Do you feel heaviness or numbness when you sit, stand, or walk for a long time? If so, it’s likely because of poor circulation in your legs. Poor circulation is more common than you think. It can affect anyone at any age, whether young or old. When looking for natural ways to treat poor circulation, the best options are those that support a holistic and healthy way of life.

Natural home remedies for poor circulation in legs include exercises and massage, herbal supplements, and eating a diet filled with organic and unprocessed foods to make sure you’re getting all the proper nutrients you need.

This article introduces ten natural home remedies for poor circulation in your legs that will help reduce swelling, increase the flow of blood through your veins, stimulate the elasticity of your veins, and prevent future attacks.

What Causes Poor Circulation?

Poor circulation, in general, refers to the inability of your blood to circulate properly throughout your body. When you have poor circulation in the legs, it means that blood has a hard time reaching these areas and supplying them with essential nutrients and oxygen. They may feel heavy or numb, and you might experience tingling or pain in your legs.

Poor circulation is a common condition that affects millions of people around the world. Many factors can cause poor circulation, including high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity, and health problems such as heart disease, varicose veins, and peripheral artery disease.

Symptoms of Poor Circulation in the Legs

The symptoms of poor circulation in the legs can vary, but often include:

• A feeling of heaviness in your legs
• Tingling
• Numbness
• Pain
• Feeling cold
• Weakness
• Itching or burning sensations

Natural Home Remedies for Poor Circulation in Legs

If you suspect poor circulation may be the cause of the tired, heavy feelings in your legs, or numbness, itching, or tingling, be sure to consult with your integrative physician. It is important to rule out any serious underlying medical condition and your physician will work to integrate complementary therapies to improve your wellness.

Keep reading to explore ten natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs.

1. Get Moving!

Exercise is considered one of the best natural home remedies for poor circulation in legs and feet.

• Walking in particular, is an easy and great way to increase blood flow and helps to strengthen your leg muscles. In addition, exercise helps to reduce stress and anxiety, which can also contribute to poor circulation.
• Stand up: Sitting all day at work is the norm for many people. But sitting has some serious negative effects on your health, including poor circulation. To stay healthy, you should try to avoid long periods of sitting whenever possible, even if you exercise regularly. Many people are opting for a standing desk to improve their health.
• Yoga: Regular yoga practice improves blood vessel health and peripheral circulation while decreasing blood pressure. Inversion or partial inversion poses can help decrease leg swelling by using gravity to help with blood flow.
• Buerger-Allen Exercises: First published in 1924, these are a cycle of simple activities that help improve blood flow in the legs. They include elevating your legs to 45-90 degrees, followed by sitting and flexing your foot up and down and side to side and ending with lying flat covering the legs and feet with a warm blanket.

2. Stop Smoking

If you smoke, you should do everything you can to stop. Smoking is very dangerous to your health and a major cause of poor circulation. The chemicals from smoking damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to reduced blood flow.

3. Eat a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is one of the best natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs and is essential to keep your blood flowing. Eating an unprocessed diet that is high in organic fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease and reduce fat around your vital organs. Look for foods that are high in the following vitamins to help improve circulation.

• Vitamin D: Found in fish like salmon, swordfish, and tuna, and in mushrooms, egg yolks, and tofu, vitamin D helps protect the walls of blood vessels from damage.
• Vitamin B3 (Niacin): Vitamin B3 is also known as niacin and is found in whole grains, beef liver, chicken, avocados, seeds, and nuts. As a supplement, it has long been used to help improve cholesterol and lower blood pressure.
• Vitamin C: Vitamin C works to support the health of blood vessels and prevent circulation problems. Be sure to choose organic whole fruits and vegetables such as citrus, strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli, and tomatoes.
• Vitamin E: Found in almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, leafy greens, and avocados, vitamin E works to widen blood vessels and prevents blood clots.

4. Stay Hydrated

It may sound simple but drinking plenty of water is another one of the great natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs. Studies have shown that when you’re dehydrated there is reduced blood flow, particularly in your limbs.

If water really isn’t for you, try drinking tea. Not only will you stay hydrated, but tea has flavonoids which are great natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs.

