Top Foods to Relieve Raynaud’s Disease

Try including these foods in your diet to help support your circulation and alleviate Raynaud’s.

• Blueberries are rich in antioxidants keeping blood vessels healthy and flexible. They also contain vitamin C, important for healthy blood vessel linings.

• Oily fish contain omega 3 fats which help improve blood flow. These fats have been found in studies to reduce the blood vessel constriction occurring in Raynaud’s ¹. If you’re vegetarian, omega 3 can be found in flax seed oil, chai seeds and walnuts. However, your body needs to convert the oil in these foods into a different form before it can be used. Your body might not be so good at carrying out this conversion because it’s lacking one or more nutrients needed for the process, or you might simply be genetically predisposed to be poor at doing so. If so, you won’t easily obtain the benefit from vegetarian sources of omega 3. Your practitioner can recommend supplements to help overcome this problem.

• Ginger is warming, contains plenty of antioxidants and boosts blood flow by dilating blood vessels. It helps to combat inflammation, too, while initial research has shown ginger can be effective at balancing the immune system in autoimmune disease. Enjoy ginger tea, doubly beneficial because even mild dehydration can make Raynaud’s worse by slowing the rate blood flows through your vessels.

• Cayenne pepper is another warming spice. It contains the substance capsaicin, a compound giving the pepper its spicy taste. Capsaicin helps blood vessels to relax.

• Turmeric has been consumed traditionally in many cultures to improve circulation. It can help improve blood flow and reduce inflammation, plus it’s rich in antioxidants.

• Beetroot juice contains nitrates, converted by your body to nitric oxide. These are essential for relaxing blood vessel walls.

• Apples (make sure you eat the peel) contain the bioflavonoid rutin, a plant pigment and antioxidant helping to ensure blood vessels remain flexible. Apples contain pectin, too, a type of fibre used as food by the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

• Oranges contain good levels of hesperidin, another antioxidant. In trials, this substance has been found to reduce the symptoms of Reynaud’s by boosting blood flow. The greatest concentration of hesperidin is found in the peel of the orange.

Finally, a square or two of dark chocolate is not only rich in magnesium, essential for helping blood vessels to relax, but also contains flavanols. These are a type of antioxidant contained in the cocoa bean. They have been studied because of their ability to relax blood vessels.