We all want to feel our very best in life, and two key pillars of good health are robust circulation and healthy cholesterol levels. When our blood flows freely, oxygen and nutrients can reach every cell in the body, and when our cholesterol is in check, our risk of heart disease and strokes significantly decreases too.
So let’s explore some of the most effective natural ways to boost your circulation and keep your cholesterol within a healthy range at every age…
The Power Of Movement: Your Body’s Best Friend
Perhaps the most impactful way to improve both circulation and cholesterol is through regular physical activity.
- Cardiovascular Exercise: Activities such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, or dancing get your heart pumping, strengthening your cardiovascular system. This improves blood flow, helps your arteries to remain flexible, and can significantly increase your “good” HDL cholesterol while lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Try to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week.
- Strength Training: Building muscle mass also contributes to better circulation and can positively impact cholesterol levels. Muscles are metabolically active and help to improve insulin sensitivity.
- Avoid Prolonged Sitting: Even if you exercise regularly, prolonged periods of sitting can be detrimental to circulation. Make an effort to stand up and move around every 30-60 minutes throughout your day – a great excuse to pop on the kettle and enjoy a herbal tea!
Nurture Your Body With Smart Nutrition
What you eat plays a monumental role in your circulatory health and cholesterol levels too.
- Embrace a Plant-Rich Diet: Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. These foods are packed with fibre, which helps to reduce LDL cholesterol, and antioxidants, to protect blood vessels.
- Healthy Fats are Key: Incorporate sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as avocados, nuts, seeds and olive oil. These fats can help lower LDL cholesterol. Limit saturated and trans fats found in processed foods, red meat, and some dairy products, as they can raise harmful cholesterol.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Found in fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), flaxseeds, and chia seeds, omega-3s are renowned for their anti-inflammatory properties and their ability to lower triglycerides.
- Limit Processed Foods and Sugars: These can contribute to inflammation, weight gain, and unhealthy cholesterol profiles.
Other Important Lifestyle Factors
- Maintain a Healthy Weight: Carrying excess weight, especially around the abdomen, can negatively impact cholesterol and circulation.
- Quit Smoking: Smoking is one of the most damaging things that you can do to your circulatory system, severely impairing blood flow and significantly raising cholesterol levels. Quitting smoking is therefore one of the most beneficial steps that you can take for your health.
- Manage Stress: Chronic stress can contribute to higher blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels. Try to incorporate stress-reducing techniques such as meditation, yoga, or spending time in nature into your weekly routine.
- Stay Hydrated: Water is essential for maintaining blood volume and optimal circulation; aim for 8-10 glasses per day.
Emerging Technologies & The Future Of Wellness
As technology advances, we see a continuous stream of innovative products designed to enhance health and wellbeing. Devices that utilise gentle movement or vibration for therapeutic purposes are being explored in various fields, from rehabilitation to relaxation.
Dr Doris Anti-Ageing Clinic: Circulation Boosting Hydroactive Massage Bed
If making such lifestyle changes feels like more of a giant leap from your present routine, rather than a small and attainable step, then you may like to consider using a Hydroactive Massage Bed. Dr Doris Anti-Ageing Clinic in Mayfair, London offer the most relaxing treatment to boost circulation and loosen stubborn cholesterol from hardened arteries in just 20mins per session.
Available for pay-as-you-go sessions, or as part of a health monitoring package, there is something to suit all budgets and needs. Their Circulation Boosting Hydroactive Massage Bed, which may also be referred to as a hydromassage bed, offers a unique blend of hydrotherapy and massage without requiring you to get wet at all. This innovative bed features a waterproof barrier over a mattress which is filled with heated water, beneath which jets deliver targeted streams of pressurised water. This creates a deeply soothing and invigorating massage experience that provide several health benefits, particularly concerning our circulation.
The pulsating action of the water jets, combined with the warmth of the water, stimulates blood flow most efficiently throughout the body. This increased circulation ensures that oxygen and vital nutrients are efficiently delivered to muscles, tissues and organs alike, while simultaneously aiding in the removal of metabolic waste products such as lactic acid. For individuals with poor circulation, this can help to alleviate symptoms such as cold extremities, muscle pain and fatigue, contributing to overall better tissue health and function.
