People suffering from varicose veins must follow certain nutritional principles to alleviate the condition of the patients. You can learn more about what a diet for varicose veins is in our article.
The essence of the diet is varicose veins
The main essence of the diet for varicose veins is to regulate nutrition, which allows you to normalize your body weight (which reduces the load on the blood vessels) and reduces the thickness of the blood - one of the main dangers of varicose veins. veins.
It has been proven that in the case of varicose veins, the blood can thicken, which can lead to thrombosis. In addition, viscous blood is harder to pump, so the load on the heart increases.
How to thin the blood? This is mainly helped by maintaining the diet and drinking regime. According to statistics, most problems related to blood vessels occur in people who do not drink enough fluids. As a result, the body loses its own fluids, the blood becomes viscous, and blood clots form in the capillaries and other blood vessels.
From this, we can conclude that to replace fluid loss and ensure normal metabolic processes, you should drink at least 2 liters of clean water every day - this is a natural, affordable medicine to reduce blood viscosity. Replacing water with sugar-free herbal or green tea, or freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juices. The most popular fruit juices are grape, citrus, tomato or berry juices.
Alcoholic drinks, including beer, should be excluded because they do not contribute to the saturation of the body with moisture.
Before you start putting together a nutritional menu for varicose veins, you should remember that the greatest benefits come from natural products that thin and renew the blood. Most foods containing preservatives, stabilizers, colorings and other chemicals contribute to blood thickening - these should be removed from the daily diet.
Patients with varicose veins should always have at hand two lists of foods that are allowed and those that are not recommended and can harm the body. We will talk about such products a little later.
In addition to influencing blood circulation, food should also help liver function. The fact is that the liver is responsible for many reactions and metabolic processes that occur in our tissues. In particular, this organ produces special components that prevent blood viscosity from increasing. It goes without saying that dietary deficiencies, bad habits, unfavorable environmental conditions, and the use of frequent and uncontrolled medications negatively affect liver function. The following conclusion follows from this: nutrition should be designed in such a way that it does not overload the liver, but facilitates its work. In other words, fatty, smoked, canned, and heavy foods should be limited - all those products that require additional resources for processing.
In order to alleviate the manifestations of varicose veins and prevent the aggravation of the disease, it is recommended to reconsider your attitude to bad habits, pay attention to the medications you take and consider the appropriateness of taking them (especially in the case of hormonal drugs and diuretics). - all these factors greatly influence the increase in blood coagulability.
What substances are most needed in the treatment of varicose veins?
- Vitamin E (tocopherol) ensures the flexibility of blood vessels. It can be found in adequate amounts in sprouted grains, egg yolks and vegetable oils.
- Ascorbic acid thins the blood and eliminates inflammation of blood vessels. Berries, tomatoes, citrus fruits and kiwi are rich in vitamins.
- Rutin is an essential vitamin for healthy blood vessels. It is found in citrus fruits (especially the peel), black currants, nuts and green tea.
- Bioflavonoids are beneficial substances that promote venous circulation. The substances are mainly found in dark cherry varieties.
- Copper is needed to produce enough elastin in the tissues, which prevents the appearance of venous "knots". There is a lot of copper in seafood.
- Fiber forces the digestive system to work, preventing constipation - one of the factors that cause varicose veins. Fiber is found in plant foods, bran and grains.
- Water thins the blood, facilitates blood flow and reduces the load on the vessel walls.
Diet for varicose veins of the lower limbs
The lower limbs are perhaps the most susceptible to varicose veins. This can basically be explained by the increased load on the legs: a person walks quite a lot during the day, stands, sits cross-legged, etc. At the same time, blood vessels experience quite a lot of pressure. This is especially noticeable if you are overweight or have an unfavorable heredity (one of your relatives suffers from chronic varicose veins).
If varicose veins are associated with a genetic predisposition, you should focus all your efforts on maintaining the normal permeability and tone of the vascular system: do not overexert your lower limbs, wear special underwear and stockings, eat right and lead a healthy lifestyle, drink enough water. . It is good if your work does not involve long-term stress on the legs.
If you are overweight, the first task is to reduce it - preferably not by fasting, but by a proper diet, sufficient protein foods and limiting simple sugars.
