Potatoes & Peppers
Potatoes
Keeping your weight under control is essential for fighting DVT and promoting cardiovascular health. And supplementing your diet with plenty of vegetables is one of the best ways you can accomplish this. In fact, one study showed that an increase of fruits and vegetables reduced the risk of clots by nearly half. There’s such a wide range of vegetables that have good things in them, it’s hard to pick just a few that are exceptionally great for DVT. However, B vitamins, B-6 in particular, seem to be good for clotting. Potatoes are a great source of vitamin B-6—in a just one cup of you'll receive about a third of your recommended daily amount.
However, be sure to monitor your potato intake carefully. They're a bit higher in calories than most other vegetables, which may give you problems in terms of maintaining a healthy weight.
Peppers
If you like to keep things spicy, peppers are a great addition to your DVT diet. Peppers tend to be high in vitamin C, which we already know is good for the veins—cayenne pepper is especially good for improving blood pressure and circulation. Bell peppers have a decent amount of vitamin E and vitamin B-6, and both of these can promote healthy clotting. They're also a decent source of fiber, which some experts theorize is good for DVT and clotting because it reduces the need for you to strain while going to the bathroom. This keeps excessive amounts of pressure off the veins in the lower half of the body—the exact place where DVT occurs.
Did you know...
- A hearty laugh is good for the heart. Laughing can increase blood flow by 20%. Additionally, looking on the bright side can help you live longer. Studies have shown that a more optimistic outlook is linked to a healthier heart, lower blood pressure, and a lower risk for coronary artery disease.
- There are many factors that contribute to your body odor, but one of the strongest links is our diet. This may be some bad news for meat-lovers because many studies have shown that those who refrained from or ate less red meat were judged as being more pleasant smelling. The meat sweats are real, and they don’t smell great!
- Have you ever told your husband something and he promptly forgets it? It's not his fault, actually. It really is because he's a man. The hippocampus (the part of the brain that deals with memory) begins to shrink with age faster in men than it does in women. That's why you can remember everything, and he can't!
- Do you know what the strongest muscle in your body is? No, it’s not your biceps or your thighs. It’s actually in your head. The masseter is a muscle in the jaw that is used when chewing. When all of the muscles of the jaw work together, they can exert a force as strong as 200 pounds on the molars. That’s some serious pressure.
- Does your job make you stressed? We all know that stress is psychologically bad for you, but it also has an effect on…your allergies? A Harvard Medical School study has shown that stress causes your allergies to become worse because your body's defense response loses efficacy when repeatedly triggered by stress. Then, when you really need to physically fight something off, you're less able to!