The Hindu Business Line : Happy feet, in vein

Many people suffer from weak leg veins. There’s no name for it. But scores of people complain of mysterious leg aches that sometimes keep them awake all night. Generally, they are prescribed calcium tablets by their doctor.

The fact is that veins weaken when you lose muscle mass and the tissue tone slackens. Without muscle support, the walls of the veins become fragile. This happens due to a sedentary lifestyle, excess weight, eating food lacking in adequate fibre-content, poor blood circulation and bad posture.

Veins are as important as arteries

Though veins are not given their due in the medical sun, they are as important as arteries. The arteries transport the blood pumped by the heart away from the heart to the tissues in the body. The veins return the blood back to the heart to keep the ring-route aflow. The veins perform a herculean task as they have to push the blood back to the heart against the force of gravity.

Their aids are the calf muscles that gamely put the squeeze on the veins. But when these muscles weaken and lose their tone, the veins are unable to do their job. Since the veins cannot pump the blood upward with the force required, they widen to accommodate the excess blood. This pressure is felt as pain. If you don’t take steps to improve your blood-circulation and lifestyle in time, the walls of the veins become inflamed, leading to phlebitis. If the inflammation runs deep and blood clots have formed inside the veins, this condition is called thrombosis. If the veins dilate and bulge, they are called varicose veins.

So, where should you start?

■ Free your legs from pressure and constriction. Sit with legs elevated above chest level. Avoid standing continuously for long periods. If you have to stand for long hours, then keep shifting from one leg to another. Also, if you are driving long distances, taking a long flight or have a desk job, take breaks every half hour to move around and get the circulation going. Since it is vital to keep the legs moving, take the stairs and shun the elevator; park your car a distance away from the office and walk; walk to your colleague’s cabin instead of speaking over the intercom. Every exercising opportunity that you snatch during the day works towards keeping the blood circulating strongly in the legs and reduces the pain you would otherwise feel at night. Remember, moving the legs beats massaging. A massage gives temporary relief but movement is a lasting solution.

■ Avoid constipation. Eat a fibre-rich diet comprising fresh fruits and raw vegetables; and avoid meat, excess oil and refined flour. Snack on crisp carrots and cucumbers. Drink 10 to 12 glasses of water in a day. Never strain during a bowel movement as this puts enormous strain on the veins.

Bhindis [lady’s fingers] are an excellent source for fibre. Cut bhindis lengthwise. Marinate in jeera, salt, chilli powder, dhaniya powder, amchur, garam masala powder for 10 minutes in a kadai. Then, place the kadai on the fire and stir. Spray a dash of water and cook on a low flame with a closed lid for eight minutes. A delicious, oil-free, fibre-rich sabzi is re ady!

Similarly, combine fruits and vegetables to make a sweet and crunchy salad. Add sprouted moong or red chowli — they are rich in fibre too. Add chat masala and squeeze lime to give it a tan gy taste.

If you are traveling on your job and cannot always have fibre-rich choices, once a fortnight, have two teaspoons of kayam churan dissolved in milk or water to cleanse your system.

■ Exercise regularly to lose or maintain your weight, to enhance blood circulation in the legs. The best exercise if you are obese is stationary cycling — for 30 minutes daily at 80 rpm. It vigorously pumps the legs without putting your body-weight on them. When you lose 10-15 kg, you can walk 4.8 km in 42 minutes.

Also try calf-muscle strengthening push-ups: Stand up at arms’ length facing a wall. Place your palms flat on the wall, keep back straight. Bend elbows and move your upper body towards the wall. Press your heels into the ground to stretch the calf-muscles. Hold for a count of 10. Return to starting position. Repeat five times.

■ Support and strengthen your veins through good nutrition. Grapes and grape seeds, cherries and plums toughen and elasticise the walls of the veins. Green leafy vegetables, radish, turnips, capsicum, onions, amla, lemon, oran ge contain bio-flavonoids and vitamin C that reduce leg pain and strengthen connective tissue in the muscles, including veins. A B-complex capsule maintains blood vessels.

■ Know your threshold. Don’t dance all night. If you participate in a marathon, run for fun — not to win — and take plenty of breaks in between. Heat gets to weak veins, so cool them with damp towels. Straighten your posture. With care, the pain in your legs will disappear. However, don’t stop exercising, watching your diet and cleansing your system.

Maintaining good venous health is as important as attaining it.

(The writer is co-author of the book ‘Fitness for Life’.)

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