John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

I am regularly contacted by people with various problems caused or worsened by poor circulation in their legs.

These include general muscle weakness, muscle pain, cramps, swollen ankles and feet, restless legs, and chilblains. People with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or people who smoke are at much higher risk of these common circulatory problems.

Yesterday I spoke to someone in their mid-70s who suffered from quite severe muscle weakness and other leg problems. He has been on a nutritional support programme to help leg circulation for over a year and the changes have been significant. He is now largely pain-free and has had a new lease on life, and as a bonus has much more energy.

In most cases these problems respond well to nutritional therapy. Adding the nutrients that promote good circulation can have significant benefits. I used to suffer from leg cramps and abnormal bruising, but adding circulatory nutrients now means I can sleep without being woken by cramps. Over the years I have seen hundreds of people improve the circulation in their legs, allowing a return to some form of normality.

The most important nutrients to help blood flow are some antioxidant vitamins – especially vitamin C and vitamin E – and a wide range of botanical antioxidants including flavanols found in grape seed extract, ginkgo biloba, acai berry, bilberry and citrus bioflavonoids such as hesperidin.

These nutrients help blood flow by reducing blood platelet aggregation and additionally help to maintain the integrity of blood vessel walls. These antioxidants strengthen the walls of blood vessels by ensuring that the proteins collagen and elastin are protected from destructive enzymes and from free radical damage.

Circulatory problems can respond very well to increased nutrient intake through careful food selection and appropriate supplementation. Once you have had medical advice it is worthwhile considering a complementary nutritional programme to help restore healthy circulation. You may gain a real improvement in your quality of life.

John Arts is the founder of Abundant Health. For product information
visit www.abundant.co.nz If you have questions or would like a free health plan you can contact John at john@johnarts.co.nz or phone 07 578 9051 or 0800 423 559. You can join his newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz
Read more from John at www.sunlive.co.nz