1. Acerola Cherry Powder
As we just talked about, your body needs the full vitamin C complex to keep your veins stretchy and prevent varicose veins. If you already have them, loading up on the real vitamin C complex can help them heal and stop more from forming.
A lot of vitamin C supplements out there only have ascorbic acid, which is just a small part of the true complex. But the real vitamin C you find in food has a type of copper called tyrosinate. This copper is super important because it helps connect collagen and elastin, making the outer walls of your veins stronger so they work right.
Acerola cherry powder is a natural, concentrated source of vitamin C and copper. It will naturally strengthen your veins and improve circulation. It also has important flavonoids like rutin and hesperidin, which also help strengthen vein walls. I’d suggest one to two scoops of acerola cherry powder daily in water or mixed into a smoothie to boost your antioxidant network.
What Causes Varicose Veins?
Now that you know about the supplements, let’s dig a little deeper into why your veins might stop working properly in the first place.
- One big reason is not getting enough flavonoids and copper from real vitamin C-rich foods.
- Smoking and vaping also zap your vitamin C and increase something called elastase, which breaks down vein walls.
- High levels of estrogen hormones, from being pregnant, going through menopause, or just being overweight, can also mess with the structure of your veins.
- If you have a fatty liver, liver damage, or are overweight, this can also increase other hormones that weaken veins.
- Sometimes, you might have just bruised, injured, or jarred your legs, which could have damaged a vein.
- And chronic high blood pressure can also put a strain on your veins, causing blood to pool as they get bigger.
How to Repair Varicose and Spider Veins
As you’ve seen, nutritional supplements can really help improve the health and strength of your veins to get that blood flowing better. You might even find some of these ingredients blended together in vein formulas. But if you have varicose or spider veins, it’s also super important to make some lifestyle changes to help release any trapped blood and prevent blood clots and further damage to your vascular system.
- Compression Stockings: You can use special socks called compression stockings. They put gentle pressure on your feet and legs, which helps blood flow, especially in the surface veins, moving blood back towards your heart.
- Get Moving: To get your blood circulating again, you need to move your body, especially if you stand or sit for long periods every day. I suggest low-impact exercises like walking, swimming, or cycling. These strengthen your calf muscles, which also help send blood back to your heart.
- Quit Smoking: If you want to reverse existing damage to your blood vessels, you’ve got to quit smoking. If you need help, using N-acetyl cysteine as a supplement can help with nicotine cravings.
- Eat Vitamin C-Rich Foods: Vitamin C-rich foods strengthen your veins. Try eating raw vitamin C-rich foods like sauerkraut, bell peppers, lemon juice, berries, cabbage, and all those leafy greens.
- Balance Estrogen: You should also eat foods rich in sulfur, like Brussels sprouts, cabbage, milk thistle, broccoli, radishes, garlic, and onions. Sulfur helps your liver detoxify excess estrogen to balance your hormones. This one is really important!
- Elevate Your Legs: Lie down on the floor and raise your legs above heart level by resting them against a wall for 15 minutes a day. This simple practice drains trapped blood and fluid from your legs, reducing swelling and discomfort.
- Wear Loose Clothing: Avoid tight clothing around your upper legs, waist, or groin, and skip tight belts. These can make your circulation worse.
- Healthy Diet: Quit eating processed carbohydrates and vegetable oils found in foods like bread, pasta, flour, sugar, grains, and fast food. Instead, start cooking your own anti-inflammatory meals with foods like wild salmon, grass-fed beef, pastured eggs, and steamed vegetables.
- Surgery: In severe cases of varicose veins, you might need surgery, like stripping and ligation, done by a professional vascular surgeon.
Summary
When the walls of your veins or their valves lose their strength, they can stretch, bulge, and trap blood. But it’s possible to help repair varicose veins and improve circulation using nutritional supplements.
- Red vine leaf extract helps strengthen veins and improve blood flow from your legs to your heart.
- Nattokinase helps dissolve scar tissue and blood clots, thinning the blood for better flow.
- Horse chestnut extract helps stop capillaries from leaking fluid, reducing swelling and inflammation, and it also strengthens veins.
- Diosmin and hesperidin are flavonoids from citrus peels that boost collagen production and help weakened veins.
- And acerola cherry powder is rich in the real vitamin C complex, including copper and flavonoids, to restore collagen and elastin in your veins.
While supplements can support your veins, it’s also important to get regular exercise and do leg raises to release trapped blood in your legs.