose seeds, dried black and red currants, goji, etc. These I collect and dry myself.

Ginseng Tincture is also home made and I use it for those moments when I have less energy and am in low mood. I just take some 20 drops (round a tea spoon) and it works immediately. I am energetic again. But I do not abuse it. I take it when I feel I need it.

i drink herbal teas every day, so hawthorn is there. St John’s. I change mixtures every week.

Self grown chili is in self made chili oil (I just put some 10 small ones into a bottle of olive oil. The same with rosemary. They are for the warmth. And I have my energizing tincture - good mood elixir with galgant, savory, ginger and cinnamon. A table spoon of heats the whole body.

Ginkgo leaves I dry and powder and have a tiny bit - at the end of a tea spoon when I feel that my brain does not function as it should.

I am really sceptic about food supplements. I use only real products and as little processed as possible. Fresh, dried, tinctures.

High temperatures kill the most important ingredients so cooked, baked, grilled meal is a meal, but not a health enhancing meal.

Well, this is what we do. I am over 60, my husband over 70. We do not take any medications nor any food supplements in forms of tablets, pills or capsules.

stephanie447

I do take supplements but prefer herb supplements in powder form - I'll just have the dose with some hot breakfast cereal - not necessarily as a spice - or mix it with some sort of chaser like water or juice (we have different recommendations on that in Ayurveda I won't get into). Unfortunately, not everything tastes great like cinnamon does, though I do like garlic! :-)

Merin Porter

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/886456#Comment_886456

@stephanie447 curious as to what else David Crow recommended at your most recent appointment with him. Would you be willing to share the results/conclusions of your follow-up session?