Hot summer: for everyone, but in particular for those suffering from capillary fragility, water retention, these are difficult days, of great heaviness in the legs.
Feeling of heaviness in the lower limbs, tingling, swelling of the feet and ankles and capillaries in evidence are just some of the symptoms that come with the increase in temperature.
To decrease the risk of encountering blood circulation disorders, also in this case the suggestion is to follow a healthy diet and ensure proper hydration, but also to carry out regular physical activity.
In addition, it is good to avoid very tight clothing, uncomfortable shoes or shoes with too high heels, sitting or standing for too long.
For lighter legs in the summer
, in addition to drinking two liters of water a day, reducing salt consumption, sleeping with your legs raised, walking in sea water, there are the classic but seemingly effective remedies, cold showers on the legs, frozen foot baths, refreshing gels,
essential oils such as menthol (or Scots pine)
to add to the usual cream.
You can start with a do-it
-yourself scrub
, with fine whole salt mixed with lemon drops, lemon zest, mint essential oil, to be massaged in the shower and rinsed only with water to have a refreshed and soft skin.
Another remedy is
draining massages
.
Manipulation with draining and lymphatic drainage massages is a useful maneuver for those suffering from swollen legs and ankles.
Apart from pathologies, it is quite common in this climate to have heavy legs in the heat: it is mainly due to the increase in temperature, which determines a dilation of the blood vessels.
The consequence is a slowing of circulation, especially at the superficial level, with venous overload and blood stagnation.
If the massage is done well, you will eventually feel the need to go to the bathroom to pee.
Self-massages can also be useful: the basic principle is that the movements of the hands must be circular from the bottom up.
Mei, Best Italian Herbs, founded in 1988 by Adriana Titton, one of the best-known brands of Made in Italy also abroad for the use of absolutes (special essential oils that do not come from distillation, without alcohol) that can be also applied to pregnant women and allergic people) has launched the Start Up treatment to obtain a draining, detoxifying and reducing effect, ideal for those suffering from capillary fragility.
It is offered in spas (among which the most popular at The Eden Spa in the hotel of the same name in Rome):
the ritual
begins with a regenerating peeling based on clay and horsetail that causes an immediate sensation of freshness.
The heart of the treatment is the Start Up herbal mixture, a recipe composed of
8 essential oils based on clay and micronized algae, activated by the macerate of turmeric and ginger.
In this way, microcirculation and tissue metabolism are stimulated very effectively.
After the draining massage, fresh vegetable gel with wild juniper, fennel and sweet orange
is applied .
Helping yourself with herbs
For the effectiveness of 'pure' herbal preparations, the plants to be harvested and used according to the international standards of the Official Pharmacopoeia are fundamental:
the wild plant
, spontaneously growing, is the indispensable starting point for having products powerful.
It should be taken in the place of origin, in
the balsamic moment
that is, in the fullness of maturation of the active ingredients they contain and with a hand-picked harvest.
Fundamental, after the time of rest (sanitary quarantine) and titration,
according to the criteria of the Official Pharmacopoeia,
is to carry out the processing with non-invasive and stressful methods: no dangerous diluents, no toxic stabilizers, no ready base and no chemical components that can alter the "natural soul".
The active ingredients are extracted by cold pressing or with the ultrasound technique.
When purchasing products with herbs, one must seek the certificate of purity for the guarantee of efficacy according to the protocols explained above.
At the table
In particular, the advice is to privilege
foods rich in antioxidants that act on the tone and elasticity of the vessels and capillaries
.
To perform this function we find:
Vitamin C as in kiwis, tomatoes, lemons, strawberries.
Their anti-inflammatory action protects blood vessels;
Vitamin A as in carrots, peaches, apricots, peppers, which improve circulation;
Omega 3 as in mackerel and anchovies that carry out a preventive action on the health of the veins.
Antioxidants and circulation friendly plants.
Nature also comes to our aid.
Below is a list of
plants friendly to the circulation of the legs
from the
Observatory of Supplements & Health
:
Centella
(Centella Asiatica) improves the elasticity and strength of the vessel wall, alleviating the problems of venous circulation;
Horse chestnut
(Aesculus Hippocastanum) favors vasoconstriction phenomena and improves venous tone;
it is also an anti-inflammatory and decongestant, indicated for the treatment of edematous states;
Bilberry
(Vaccinium myrtillus) reduces damage to arteriovenous capillaries, their permeability and increases their elasticity and strength.
Furthermore, it promotes the well-being of endothelial cells, that is the innermost layer of blood vessels, and increases blood flow in the affected capillaries;
Vitis Vinifera
(Wine vine) has a venoprotective, venotonic and protective action on the capillaries.
Furthermore, it improves the flow rate of blood flow resulting in stronger oxygenation of the tissues.
These substances can also be the basis of
supplements
, which should not be considered as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle but can promote the health and well-being of the body in summer.
The best allies to combat the summer heat: mineral salts
Mineral salts, potassium and magnesium in particular, play a fundamental role in our body as the regulation of muscle contractility, including that of the heart.
Very high temperatures make you sweat and sweating is a physiological mechanism for reducing body temperature.
But by sweating, in addition to water, mineral salts are lost, in particular
potassium and magnesium
.
If then, which is very common especially in the less young, there are problems of arterial hypertension and to keep it under control, diuretic drugs are taken, the loss of mineral salts can be even greater.
Many ailments caused by the heat are precisely due to the dangerous mix of dehydration and hypokalemia, in the presence of which it is advisable to enrich one's diet with potassium and magnesium,
eating vegetables and fresh fruit
(at least 500-600 grams per day) and, in this case was not possible by resorting to salt supplements containing potassium and magnesium.
