Which foods can help circulation?

[Annpan]

Well.... just what the title says I guess.

I am active enough, and eat a varied diet and certainly get my 5 a day but I can get quite cold at times and get pins and needles too much... Dad keeled over of a heart attack at a young age, so I guess I just have bad blood (but the drinking, smoking and fry-ups didn't help him much though )

So foods specifically to help my circulation please

[Silver Ether]

pumpkin seeds, nuts, oranges, garlic, according to my book ... something in my head keeps saying chilli..
Oh and get a docs checkup...

[Annpan]

Thanks... I'm allergic to garlic unfortunately

I'm thinking ginger is good too, am I right?

I'm not proper ill and I don't really do doctors unless I actually am ill and can't fix it myself.... mostly because, in my experience they are completely useless.

[John Headstrong]

ginger is good for that, while living in a few cold damp house in bristol one winter years ago we used to have a pot of tea in the morning with a few slices of ginger beaten and placed in the pot, while not to everyones taste I could feel my feet by the time I was halfway down the cup.

(post clash)

[invisiblepiper]

My daughter says that cayenne pepper stimulates the metabolism - so that might help too?

[Clara]

I think poor circulation is genetic - the cold hands gene! - but there are some things you could do to prevent it becoming a serious problem (alongside the above), by considering your cholesterol levels (perhaps you can get them tested? the highest cholesterol score I heard of amongst my friends, belonged to a whip-thin, veganish, yoga teacher ).

Eat oats everyday
Cut out all trans-fats
and ..... get your 7 a day (5 for children, 7 for women, 9 for men - the 5 a day thing is just so that people who barely eat any fruit or veg aspire to something rather than nothing).

[Ellendra]

In some regions, people used to whip themselves with stinging nettles in order to improve circulation. But that might be a little extreme for most of us.

[Annpan]

Um, yeah.... thanks for that

I'll look into the other things thanks It's not always a problem just noticeable every now and then.