Varicose veins aren’t just a cosmetic problem. They can make your legs swell or make them feel heavy and tired. They can also aggravate muscle cramps. When you have varicose veins, it means that the blood returning to your heart is extremely sluggish. Within the veins, valvelike mechanisms that help maintain upward blood flow aren’t doing their job any more. It may get to the point where blood is simply pooling in the veins rather than moving along as it should.
Blood vessel damage can set the stage for thrombosis, or clotting, so be sure to see your doctor for a proper diagnosis. If your veins present a real danger to your health, your doctor may recommend sclerotherapy, a procedure that shuts them off, says Decker Weiss, N.M.D., a naturopathic doctor with the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix. While that may seem drastic, Dr. Weiss points out that sclerotherapy could relieve discomfort. "The veins aren’t helping you in any way," he says. "They are just creating pain."
Most doctors’ nutritional recommendations for varicose veins are limited to "Lose weight and eat more fiber." That’s good advice, but some naturopathic doctors also recommend nutrients that help to strengthen blood vessel walls or reduce the likelihood of blood clots that could block the veins. Just be sure to talk to your own doctor before you start taking supplements for this condition.
Take Fiber for Vein Strain
Straining to have a bowel movement puts a lot of pressure on the veins of your lower body, and over time, it can promote the development of varicose veins in your legs, Dr. Weiss says. "I’ve had patients who, once they have their constipation problems under control, see their varicose veins improve, especially the hemorrhoid type."
| The “Compression Stocking” Herb Which would you rather do to treat your varicose veins: wear surgical compression stockings that make you feel like you’re encased in elastic or take a herbal tincture of horse chestnut seed extract? In a study, people with varicose veins were divided into two groups. One group took an extract of horse chestnut that provided 50 milligrams a day of escin, one of the active ingredients. The other group used compression stockings, which are commonly recommended by doctors as a way to relieve the discomfort of varicose veins. After 12 weeks, researchers found that both groups had an almost identical reduction of swelling in their legs. Horse chestnut contains compounds called bioflavonoids. When you take this herb, the bioflavonoids seem to move into the bulging varicose veins, says Decker Weiss, N.M.D., a naturopathic doctor at the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix. “I’d recommend it as a first-line treatment along with correcting constipation,” he says. Horse chestnut seed extract—the supplement form that’s used—has anti-edema properties, which means that it helps prevent the buildup of fluids. It also helps prevent inflammation, and it can decrease fluid leakage from capillaries by reducing the number and size of the small pores in the capillary walls. Horse chestnut also improves the tone of blood vessels so veins become more elastic. With this boost in elasticity, they can contract more strongly and relax better, Dr. Weiss says. How much you’ll need to take depends on what kind of horse chestnut you buy. If you get a standardized extract of horse chestnut seed, use an amount that provides you with a daily dose of 50 milligrams of escin, Dr. Weiss says. Reduce the dosage after symptoms improve, he advises. “I haven’t had many problems with it, and I’ve had people on it for seven or eight months at a time,” says Dr. Weiss. There have been some reports of side effects such as itching, nausea, and stomach discomfort. If you experience these side effects, simply stop taking horse chestnut for a while until the symptoms go away. If you are pregnant, don’t take this herb without your doctor’s okay. Since horse chestnut may also interfere with the action of other drugs, especially blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin), also check with your doctor. |
To prevent constipation, it’s best to eat foods that contain a mixture of fiber, such as beans, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. If you also need to take a fiber supplement, find one that contains both soluble and insoluble fibers, Dr. Weiss advises. Whatever kind of fiber you’re getting, also make sure you drink at least eight glasses of water and other fluids every day.
Bromelain Breaks Up Bumps
Bromelain, an enzyme that’s extracted from green pineapple, can help prevent the development of the hard and lumpy skin found around varicose veins, says Joseph E. Pizzorno Jr., N.D., president of Bastyr University in Bothell, Washington.
People with varicose veins have a decreased ability to break down fibrin, one of the compounds involved in formation of blood clots and tissue scarring. In healthy veins, a substance called plasminogen activator helps break down fibrin, but veins that are varicose have decreased levels of this substance.
Bromelain acts similarly to plasminogen activator to help break down fibrin, so it’s particularly helpful for varicose veins, says Dr. Pizzorno. It can also help people who have a tendency to develop phlebitis, or blood clots in leg veins.
Try taking 500 to 750 milligrams of bromelain on an empty stomach two or three times a day, Dr. Pizzorno recommends. If you take it with meals, it simply works as a digestive enzyme and is used up in your intestines rather than passed along to your bloodstream.
Bioflavonoids Keep Veins Strong
Even if you seem destined to get varicose veins, the powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of bioflavonoids might help make the walls of your veins stronger, says Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., a cardiologist and director of medical education for Manchester Memorial Hospital in Connecticut.
"Bioflavonoids can help protect the structural integrity of the vascular walls and help prevent free radical stress inside the vessel," he says. Two bioflavonoids that seem to promote vascular health are grapeseed and pyc nogenol, commonly called oligomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs. In one study, OPCs demonstrated powerful antioxidant activity by being able to trap the free-roaming, unstable molecule that can do so much cell damage. In fact, the antioxidant ability of OPCs was found to be many times greater than that of vitamin C and vitamin E.
If you have varicose veins, you should take about 200 to 300 milligrams of grapeseed extract or pycnogenol a day with meals for at least six months, says Dr. Sinatra. If your discomfort improves, you can continue taking the supplement indefinitely.
C and B
Vitamin C is needed to help your body manufacture two important connective tissues, collagen and elastin. "Both of these tissues help to keep vein walls strong and flexible," says Dr. Pizzorno. Vitamin C may be especially important if you bruise easily or have broken capillaries, which may show up on your skin as tiny spider veins, he says. He recommends 500 to 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily.
Some doctors also recommend a combination of B vitamins, especially to people who have a history of blood clots. It’s particularly important to make sure that you’re getting sufficient amounts of folic acid, B12, and B6, Dr. Weiss says.
"I recommend B vitamins to all my patients with heart or circulatory problems as part of a high-potency multivitamin," says Dr. Weiss. If people have absorption problems, he will suggest B12 injections. Otherwise, you can take B-vitamin supplements in pill or capsule form.
Bring on the Es, Too
Vitamin E can also help, Dr. Pizzorno says. "Vitamin E helps keep platelets, blood components involved in clotting, from sticking together and from adhering to the sides of blood vessel walls," he says.
Research shows that reducing platelet stickiness with vitamin E may help people who are at particularly high risk for blood-clotting problems, such as those with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.
Taking 200 to 600 international units of vitamin E a day should be sufficient, Dr. Pizzorno says. If you’ve had bleeding problems, however, or are taking prescription anticoagulants to help prevent clotting, get your doctor’s okay before you take vitamin E.
Get Your Gotu Kola
The herb gotu kola is particularly good for varicose veins and also has a reputation as an anti-aging herb, says Roberta Bourgon, N.D., a naturopathic doctor at the Wellness Center in Billings, Montana. This herb seems to be able to strengthen the sheath of tissue that wraps around veins, reduce formation of clogging scar tissue, and improve blood flow through affected limbs.
"It’s really more of a preventive measure than a cure," says Dr. Bourgon. "If you know you’re prone to varicose veins, this can help you slow down or perhaps prevent the problem."
Even if it doesn’t help the varicosity itself, gotu kola often improves the symptoms of varicose veins, including pain, numbness, and leg cramps, Dr. Bourgon says. Try taking 60 to 120 milligrams a day in capsules.