You should not deny yourself seafood: marine fish, shrimp, algae, squid are rich in minerals that our ships really need. Thanks to seafood, blood vessels become flexible, their fragility and permeability decreases.
In addition, the food must provide the body with enough vitamins. Rutin (vitamin P) and ascorbic acid are particularly useful for the vascular system.
Such vitamins can be found in large quantities in tea leaves, rose hips, citrus fruits, lingonberries, etc. Otherwise, for a healthy person, the daily routine is 25-50 mg, and in case of vascular diseases, this amount increases to 150 mg per day.
Vitamins C and P generally stimulate the production of collagen, which is one of the main components of the skin and blood vessel walls. If there is no shortage of the listed vitamins, then the wall of the capillaries is usually strong, flexible, durable and allows blood flow well. Normal functioning blood vessels mean no pressure problems, no swelling and no varicose veins.
Changing the diet, taking into account the enrichment of the diet with vitamins P and C, should already be started with the following symptoms:
- rapid fatigue in the legs;
- the appearance of bruises and spider veins for no reason;
- pain in the joints of the lower limbs.
Diet for varicose veins and thrombophlebitis
In thrombophlebitis, as in other diseases, blood thinning measures are important. Nutrition is of no little importance: the food you eat must contain all the necessary substances to prevent the veins from clogging with blood clots and the development of the inflammatory process.
The diet of thrombophlebitis involves the consumption of predominantly plant foods. We welcome pineapple, watermelon, melon, ginger, all kinds of onion and cinnamon dishes. It is not recommended to consume large amounts of bananas, legumes, meat products, and soy.
It is important to reduce the proportion of foods with a high vitamin K content in our daily diet, which increases the blood clotting process - blood clotting. This vitamin can be found in all green plant foods - lettuce, parsley and coriander, any kind of cabbage. There are also many vitamins in nuts, eggs, whole milk, meat, liver and fish. If you like to drink herbal teas, you should exclude plants such as nettle, raspberry leaf, linden and rosehip from your teas.
In addition, the consumption of fatty foods should be limited. The fact is that fat promotes better absorption of vitamin K because it is fat soluble.
What foods should be eaten in case of varicose veins and thrombophlebitis? Give preference to colorful vegetables, fruits, berries, dairy products and cereals. You can cook casseroles, stews, steam, etc. Do not eat too much or drink alcoholic beverages.
Diet for varicose veins of the pelvis
Varicose veins of the pelvis is a disease that occurs primarily in women. In most cases, it is associated with pregnancy and childbirth, a sedentary lifestyle and the internal use of contraceptives. The disease especially often affects those who already have varicose veins and hemorrhoids.
In addition to drug treatment, diet helps relieve the symptoms of pelvic veins. It represents a transition towards a healthy diet rich in fiber-rich plant-based foods. First of all, fiber is necessary to prevent constipation, which aggravates varicose veins, increasing the load on the vascular system of the abdominal cavity.
The body also needs protein-containing foods that promote the regeneration of blood vessel walls.
The first thing to give up is alcohol, smoking, fatty and carbohydrate foods.
What recommendations can be given regarding the diet of pelvic varicosities:
- If possible, eat a couple of pieces of pineapple a day;
- prepare this medicine: chop 200 g of peeled garlic, mix with 300 ml of honey. Leave it for a week. Take the finished mixture 1 tbsp. spoon before each meal;
- Sea kale is an excellent remedy for varicose veins. It must be consumed several times a day for 3 months;
- It is recommended to eat a handful of pine nuts every day;
- It is useful to add a little nutmeg powder, as well as cinnamon and ginger to the food.
All other recommendations correspond to the general rules of nutrition for varicose veins.
Diet for esophageal varices
Varicose veins of the esophagus is a rather insidious disease, as the patient is unaware of its existence for a long time. And the disease only makes itself felt in an advanced state.
The expansion of the veins of the esophagus requires a fairly strict diet, which reduces the load on the digestive system and facilitates the passage of food.
- The number of meals should be divided into 5-6 times, and the portions should be small.
- The food should be crushed and chewed well, or even better, it should be cooked in a semi-liquid state so as not to damage the wall of the esophagus.
- The last meal of the day should be eaten about 4 hours before going to bed.