5. Warm It Up

Heat therapy and sauna bathing offer a variety of benefits. In addition to being easy and natural home remedies for poor circulation in legs, they are effective for pain relief, and toxin removal. Applying heat to your legs, sitting in a sauna, or soaking in a warm tub are all ways to improve blood flow and relieve symptoms.

6. Relax

Deep breathing, especially when done with ankle exercises can improve circulation in the legs and feet. Breathing slowly and deeply helps you to relax, lowering blood pressure and helping to improve blood flow. Adding ankle exercises makes them perfect natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs by helping to contract muscles and move fluid away from the legs.

7. Look to the Bees

Royal jelly is a substance produced by bees that is used to feed developing larvae and the queen. It is used to treat the symptoms of menopause and other conditions. In recent years, scientists have begun studying royal jelly and its health benefits, including its ability to lower blood pressure and relax the tension in blood vessels, leading to better blood circulation. This makes royal jelly perfect to add to your list of natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs.

8. Go for a Massage

Massage is known to increase circulation and blood flow. If you can’t visit a massage therapist, even the vibrations of a massage chair will increase circulation. The effectiveness of massage can be increased by using essential oils such as cypress, black pepper, or ginger all of which are natural home remedies for poor circulation in legs when added to massage oil or lotion.

9. Dry Brushing

If you haven’t heard of dry brushing before you might want to look into it as one of your natural home remedies for poor circulation in legs. Using a dry bristled brush, you gently rub your skin to exfoliate, detoxify, and increase circulation. Start at your feet and brush up the legs in long strokes. With the right technique, it leaves you energized and promotes drainage of the lymphatic system.

10. Investigate Herbal Supplements and Traditional Remedies

No list of natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs would be complete without including herbal supplements and traditional folk medicine. Many of these have been used for thousands of years for the treatment of poor blood flow, and science is just now getting caught up with their benefits.

• Lychee Fruit: The lychee is a tropical evergreen tree and has small red fruits. Lychee fruit is a great source of vitamin C and B2 and antioxidants. A recent study has shown that lychee fruit extract can improve cold sensitivity and peripheral circulation. Take care not to eat the seed which is slightly poisonous.
• Ginkgo Biloba Extract: Ginkgo biloba extract is made from the leaves of the ginkgo tree and is one of the amazing natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs. It has long been used in traditional medicines to help with memory issues and improve blood flow. You should not eat the fruit of the ginkgo tree or the seeds which are toxic.
• Bilberry: Bilberries are small berries native to Northern Europe that look similar to blueberries. You can eat the berries fresh or dried or make tea from them. They contain anthocyanosides which have been shown to be beneficial to our health in many ways. They can prevent a buildup of plaque in arteries, improve circulation, and strengthen blood vessels.
• Red Yeast Rice: Red yeast rice is made by fermenting red yeast (Monascus purpureus) over rice and was traditionally used in China, Japan, and the Philippines as a food coloring and folk medicine. Studies have now shown that it has numerous health benefits, including improved blood circulation.
• Bromelain: Found in pineapples, bromelain is an enzyme that prevents blood clotting and improves circulation. It is found mostly in the stem of the pineapple. While you can get small amounts of bromelain from eating pineapples, a supplement is the way to get a more effective dose.
• Butcher’s Broom Extract: Butcher’s broom is an evergreen shrub with red berries. The berries and leaves are not safe to eat, but the root contains compounds that have potential health benefits. Extracts from the root have been shown in one recent study to help improve veins in the legs and circulation.
• Horse Chestnut Seed Extract: The horse chestnut seed contains a compound called aescin, which has been shown to be beneficial as one of the natural home remedies for poor circulation in the legs. However, this must be only taken as a supplement. Horse chestnuts are toxic and cannot be safely eaten.
• Beetroot Juice: Beetroot juice is a nitrate-rich drink that a 2019 study showed improves blood flow and function of blood vessels. This may be one of the easiest natural home remedies for poor circulation in legs to incorporate into your daily routine by simply drinking a glass each day.

If your integrative physician has said that you have poor blood flow, adding some of these natural home remedies for poor circulation in your legs can greatly improve your health. These remedies will help improve your overall well-being, blood flow, and blood circulation, and reduce the risk of complications and further issues.

For more information on improving cardiovascular health and leading a well-balanced and holistic lifestyle, check out our tips to improve your heart rate naturally.