Diet for varicose veins

2 December 2023

People suffering from varicose veins should adhere to certain principles of nutrition, which are auxiliary means to alleviate the condition of patients. You can learn more about what a diet for varicose veins is from our article.

The essence of the diet for varicose veins

The main essence of the diet for varicose veins is to regulate nutrition, which will allow you to return your weight to normal (which will reduce the load on blood vessels) and reduce blood density - one of the main dangers of varicose veins. veins.

It has been shown that in varicose veins, the blood can thicken, which can lead to thrombosis. In addition, viscous blood is harder to pump, so the workload on the heart also increases.

How to thin the blood? This will be helped primarily by diet, as well as by maintaining a drinking regimen. According to statistics, most problems with blood vessels occur in people who do not drink enough fluids. As a result, the body loses its own fluid, the blood becomes viscous, and blood clots form in the capillaries and other vessels.

From this we can conclude that in order to replenish fluid losses and ensure normal metabolic processes, you should drink at least 2 liters of pure water every day - this is a natural, affordable means of reducing blood viscosity. It is allowed to replace water with herbal or green tea without sugar or freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juices. The most preferred juices are grape, citrus, tomato or forest.

Alcoholic beverages, including beer, will have to be excluded, as they do not contribute to saturating the body with moisture.

Before you start creating 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 that contain preservatives, stabilizers, dyes and other chemicals contribute to blood thickening - they should be removed from the daily diet.

Patients with varicose veins are recommended to always have two lists of food products at hand - the permitted and the inadvisable, which can harm the body. We will talk about such products a little later.

In addition to influencing blood circulation, food should also help facilitate 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 increased blood viscosity. Needless to say, improper nutrition, bad habits, unfavorable environmental conditions, frequent and uncontrolled use of drugs have a negative impact on liver function. From here follows the following conclusion: nutrition should be done in such a way as not to overload the liver, but to facilitate its work. That is, it is necessary to limit fatty, smoked, canned, heavy foods - 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 review your attitude to bad habits, pay attention to the drugs you take and assess the appropriateness of taking them (especially hormonal drugs and diuretics) - allthese factors significantly affect the increase in blood coagulation.

What substances are most necessary in the treatment of varicose veins?

Vitamin E (tocopherol) ensures the elasticity of blood vessels. It can be found in sufficient quantities in sprouted grains, egg yolks and vegetable oils.
Ascorbic acid thins the blood and removes inflammation in the blood vessels. Fruits, tomatoes, citrus fruits and kiwi are rich in vitamins.
Rutin is considered an essential vitamin for healthy blood vessels. It can be found in citrus fruits (especially in the peel), black currants, nuts and green tea.
Bioflavonoids are beneficial substances that facilitate venous circulation. The substances are mainly contained in the dark varieties of cherries.
Copper is necessary for the production of sufficient elastin in the tissues, which serves to prevent the appearance of venous "knots". A lot of copper is contained 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 extremities

The lower extremities are perhaps the most susceptible to varicose veins. In principle, this can be explained by the increased load on the legs: a person walks a lot during the day, stands, sits with his legs crossed, etc. At the same time, the 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 your varicose veins are associated with a genetic predisposition, then you should focus all your efforts on maintaining normal vascular permeability and tone: do not overload your lower limbs, wear special underwear and socks, eat right and lead a healthy lifestyle, drink enoughwater. It is good if your work is not related to prolonged load on the legs.

If you are overweight, the first task is to reduce it - preferably not by fasting, but by following a proper diet, with sufficient protein foods and limiting simple sugars.

You should not give up seafood: sea fish, shrimp, algae, squid are rich in minerals that our vessels really need. Thanks to seafood, blood vessels become elastic, their fragility and permeability decrease.

In addition, food must provide the body with enough vitamins. Rutin (vitamin P) and ascorbic acid are particularly beneficial for the vascular system.

Such vitamins are found in large quantities in tea leaves, rose hips, citrus fruits, rowan fruits, etc. By the way, for a healthy person, the daily norm is from 25 to 50 mg, and in vascular diseases, this amount increases to 150 mg per day.

Vitamins C and P tend to stimulate the production of collagen, which is considered one of the main components of the skin and vascular walls. If there is no deficiency of the listed vitamins, then the capillary walls are usually strong, elastic, durable and allow blood circulation well. Normal functioning vessels mean no pressure problems, swelling and varicose veins.

Changes in the diet, taking into account the enrichment of the diet with vitamins P and C, should begin already with the following symptoms:

rapid fatigue in the legs;
the appearance of unexplained bruises and spider veins;
pain in the joints of the lower limbs.

Diet for varicose veins and thrombophlebitis

In thrombophlebitis, as in any other disease, blood thinning measures are appropriate. Nutrition is of great importance: the food consumed must contain all the necessary substances to prevent the clogging of the veins with blood clots and the development of the inflammatory process.

