Causes of Varicose Veins

The Main Causes of Varicose Veins

Lack of exercise,  being over-weight, high cholesterol,  poor nutrition which leads to constipation, lack of Vitamin C, E,  Calcium and Magnesium, and alcohol and tobacco use are  some of the main causes of varicose veins.

Lack of exercise causes poor circulation, which can lead to varicose veins. Constipation puts pressure on the veins, especially those in the legs and in the groin area.

Sometimes, an injury can predispose a person to getting varicose veins.

Prevent Varicose Veins By Getting Enough Exercise. Walking, swimming, dancing, cycling, are all good for the legs and improve the circulaton. Such simple exercises as the sit-up, or yoga ‘churning the mill’ exercises are often all it takes to cure the body of constipation. (merrilyn will put a post up on yoga esercises for constipation following this article)

Yoga head stands, and slant-board exercises, are helpful to the veins in the legs. It is a good idea to do, say, 10 minutes,  of an upsidedown pose if you have been on your feet, or in your chair for much of the day.

Prevent Varicose Veins by eating High Fiber Foods.

Prevent Constipation:  High fiber foods will ensure that you do not suffer from constipation. High fiber foods also help to protect you against high cholesterol, which is another contributing factor in people getting varicose veins.

Vitamin C and Bioflavanoids are excellent preventers of varicose veins. High fiber diets, especially where fruit and vegetables are eaten raw, will provide high amounts of vitamin C and Bioflavanoids. A supplement of Vitamin C  can be taken daily to help treat varicose veins.

Vitamin C : A non-acidic form such as Ester C, or Calcium Ascorbate can be used – Take 1000 mg three times daily if your condition is severe. Take 1000 mg a day as a preventative, especially if you have a sedentary job.

Vitamin C, like Vitamin E, helps to dissolve deposits in the veins, so it is extremely important in treating varicose veins. It also aids healing, like Vitamin E.  Vitamin C helps to keep the body alkaline, which is very important in preventing and treating varicose veins. It also helps to reduce toxins in the blood.

A supplement of  Vitamin E – 1200 IU daily- can be taken to treat severe cases of varicose veins,  according to Dr Wagner/Goldfarb. He recommends that you build up to this dose SLOWLY.

Vitamin E helps to reduce swelling, aids healing, and keeps the blood platelets from sticking together. It helps circulation. It is also an antioxidant and aids healing of the veins.

Note:  Whereas Vitamin C is safe to take in anything up to 3000 mg a day, Vitamin E needs to be introduced carefully, and in small doses: Some people may react to such a large does as the one above which Dr Wagner recommends, so ask your health practitioner before you start Vitamion E treatment for varicose veins. Because Vitamin E thins the blood quite dramatically, it must not be taken with other blood thinning medications such as WARFARIN.

Calcium and Magnesium are  often deficient in the diets of people with varicose veins. Calcium is important in building healthy, strong tissues, so your veins need a good amount of it in order to remain healthy.  Calcium helps you process your food properly, and helps in elimination of waste products. You need vitamin C and vitamin D and magnesium for calcium to be assimilated properly. Take a supplement such as calcium citrate for easy absorption, or read merrilyn’s recipe in the post entitled ‘Best Calcium Supplement’.

Diet to Prevent and Help Varicose Veins: The diet should be high in protein, and lower in processed carbohydrates such as wheat flour and sugar.  You  should include plenty of high fiber in every meal: alkaline green vegetables  such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, lettuce,  and mung bean sprouts;  brown rice  with most meals to replace wheat products;  oat-bran porroidge for breakfast, taken with a grated apple.

Eat plenty of root vegetables such as  beetroot, carrots, parsnips and swedes. Include nuts and seeds in the daily diet, especially almonds and sunflower seeds.

Eat plenty of raw fruit, especially apples with the skins left on. Apples are very alkaline, and are very high in fiber. Bananas, pears, and stone fruits such as peaches,  nectarines and apricots are  all very good.

