Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the coldness in hands and feet of girls is mostly caused by disharmony of qi and blood, and deficiency of qi and blood. Deficiency of qi and blood may lead to common problems in women such as dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea. In such cases, Western medicine may not be effective in improving the condition. Let's see what Chinese medicine can do.
Tactic 1: Soak in Essential Oil Bath
When you have free time, you can take more baths and add ginger, chamomile, basil, cinnamon, rosemary essential oils, or chili bath agents to the hot water. They can all promote blood circulation and make the body warm up. During bathing, you can alternate between cold and hot water to rinse your hands and feet. By stimulating the contraction and dilation of blood vessels, you can achieve the goal of smooth blood flow. Soaking your hands and feet in hot water before bedtime can also promote peripheral blood circulation and help you fall asleep. Don't forget to dry your feet immediately after soaking and put on warm socks.
Tactic 2: Supplement Vitamin E
Vitamin E can dilate peripheral blood vessels and help maintain smooth blood circulation. However, the effect of vitamin E is relatively slow and it takes about 3 months to see the results. You need to take 210-250IU of vitamin E daily to be sufficient.
Tactic 3: Eat Foods Rich in Nicotinic Acid
Nicotinic acid is helpful in stabilizing the nervous and circulatory systems. It can also improve nervous tension, nervous diarrhea, and skin inflammation, as well as dilate peripheral blood vessels and improve cold hands and feet. Foods rich in nicotinic acid include animal liver, eggs, milk, cheese, brown rice, whole wheat products, sesame, mushrooms, peanuts, mung beans, and coffee. Vitamins B1, B2, and B6 can help synthesize nicotinic acid. To promote the expansion of peripheral blood vessels, you can supplement 30-60mg of vitamin B complex daily.
Tactic 4: Eat Nuts and Carrots
For daily dietary supplementation, choose foods that can warm up your body, such as walnuts, sesame seeds, pine nuts, chives, carrots, cabbage, spinach, apricots, peaches, papaya, beef, lamb, seafood, Sishen, glutinous rice, brown rice, soybeans, tofu, sesame, and brown sugar. These foods are considered warm in nature and are suitable for people with cold hands and feet. It is important to note that people who are prone to cold hands and feet should avoid eating raw and cold foods, ice products, or drinking cold beverages throughout the year.
Tactic 5: Develop a Habit of Eating Spicy Food
Spices such as chili, pepper, mustard, garlic, scallion, and curry can promote blood circulation. You can incorporate them into your daily diet, such as adding chili sauce to stir-fried noodles or rice noodles, adding more pepper to soups, and serving dumplings with hot and sour soup.
Tactic 6: Eat Warming Foods Regularly
Ginseng tea, ginger duck, longan tea, black sesame, and sweet dumplings are all good choices to warm up your body and prevent cold hands and feet. There are many Chinese herbal medicines that can improve and prevent cold hands and feet, such as ginseng, codonopsis, angelica, salvia, astragalus, deer antler, silkworm, morinda, cinnamon, cistanche, xianmao, yugui seed, guizhi, mahuang, dried ginger, peppercorn, nutmeg, cardamom, etc. You can consume them in the form of tea, decoction, or cooking.
Tactic 7: Don't Starve Yourself
Avoid a restricted diet or excessive weight loss, as having an adequate amount of body fat can help maintain body temperature. If you know in advance that you won't be able to eat on time due to busy work, prepare some biscuits, bread, or ginseng tea to supplement your calorie intake.
Tactic 8: Take Chinese Herbal Medicine
Chinese medicine has specific prescriptions for treating cold hands and feet, such as Shiquan Dabu Soup, Bazhen Soup, Sijunzi Soup, Siwu Soup, Lizhong Soup, Guiqi Jianzhong Soup, Fuzi Lizhong Soup, Guizhi Soup, Gehong Soup, Danggui Sini Soup, Kidney Qi Pill, and Right Return Pill. These Chinese herbal medicines are usually more suitable for people with a deficiency-cold constitution. If you are unsure, you can consult a Chinese medicine practitioner for a prescription.
Tactic 9: Exercise Regularly and Move Your Hands and Feet
It is recommended that women do some exercise in the morning. Brisk walking is the best choice. Walk at a speed faster than normal walking but slower than running, take big steps, and swing your hands. Walk for 30 minutes to promote blood and qi circulation. Your whole body will feel warm and energetic throughout the day because the blood circulation and metabolism are accelerated in the morning. After working for 40 minutes, it's best to stand up and walk around or do some stepping exercises. It also helps to move your fingers and toes occasionally to promote blood circulation.
Tactic 10: Pay Attention to Keeping Warm
Don't sacrifice warmth for the sake of beauty or worry about being laughed at for wearing too many clothes. Take various measures to keep warm, such as wearing outerwear, hats, gloves, scarves, masks, thermal underwear, and socks when the weather is cold. Before taking off your extra clothes, make sure the weather has already warmed up. Don't take off warm clothing immediately because of psychological irritability, nervousness, hot flashes, or feeling overheated after exercise. Avoid wearing tight clothes as they can hinder blood circulation. Before going to bed at night, remember to wear warm socks to keep your feet warm. If your feet lose heat, it will be difficult to fall asleep.