The diet for thrombophlebitis includes the predominant consumption of plant foods. Especially welcome are dishes with pineapples, watermelons, melons, ginger, all types of onions, as well as cinnamon. It is not recommended to eat bananas, legumes, meat products and soy in large quantities.

It is important to reduce the proportion of foods with a high vitamin K content in your daily diet, which improves the coagulation process - blood clotting. This vitamin is present in all green plant foods - lettuce, parsley and cilantro, any type of cabbage. There are also many vitamins in walnuts, eggs, whole milk, meat, liver, and fish. If you like to drink herbal teas, then you should exclude from the teas plants such as nettles, raspberry leaves, linden and rose hips.

In addition, it is necessary to limit the consumption of fatty foods. The fact is that fat helps to better absorb vitamin K, since it is fat-soluble.

What food should you take for varicose veins and thrombophlebitis? Give preference to colorful vegetables, fruits, berries, dairy products and cereals. You can cook casseroles, stews, steam, etc. Also, do not overeat or drink alcoholic beverages.

Diet for varicose veins of the small pelvis

Varicose veins of the pelvis is a disease that occurs mainly in women. It is associated in most cases with pregnancy and childbirth, with a sedentary lifestyle and with internal intake of contraceptives. Especially often the disease affects those who already have varicose veins of the limbs and hemorrhoids.

In addition to drug treatment, diet will help relieve symptoms of pelvic veins. It represents a transition to a healthy diet rich in plant foods with fiber. Fiber is needed above all to prevent constipation, which worsens varicose veins, increasing the load on the vascular system of the abdominal cavity.

The body also needs protein foods that help regenerate the vessel walls.

First you need to give up alcohol, smoking, fatty and carbohydrate foods.

What recommendations can be given regarding the diet for varicose veins of the pelvis:

If possible, eat a few pieces of pineapple daily;
prepare this medicine: chop 200 g of peeled garlic, mix with 300 ml of honey. Leave for a week. Take 1 tablespoon of the finished mixture before each meal;
Sea cabbage is considered an excellent remedy for varicose veins. It should be consumed several times a day every day for 3 months;
It is recommended to eat a handful of pine nuts every day;
It is helpful to add a little nutmeg powder to your food, as well as cinnamon and ginger.

All other recommendations correspond to the general rules of nutrition for varicose veins.

Diet for varicose veins of the esophagus

Varicose veins of the esophagus is a rather insidious disease, since for a long time the patient may not know about its existence. And only in an advanced state the disease is felt.

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.
Food should be crushed and chewed well or, even better, cooked in a semi-liquid state so as not to injure the walls of the esophageal tube.
The last meal of the day should be taken approximately 4 hours before bedtime.
It is not recommended to sleep on a low pillow to avoid reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus.
It is necessary to strongly limit (or even better to eliminate) the consumption of fatty, fried, smoked foods, canned foods, as well as dishes with hot spices and a lot of salt.
Fasting days have a good effect: fasting on watermelon, cantaloupe, as well as days on freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juices are especially welcome.

It is recommended to limit meat in the diet - it is replaced with shrimp, lean fish and squid. You should also "forget" about filling, canned food (fish and meat), alcohol and rich broths. The consumption of black coffee is also limited.

All dishes are steamed, baked, boiled or baked. Experts advise to pay more attention to vegetable and fermented dairy products and cereals.

Diet menu for varicose veins

In order not to think about what to cook for yourself throughout the day without breaking your diet, it is recommended to draw up a sample menu in advance. In the future, using the already compiled diet, it will be possible to change it, simply replacing some products with other similar ones.

Let's give an example.

First day:

We have oatmeal with raisins for breakfast.
For a second breakfast, you can make a kiwi and orange smoothie 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.

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 baked eggplant with tomatoes.
As a breakfast - carrot and apple salad with yogurt.
Dinner: a portion of mashed potatoes with beetroot salad.

Day three:

For breakfast: rice pudding with prunes.
For a second breakfast, bake a pear with honey and nuts.
You can have onion soup and vegetable casserole for lunch.
For a light breakfast - a glass of tomato juice.
For dinner - steamed chicken meatball with vegetables.

Day four:

We have steamed cheesecakes with fruit for breakfast.
For second breakfast: yogurt and fruit smoothie.
We have lunch with tomato soup and carrot cutlet with sour cream.
Eat with a glass of vegetable salad.
For dinner, you 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 okroshka and stuffed tomatoes.
Snack: freshly squeezed apple juice.
We have dinner with a piece of steamed salmon with lemon sauce.

Day Six:

We have breakfast with buckwheat pancakes and applesauce.
For a second breakfast - a handful of pine nuts or dried fruits.
We have lunch with rice soup and a piece of fish casserole.
Snack – apple with cottage cheese.
We have dinner with a portion of vegetarian pilaf.