I have suffered terribly from numb and tingling fingers, toes and arms, as well as blood pooling beneath my eyes which forms dark circles and coldness, all caused by poor circulation. Despite being a healthy and active individual, attending the gym almost daily at times, I realise that I need a helping hand with my circulation in order to keep things moving as they should.
This was my first time using a hydroactive massage bed, and after having a tour of the clinic during a routine health check, it piqued my interest when the topic of circulation was raised. I think it’s such a cliche to think that poor circulation and cholesterol only affect older people, as it’s something that I’ve suffered from since my childhood, yet it’s rarely discussed, addressed or even understood by many. Leading an active vegan lifestyle, I realise that spending time working at a desk, or relaxing on the sofa in the evening and being sedentary for extended periods of time between activities silently contribute to poor circulation. You can be fit, young-ish and healthy and have poor circulation!
Prior to my 20mins treatment, I knew that the circulation bed is pain-free and non-invasive, so I wasn’t nervous, but incredibly curious as to what it may feel like. I’ve used vibration plates in the gym for muscle recovery and training, but never a water filled massage bed before. Laying on it felt very much the same as normal bed, which was covered with paper for hygiene. I simply removed my jewellery and shoes to prevent loosening from the vibrations, and laid on my back with my head in a head rest.
As the bed started up I heard a whirling sound from the jets beneath me, with no holes, gaps or spaces to access the internal workings of the bed. My feet began vibrating first, followed by my mid-section and finally my upper-body within a minute, and with the treatment commencing, my entire body vibrated rhythmically for a total of 20mins, which is the duration of a single session.
Much like a washing machine being in the thrums of a spin-cycle, it was a rather comforting experience to lay on a buzzing bed which hummed beneath me and felt reassuringly warm and cosy as I had the option to turn the light off or leave it on. I chose to have the light off and enjoy a well-deserved afternoon nap which made the session pass incredibly quickly. The only indication that I felt of the treatment progressing was a subtle itching sensation to my thighs and lower back which made me want to absentmindedly scratch an itch.
I’m very much accustomed to pins and needles and a loss of sensation in my hands, feet and arms, but realised that this itching sensation to my lower section was caused by the increase in circulation and may indicate the area of my body that is responsible for causing my poor circulation. Within 5mins of my treatment starting, this gentle itching sensation subsided to pure relaxation, and I became aware of the fact that my body felt alive. I felt well rested, energetic and strong and my workout at the gym afterwards was the best that I’ve had this year, and we’re already in June!
Whilst it may seem like a small and insignificant treatment to lay on a bed for 20mins and have a nap, it’s flushed my body and allowed everything to work precisely as it should – like an oil change and service of a car! I feel incredible and haven’t had tingles, pins and needles, numbness or coldness since. Being the geek that I am, I found the concept of this technology fascinating, as to the naked eye it simply looks like you’re laying still on a regular bed as it microscopically vibrates. And so I took my glass of water and placed it on the bed to visually understand what was happening to my body internally.
To observe the ripples of the vibrating water in the glass was so inspiring for mindful health choices, as the sheer energy and vitality that I felt post-treatment made such sense. It is the difference between flushing a toilet with a single or double button, turning a hoover’s suction from minimum to maximum, or putting the car into sports mode. My body feels incredible and my symptoms of poor circulation have subsided in an instant. Now that I know what it feels like to have effective circulation, and how to maintain it, I’ll never allow such symptoms to become an expected or accepted part of my daily life.
Whilst I don’t personally suffer from high cholesterol levels, this treatment also provides the added benefit of cholesterol reduction by shaking loose the build-up within arteries, which if left untreated can leave to heart attacks and strokes. The more that we discuss the necessity of our bodies operating efficiently, the easier it becomes to take action when we notice such symptoms arise, as opposed to accepting discomfort as a part of growing old. I’ve never felt so incredibly after taking an afternoon nap!
