by Lawrence Wilson, MD
©
January 2010, The Center For Development
These common conditions
may respond slowly, but are usually correctible using a nutritional balancing
program. Let us discuss the
symptoms, causes and correction of circulation problems, in general.
Problems with blood
circulation are extremely common.
The main problem they cause is reduced oxygenation, nutrition and
hydration of the cells. Reduced
circulation also causes impaired elimination of all cellular waste
products. This may not sound
serious, but it is one of the major causes of illness and even death in the
body.
The major symptom for many people is
they experience cold hands and/or feet, especially in colder weather. ReynaudŐs syndrome or disease is a more
extreme form in which the hands and feet can turn white or blue with cold, even
when the ambient temperature is not that cold.
Another symptom is
impaired healing of wounds, injuries, bruises and other trauma to the hands and
feet. One can even have impaired
nail growth, splitting of the nails, ridges on the nails and other
abnormalities of the extremities due to impaired circulation.
Another symptom can
be baldness or hair loss. Another
is impaired memory, dementia, and other mental symptoms that are due to
impaired circulation to the brain.
Another symptom is pain.
Many peopleŐs pain is due to impaired circulation to some area of the
body. This may be due to muscle
tension, arteriosclerosis, cancer and other causes.
There
are so many causes of impaired circulation that I will only name the most
common of them. Some are quite
rare, for example, such as parasites that block blood vessels and some
infections. However, the most
common reasons include:
Arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis. These occur mainly in people over the
age of 40 or so. However, they can
occur in younger people as well.
As the arteries become clogged, circulation to the part of the body
served by the arteries diminishes.
Many older people have diminished circulation to the brain, for example,
for this reason. It gives rise to
dementias and many other problems associated with aging. Nutritional balancing is excellent to
reverse this condition. We do not
recommend or need chelation therapy to reverse
arteriosclerosis. However, chelation is often much better than bypass surgery and
other surgeries for impaired circulation.
Sympathetic overdrive. This is a
specific kind of overuse and irritation of the sympathetic or fight-or-flight
nervous system. This activity
tends to draw the blood toward the center of the body and away from the
extremities.
It
is part of a fight-or-flight reaction.
In an evolutionary sense, it is designed so that in the event of a
severe trauma, one may have a better chance of survival if blood is not pooled
in the limbs, but is moved to the trunk of the body. For more about sympathetic dominance, read the article on
this site titled sympathetic dominance.
Sluggish oxidation. Slow oxidation
means that the thyroid and adrenal glands are underactive and the body is
generally quite tired. A common
effect is a slowing of circulation, as well as a lower body temperature. These combine to cause impaired
circulation and cold hands and feet.
The causes of slow oxidation are
many, from fatigue and exhaustion to vegetarian or other inadequate diets, to
various illnesses. For more on
this topic, read slow oxidation on
this website.
Excessive levels of toxic metals or toxic
chemicals. This is usually an indirect cause, but often plays a role. Certain toxic metals such as mercury
and excessive copper affect the thyroid gland, for example, and can cause cold
hands and feet.
Fatigue. Fatigue often causes impaired
circulation
Sugar eating. Certain foods are ŇyinÓ
or cold in Chinese medical terminology.
They include anything containing sugar, such as candy, cookies, fruit,
juices, ice cream, fruit smoothies and even hot chocolate or hot apple
cider. Juices are especially yin
as they usually contain more sugar than solid food. These may all cause a person to feel cold.
Sugars also contribute to slow
oxidation and damage the adrenal glands.
Thus sugars can contribute to cold hands and feet in a number of ways.
Hormone imbalances. Certain hormones,
especially estrogen, may control circulation as well. The mechanism is not known. However, this may be one reason that young women, in
particular, and all women, in general, have warmer extremities at times than
men or older people, as a group.
For
example, many women experience hot flashes to some degree during
menopause. This is related to the
hormone levels as well. While the
adrenal and thyroid glands play a role, their exact mechanism is not fully
understood.
Other
hormones such as testosterone and others may also improve circulation. Nutritional balancing programs can help
balance all hormones. We never
suggest hormone replacement, even with bio-identical or natural hormones. It is not needed and often unbalances
the body after a while in subtle but harmful ways.
CORRECTION OF REYNAUDŐS AND OTHER CIRCULATORY PROBLEMS
Correction
involves reversing the causes above.
Nutritional balancing programs emphasize balancing the oxidation rate
using the slow oxidizer diet and nutritional supplements. Avoiding all sweets, including
artificial sweeteners and other food chemicals, may be another key to
overcoming cold hands and feet.
It also involves lifestyle
modifications such as more rest and sleep and a detoxification protocol to
remove toxic metals and toxic chemicals.
Sweating to
improve circulation. A fabulous therapy for all circulatory
problems that I am aware of is sauna therapy, particularly with a near infrared
sauna. The sauna benefits
circulation for at least a dozen reasons.
These range from relaxing the sympathetic nervous system to removing
toxins in the skin and extremities.
The sauna is also relaxing, safe, powerful and inexpensive to use at
home on a daily basis.
Relaxation and
meditation. At times, meditation and relaxation
exercises are also extremely helpful.
This is particularly the case if a person demonstrates the sympathetic
dominance pattern on a hair mineral analysis.
Other
corrective measures may seem simple, but can be most helpful. These include always dressing very
warmly, even if it is embarrassing to wear gloves, a hat, boots and a long
coat. This can be excellent to
help prevent the body from going into sympathetic dominance, for example.
Making
sure one rests and sleeps at least 9 or 10 hours every night and learning to
stay calm all the time are also very helpful. Using all these methods together, most cases of ReynaudŐs
syndrome and other types of poor circulation usually improve easily and
rapidly.
Symptomatic
remedies. At times, extra remedies in addition to
the nutritional balancing program are needed or helpful for a while until
general health improves. These may
include extra vitamin E, gingko biloba, higher dose
niacin and perhaps simple and fairly safe nutrients or herbs. However, these will be much less
effective if one does not also use a complete nutritional balancing
program. For information about how
to begin such a program, see the home page of this website.
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