The arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart to the body’s tissues. But the veins return oxygen-poor blood back to the heart after the body has used up the oxygen and nutrients.
Varicose veins are primarily caused by weakened or damaged vein valves. The veins have one-way valves that help blood flow in one direction towards the heart. When these valves weaken or don’t close all the way, blood can flow backward causing it to pool in the veins leading to the veins becoming swollen, enlarged and twisted – the classic appearance of varicose veins.
It is normal that the veins will lose their elasticity as we age, but we can take some precautions to take good care of them so we can prevent varicose veins.
Obesity, prolonged standing or sitting and a sedentary lifestyle in general can all contribute to varicose veins. So it is good to do whatever you can to keep your weight down, and if you have to stand or sit all day try to remember to press upwards towards your heart starting at the feet and working your way up towards the hips and also working upwards from the hands towards the shoulders to encourage the blood to flow back upwards to the heart. And make sure you exercise a little each day because the squeezing action of muscles surrounding the veins in the legs when you walk, helps push blood back up to the heart.
We have transdermal creams made with formulas of herbs which open up the blood vessels to encourage the blood to circulate and flow better, and other herbs used both transdermally and orally to help shrink the varicose veins.
We also have to take a look at the health and integrity of the valves located within the veins. They are made of fibrous connective tissue which provides structure and strength allowing the valves to withstand the pressure of blood flowing through the vein without collapsing.
The fibrous tissue allows the valve to open when blood flows toward the heart and close tightly to prevent blood from flowing backwards.
The valves contain a mix of collagen and elastin fibers. The collagen provides tensile strength helping the valve maintain its shape and function under pressure. The elastin allows the valve to stretch and recoil as the blood moves through, ensuring that the valve can open and close with each heartbeat.
We can build up the collagen in the body which supports not only the blood vessels, but also supports healthy skin, joints and other connective tissues. Collagen is a structural protein made up of amino acids, especially glycine and proline.
Here are some collagen-rich foods to be included in the diet:
One of the best sources of collagen is bone broth. We recommend chicken bone broth as it’s easier to digest than beef bone broth. Chicken and turkey are rich in proline, the amino acid vital for collagen production. Fish are also high in both glycine and proline.
Egg whites are packed with proline and the yolks contribute essential vitamins and fats that support overall collagen health.
Vitamin C rich foods are also critical for collagen synthesis so include citrus fruits, berries, kiwi, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
Let’s take a look to see what we can do to maintain the elasticity of the valves in our veins. To do this we want to turn our attention to the use of transdermal magnesium.
Magnesium sits on the outside of every cell pushing calcium away. Calcium only belongs in the teeth and the bones, but if magnesium were to become depleted then the calcium will rush in, accumulating in the walls of the veins and arteries, causing them to stiffen and lose their elasticity. This can make both the arteries and the veins very stiff and at the same time prevent the ability of the vein valves to open and close properly.
This is something that is actually very easy to feel in a person’s pulse. You can feel the hardness in the arteries and veins when calcium has infiltrated, and then after several months of using transdermal magnesium chloride you can feel the elasticity returning.
Magnesium chloride is better than Epsom salts which are magnesium sulfate. Plus the sulfate form needs to be converted into magnesium chloride anyway, so you might as well just start out with the magnesium chloride.
The sources we use are from the earth and not synthetically made. Even though Epsom salt was first discovered in the mineral springs of Epsom, England where magnesium sulfate occurs naturally in the water, nowadays much of the Epsom salt sold commercially is manufactured, which means it is synthetically made and therefore lacking the healing energy from the earth, known as the pranic energy.
Magnesium works by displacing the calcium out of the arteries while at the same time it activates certain enzymes that prevent calcium from binding to the blood vessel walls.
And if you think your magnesium levels are normal, think again. Stress, sugar, and the use of any medication all deplete the magnesium out of the body. And sugar does more than just flush out magnesium: it can bind to collagen and elastin fibers, causing them to stiffen and break down. This process also contributes to the loss of the function of the vein valves.
Magnesium blood levels are usually not a good indicator of true magnesium levels because the body will rob magnesium from any part of the body to keep the blood levels within normal limits.
Mostly everyone needs transdermal magnesium and the skin will just absorb what it needs so you can’t overdose when taken through the skin. We don’t recommend it orally because most magnesium goes through the digestive tract too quickly to allow proper absorption, plus most oral magnesium is synthetically made, which we always try to avoid so that optimum healing can occur.
Gelatin is also a great way to directly supplement your collagen intake. Homemade gelatin made from animal bones, especially if they are grass-fed, can help boost collagen.
For those who prefer plant-based sources, legumes which are beans, lentils and peas, are rich in the amino acids glycine and proline.
Healthy fats such as ghee, olive oil, milk and milk products, avocados, nuts and seeds can help protect the integrity of elastin fibers in your veins by both lubricating them and reducing the inflammation which could break them down.
And if you are familiar with Ayurveda, you now know that daily oil massages are the cornerstone of the Ayurvedic tradition, not only helping the body to detox, but to nourish it as the skin absorbs the oils directly into the bloodstream. And in this case, the oil massages encourage the elasticity in the body, both outward on the skin but internally as well, lubricating everything on the inside, such as the joints and other physical structures, while at the same time keeping the health of the elastin fibers found in the arteries and veins.
In addition to the obvious, we have to also turn our attention to the liver. There is a tremendous amount of blood flow from the veins circulating into the liver to be filtered and cleaned by the liver, so if the liver is congested with toxins it can cause a back up of blood in the veins. This increased pressure can affect other veins in the body, including those in the legs and lower abdomen. When pressure builds in veins, it can lead to the formation of varicose veins as the veins may struggle to return blood to the heart efficiently, causing them to stretch, bulge and become twisted.
So you must change your diet to a healthy one and learn how to clean out the liver periodically, using herbs which clean the liver while keeping it cool. Listen to some of my other videos where I talk about this concept in greater detail. Basically, the liver nowadays is very hot and inflamed due to the environmental, dietary and pharmaceutical toxins it is harboring, so in this day and age we need to clean it by keeping it cool, using herbs like my favorite, bhumi amla and avoiding herbs such as milk thistle, dandelion root and burdock root which heat it up as they clean it out, worsening the situation in the long run.
I hope this information helps you in both preventing and treating your varicose veins.