- It is not recommended to sleep on a low pillow to avoid reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus.
- The consumption of fatty, fried, smoked foods, canned foods, as well as spicy and salty foods should be greatly limited (or better, eliminated).
- Fasting days have a good effect: watermelon and melon fasting, as well as days on freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juices are particularly welcome.
It is advisable to limit meat in the diet - replace it with shrimp, lean fish and squid. Aspic, canned goods (both fish and meat), alcohol and rich broth should also be "forgotten". Black coffee consumption is also limited.
All dishes are steamed, baked in the oven, boiled or fried. Experts advise paying more attention to plant-based and fermented dairy products and grains.
Diet menu for varicose veins
In order not to think about what to cook for yourself during the day, without breaking your diet, we recommend that you prepare a sample menu in advance. In the future, using the already compiled diet, it will be possible to change it, simply replace certain products with other similar ones.
Let's give an example.
The first day:
- Oatmeal with raisins for breakfast.
- For a second breakfast, you can make a smoothie of kiwi and orange with honey.
- For lunch - buckwheat soup and vegetable salad with Borodino bread.
- Snack - fruit yogurt.
- We have dinner with a piece of boiled fish and a portion of seaweed salad.
The second day:
- For breakfast, prepare a portion of low-fat cottage cheese with fruit and honey.
- For a second breakfast, fruit jelly or mousse is suitable.
- We have lunch with pumpkin porridge and fried eggplant with tomatoes.
- As a snack - carrot and apple salad with yogurt.
- Dinner: a portion of mashed potatoes with beetroot salad.
Third day:
- For breakfast: rice pudding with prunes.
- For the second breakfast, bake pears with honey and walnuts.
- You can have onion soup and vegetable casserole for lunch.
- Snack - a glass of tomato juice.
- Steamed chicken meatballs with vegetables for dinner.
Fourth day:
- We eat steamed cheesecake with fruit for breakfast.
- Second breakfast: milkshake made of yogurt and fruit.
- We have lunch with tomato soup and carrot slices with sour cream.
- Snack with a cup of vegetable salad.
- For dinner, we can cook chicken breast with mint sauce.
Day five:
- For breakfast: whole wheat bread with peanut butter.
- Kefir with berries is suitable for a second breakfast.
- We have lunch with okroska and stuffed tomatoes.
- Snack: freshly squeezed apple juice.
- We have a piece of steamed salmon with lemon sauce for dinner.
Sixth day:
- We have breakfast with buckwheat pancakes and applesauce.
- For the second breakfast - a handful of pine nuts or dried fruit.
- We have lunch with rice soup and a fish casserole.
- Snack – apple with cottage cheese.
- We have dinner with a portion of vegetarian pilaf.
We make the seventh day a fasting day.
Before going to bed, half a glass of low-fat kefir or yogurt without additives is allowed.
Diet recipes for varicose veins
- Kiwi and orange smoothie– a healthy sweet and sour drink that is quite simple to prepare. All you need is a blender and the ingredients: peeled orange, kiwi (if necessary, you can add tangerines or other fruits), a tsp. dear, In summer, it is recommended to add a few cubes of edible ice for freshness. Grind all the products in a blender and pour into glasses or glasses.
- Fried eggplant with tomatoes- healthy diet food. Ingredients: two medium eggplants, 4 tomatoes, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, vegetable oil, sour cream, spices. Let's start cooking: cut the washed eggplant into slices (approx. 5 mm), do the same with the tomatoes. Peel the garlic and press it through a press or simply chop it. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with spices and place them on a sheet greased with vegetable oil. Bake in the oven until golden brown, turning once to the other side. Put the finished eggplants on a plate, 0. 5-1 tsp. sour cream mixed with garlic, and put a piece of tomato on top of the sauce. Already in this form, the food can be served on the table. If desired, it can be sprinkled with grated cheese or sesame seeds.
