Introduction: When a woman's blood circulation is poor, it can easily lead to headaches, insomnia, irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, forgetfulness, and more. So, how can one promote blood circulation? One can eat more foods that invigorate blood and resolve stasis, which have the nutritional effect of effectively promoting blood circulation.
Sediment accumulates in a riverbed, causing the river channel to silt up. It's the same with human blood vessels. If the blood is in a hypercoagulable state, blood flow is slow, or the vessel walls are not smooth, it can lead to blood stasis, vascular narrowing, or blockage. When blood stasis is blocked in the vessels, tissues and organs do not receive a sufficient blood supply, which can lead to corresponding diseases.
Blood stasis in the body often manifests as pain in specific areas of the body, with a fixed location and a pricking pain as the main characteristic. The main symptoms include headache, dizziness, insomnia, and forgetfulness; chest pain, chest tightness, and palpitations; coldness, numbness, and pain in the limbs; for women, irregular menstruation and dysmenorrhea. In terms of physical signs, a dark, dull complexion; purplish-dark lips and tongue; dry, rough, peeling, and itchy skin; and lumps in the body that are painful and long-lasting. People with a stasis constitution should pay attention to this as early as possible. Especially for patients with hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, it is necessary to adjust their diet, increase exercise, control risk factors, and prevent further progression. The following 10 foods have the effect of invigorating blood and resolving stasis, promoting blood circulation, and reducing thrombosis.
Black fungus: It has the functions of replenishing qi and strengthening the body, nourishing the kidneys and stomach, and invigorating blood. It can prevent thrombosis, lower blood lipids, and resist lipid peroxidation, thereby reducing blood viscosity, softening blood vessels, making blood flow smoothly, and reducing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Black fungus also has a strong adsorption effect, which is beneficial for expelling metabolic waste from the body in a timely manner.
Onion: It is pungent and warm, affecting the lung and liver meridians. Onion has the effect of warming yang and invigorating blood, and has a good lipid-lowering effect. The prostaglandin A contained in onion is a strong vasodilator. The allicin it contains can inhibit platelet aggregation, thus reducing peripheral vascular resistance and blood viscosity, and lowering blood pressure.
Ginger: It is warm in nature and pungent in taste. Ginger has the effects of promoting blood circulation, strengthening the spleen and stomach, and sterilizing and detoxifying. Studies have shown that ginger can lower cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood viscosity, reduce platelet aggregation, and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular infarction.
Garlic: The "Compendium of Materia Medica" says that garlic has a "pungent and strong qi, able to connect the five organs and reach all orifices..." Allicin in garlic has the effects of inhibiting platelet aggregation, anticoagulation, and inhibiting thrombosis. It can also lower "bad cholesterol" and raise "good cholesterol".
P>Yellow wine: It is sweet, bitter, pungent, and warm, affecting the heart, liver, lung, and stomach meridians. It has the effects of unblocking blood vessels, expelling cold, and enhancing the efficacy of medicines. The "Essentials of the Medical Forest" says it "disperses water, harmonizes blood, moves qi, helps kidney yang, and induces sweating." The "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Old wine harmonizes blood and nourishes qi, warms the stomach and dispels cold; Shao wine dispels cold, dampness, and phlegm, and relieves depression." However, it should be avoided by people with yin deficiency, bleeding, and severe damp-heat. P>Vinegar: It is sour and bitter, warm in nature, and affects the liver and stomach meridians. It has the effects of invigorating blood and resolving stasis, promoting digestion and resolving food stagnation, reducing swelling and softening hard masses, and detoxifying sores. The "Seeking Truth in Materia Medica" says: "Vinegar is mainly astringent, so books often record its effect of resolving stasis and detoxification, and lowering qi to aid digestion." It is used for stomach and abdominal pain caused by stasis, loss of appetite, hematemesis, and hematochezia. However, it should not be eaten by those with external pathogens and should not be taken with Poria. P>Corn oil: Corn oil is rich in essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, which have a certain auxiliary effect in regulating blood lipids, softening blood vessels, and preventing thrombosis. Corn oil is rich in the antioxidant vitamin E, which also has a certain effect in scavenging oxygen free radicals and protecting vascular endothelial cells. P>Fish: Whether deep-sea fish, shallow-sea fish, or freshwater fish, they all contain two unsaturated fatty acids, EPA and DHA, which counteract blood clotting and thrombosis. Therefore, eating fish has the effect of preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.Tomato: Tomato contains many components that invigorate blood and resolve stasis. Pectin can lower cholesterol; flavonoids have an anticoagulant effect; the yellow gelatinous substance around the seeds contains lycopene, which can prevent platelet aggregation, maintain the elasticity of the blood vessel wall, prevent atherosclerosis, and improve blood circulation.
P>Hawthorn: It is sour, sweet, and slightly warm, affecting the spleen, stomach, and liver meridians. The "Food Inspection Materia Medica" says it can "resolve blood clots and qi clumps, and invigorate blood." Hawthorn has the effects of promoting digestion, strengthening the stomach, moving qi, invigorating blood, and resolving stasis. The flavonoids it contains can dilate peripheral blood vessels, have a slow and lasting blood pressure-lowering effect, and can dilate coronary arteries, lower lipids, and strengthen the heart.