We fast on the seventh day.

Half a cup of low-fat kefir or yogurt without additives is allowed before going to bed.

Diet recipes for varicose veins

Kiwi and orange smoothie– a healthy sweet and sour drink that is quite easy to prepare. You only need a blender and ingredients: peeled orange, kiwi (you can also add mandarin or other fruits if you wish), one teaspoon of honey. In the summer, it is also recommended to add a few ice cubes for freshness. Grind all the products in a blender and pour into cups or glasses.
Eggplant baked with tomatoes- a healthy diet meal. Ingredients: two medium eggplants, 4 tomatoes, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, vegetable oil, cream, spices. We start cooking: cut the washed eggplants into slices (about 5 mm), do the same with the tomatoes. Peel the garlic and squeeze it through a press or just cut it. Sprinkle the eggplant slices a little with spices and place them on a tray greased with vegetable oil. Bake in the oven until golden brown, turning once on the other side. Arrange the finished eggplants on a plate, put 0. 5-1 tsp of sour cream mixed with garlic on each circle, and put a piece of tomato on top of the sauce. Already in this form, the dish can be served on the table. If desired, you can sprinkle with grated cheese or sesame seeds.
Rice pudding with prunes- a good substitute for the usual boring porridge. Necessary products for the dish: 100 g of round rice, 600 ml of milk, sugar, 2 eggs, lemon peel, cinnamon. Cooking: add sugar (about 60 g, to taste) and lemon peel to the milk. Put on the fire, let it boil and add the rice. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the chopped and washed dried fruits and put the rice in the oven at t° +120 °C for about 40 minutes. Stir the rice several times during cooking. Remove the cooked rice and let it cool. Meanwhile, separate the yolks from the whites. Add the egg yolks to the rice and mix well. Add a few drops of lemon juice to the egg whites and beat until stiff, then gently fold them into the rest of the mixture. Put in the oven for another 15 minutes - this can be done directly in the pan or distributed in special forms. We serve the dish in them. When serving, sprinkle with cinnamon. You can also drizzle it with honey or fruit sauce.
Mint sauce- A delicious addition to chicken breast. Products: red wine vinegar 75 ml, sugar 25 g, fresh mint leaves (about 10 g), one small onion (preferably sweet variety). Mix vinegar, sugar and salt on the tip of a knife. Grind the mint and onion leaves, add to the vinegar and put in the refrigerator for a few hours (minimum 2-3 hours). Serve with meat.
Peanut pasteit can be used for a quick and healthy breakfast or to prepare various sauces and main dishes. We will need: 200 g of roasted and peeled peanuts (without salt and pepper), ½ teaspoon of salt, 40 ml of vegetable oil, 5 g of honey. The nuts are poured into a blender, salt and honey are added and ground at maximum speed for about 1-2 minutes. Add the butter, mix and turn the blender back on for 2 minutes. The pasta is ready, it can be stored in the refrigerator for 1. 5-2 months.
Buckwheat pancakes– thin, suitable for any filling or simply with sour cream. Products: 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 kefir, a little salt and sugar. Mix everything. Gradually add the buckwheat flour, stirring constantly. 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 symptoms of such an unpleasant disease as varicose veins, then proper nutrition and diet for varicose veins can prevent further deterioration 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 varicose veins. It is important to remember the main thing: the food consumed should be enriched, varied and not contain large amounts of animal fats, unnatural additives (chemicals, preservatives), salt, simple sugars, hot spices and substances that thicken the blood.

Recommended for use:

berry, fruit, vegetable dishes (tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, citrus fruits, kiwis, pears, grapes, watermelons, eggplants, pumpkin, melon);
nuts (except walnuts);
fruits 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 fruit (all kinds);
tea, fermented milk products, cottage cheese, unsalted cheese;
vegetable oils.

The proposed range of products will help you maintain normal vascular tone, control your weight and prevent the accumulation of fluid in the tissues. It is good to supplement the diet with medical treatment 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:

Sweets. These include baked goods made from white flour, sweets, cakes, jam, chocolate, condensed milk, cakes, ice cream.
Hot spices: black pepper, chili, mustard, horseradish, as well as adjika, wasabi, etc.
Carbonated drinks, alcohol, coffee, cocoa, juices from the store.
Salt and sugar.
Fatty meat products: pork, bacon, meat with layers of fat.
Marinades, pickles.
Canned fish and meat products.
Rich broths, jellies, toppings.
Bananas, pomegranates.
Full-fat sour cream, cream, melted cheese, butter.
Legumes: lentils, beans, peas.
Walnuts.

Overeating is not recommended, especially at night. Fasting is also discouraged. But fasting days, on the contrary, are useful. They can be organized once a week using, for example, kefir, watermelon, buckwheat, tomato juice or apples.