- Rice pudding with prunes- a good substitute for your usual boring porridge. The necessary ingredients of the dish: 100 g of round rice, 600 ml of milk, sugar, 2 eggs, lemon peel, cinnamon. Cooking: add sugar (approx. 60 g, to taste) and lemon peel to the milk. Put it on the fire, bring it to a boil and add rice. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the dried fruits, cut into pieces and washed, and put the rice in a +120 °C oven for approx. for 40 minutes. Stir the rice several times during cooking. Remove the cooked rice and let it cool. Meanwhile, separate the yolk from the white. Add the yolk to the rice and mix thoroughly. Add a few drops of lemon juice to the egg whites, beat them until stiff peaks form, then carefully fold them into the rest of the mixture. Put it in the oven for about another 15 minutes - you can do this directly in the pan or divide it into special forms. We serve the food in these. Sprinkle with cinnamon when serving. It can also be topped with honey or fruit dressing.
- Mint sauce- A tasty addition to chicken breast. Ingredients: red wine vinegar 75 ml, sugar 25 g, fresh mint leaves (approx. 10 g), a small onion (preferably a sweet variety). Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt on the tip of a knife. Grind the mint leaves and the onion, add them to the vinegar, and put them in the fridge for several hours (minimum 2-3 hours). Serve with meat.
- Peanut pastecan be used for a quick and healthy breakfast, or for preparing various sauces and main dishes. We will need: 200 g roasted and peeled peanuts (without salt and pepper), ½ tsp. salt, 40 ml vegetable oil, 5 g honey. Pour the walnuts into a blender, add salt and honey and grind at maximum speed for about 1-2 minutes. Add oil, mix and turn the blender back on for 2 minutes. The paste is ready, it will keep in the fridge for 1. 5-2 months.
- Buckwheat pancakes– thin, suitable for any filling or simply with sour cream. Ingredients: 1 cup of buckwheat flour, 1 cup of kefir, salt and sugar to taste, 1 cup of water, 2 eggs, vegetable oil. Beat the eggs, add the kefir, a little salt and sugar. Mix everything. Gradually add the buckwheat flour while stirring continuously. Then add water little by little, kneading and controlling the consistency of the dough. Fry thin pancakes in a small pan greased with vegetable oil.
Enjoy your meal!
If you have the symptoms of an unpleasant disease such as varicose veins, then proper nutrition and diet for the treatment of varicose veins can prevent further aggravation of the disease. In addition, if varicose veins have just begun to develop, then changing the diet will help to avoid complications and negative consequences of the pathology.
What can you eat if you have varicose veins?
It is not difficult to choose products that can be useful for the treatment of varicose veins. It is important to remember the main point: the food you eat should be enriched, varied, and not contain large amounts of animal fats, unnatural additives (chemicals, preservatives), salt, simple sugars, hot spices, blood-thickening substances.
It is recommended to use:
- berry, fruit, vegetable dishes (tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, citrus fruits, kiwi, pears, grapes, watermelon, eggplant, pumpkin, melon);
- nuts (except walnuts);
- berries that reduce the permeability of the vascular wall (cranberries, currants, cherries, blueberries, sea buckthorn);
- various cereals (in the form of porridge, side dishes, casseroles and soups - buckwheat, oatmeal, millet, rice);
- lean fish, seafood, seaweed;
- dried fruits (all kinds);
- tea, fermented milk products, cottage cheese, unsalted cheese;
- vegetable oils.
The recommended set of products helps to maintain the normal tone of the vascular system, control its weight and prevent the accumulation of fluid in the tissues. It is good if the diet is supplemented with medication using special creams and medicines prescribed by a doctor.
What should you not eat if you have varicose veins?
Proper nutrition for varicose veins includes limiting or eliminating the following foods:
- Sweetness. These include baked goods made from white flour, sweets, cakes, jam, chocolate, condensed milk, cookies, ice cream.
- Spicy spices: black pepper, chili, mustard, horseradish, as well as adjika, wasabi, etc.
- Carbonated drinks, alcohol, coffee, cocoa, store-bought juices.
- Salt and sugar.
- Fatty meat products: pork, lard, meat with a fatty layer.
- Marinades, pickles.
- Canned fish and meat products.
- Rich broths, jellies, aspics.
- Banana, pomegranate.
- Full-fat sour cream, cream, cottage cheese, butter.
- Legumes: lentils, beans, peas.
- Walnut.
It is not recommended to overeat, especially at night. Fasting is also not encouraged. But fasting days, on the contrary, are useful. They can be arranged once a week, for example, using kefir, watermelon, buckwheat, tomato juice or apples.