Whole grains such as brown rice  and oatmeal bran will help you prevent varicose veins, and also help you to remedy the condition to some extent.

Lay Off: Sugar, wheat flour, dairy products and alcohol.

Avoid Foods Cooked in Fats. You need fats, but avoid the cooked ones. Cooked fats encourage the thickening up of the blood, which is what you want to avoid in preventing and treating varicose veins.

Eat Vitamin E Rich Oils to Prevent and Treat  Varicose Veins. Opt for  the health-giving oils  which are high in Vitamin E, which thins the blood:  olive oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil,  peanut oil and wheatgerm oil are all rich in nutrients  which promote health. Use these on your salads to get your daily requirements of fat.

Cleanse the Bowels Regularly: Some sort of Detox Diet should start your programme to repair those veins. You could take a day or two  on apples only, and use  the castor oil treatment on a morning when you do not have to go to work. Try to do a detox once a week.

Castor oil taken internally helps mend broken veins and heal the vein walls. It also cleans your insides out.  Take  two tablespoons in the morning followed by a cup of black coffee. Do this once a week, or every second day if you are totally committed to repairing your state of health.

Some sort of Detox diet should start your programme to repair those veins.

Avoid Sitting Or Standing for Long Periods, and also avoid crossing the legs. Circulation is inhibited when you cross your legs. Circulaton  is impaired if you have a job where you are stationed in the one spot for long, either sitting or standing, or are bed-ridden.  In these situations  you must remember to exercise your limbs every 30 minutes or so. Stretch, bend, go for a walk to the bathroom. If you are in bed, then simply flex the leg muscles and  move and stretch  the feet: this  will help increase circulation.

Massage the legs briefly  every 30 minutes  or so to keep the blood and lymph moving from the legs. This must be done gently if you already have painful varicose veins. You can massage the legs from the knee down even while you sit at your computer, or your piano. It doesn’t take much – even a minute of massage will  remind the leg veins to do their work.

Painful Varicose Veins can be helped by gently massaging castor oil into the legs at night. This has a soothing effect, and will help towards healing those affected veins.

Apple Cider Vinegar can be patted on after a shower. This helps improve the circulation.  Potassium in the cider vinegar is helpful to the veins. The vinegar  also has an astringent effect, and helps shrink the veins to a certain extent if it is used regularly in combination with an appropriate diet.

Anti-Inflammatory Herbs which will help you to shrink those varicose veins are:

Borage Oil. This can be massaged into the affected areas to help with shrinkage. Borage tea could be drunk freely during the day.

Comfrey. Comfrey, like borage, is high in silica and has healing properties which are unsurpassed by other herbs. See if you can get a supply of comfrey to make herbal teas from. Comfrey can be  cooked into a pulp, left to cool,  and used as a poultice on the sore veins. This  is very effective for reducing swollen veins and alleviating pain.

Bromelin. This is another anti-inflammatory. Take 500 mg twice a day, between meals. You could include pineapple in the evening meal as a desert, as this also contains anti-inflammatory properties.

White Oak Bark is another excellent anti-inflammatory. Aspirin is actually a synthetic form of white oak bark properties. White oak bark helps soothe the tissues and the nerves as well, so it is a good anti-stress herb.

Herbs Which Improve Circulation should be used daily. Choose one or two out of either:

Cayenne Pepper, Capsicum, Prickly Ash, Horseradish, Ginger, Cloves or Cinnamon. Ginger/cinnamon tea could be drunk after each meal.

• The Lemon Diet, or the Lemonade Diet for a day would be helpful in reducing swelling in the legs,  removing toxins, and facilitating healing.
• Simply take the juice of a lemon, add  a teaspoon of honey. Fill your cup with medium to hot water. Add a pinch of cayenne, or ginger.
• Repeat every hour, for every hour  of the day that  you can sustain it.
• If you must break the diet, then try to eat only raw foods such as grapes, or apples, for the rest of the day.
• See merrilyn’s post entitle Yoga Exercise for Varicose Veins