eat more spinach and beans
don't eat nuts, sunflower seeds, pumkin seeds, or other whole grains that might cut you on the way out.
and wipe with baby-wipes.
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/15/25.cfm
One of the best ways to stop varicose veins and hemorrhoids from getting any worse is to strengthen your blood vessels and make them less porous. Some of the same herbs used for heart problems, such ashawthorn and ginkgo, can do this. More than 50 studies, mostly from France and Germany, demonstrate ginkgo's ability to improve blood circulation and reduce the discoloration of varicose veins.
In a study conducted in Italy in 1982, the Indian herb gotu kola improved the structure of varicose veins and increased blood flow through them in 80 percent of the participants who took it for one month. This study also showed thatgotu kola strengthens the connective tissue.
17085PG74 Researchers have found that ginkgo and gotu kola are even more effective when used together. Almost everyone who took this combination, many of whom had serious circulation problems in their legs, found that their circulation improved. Some enjoyed their first pain-free walking in months. And in numerous other studies, bothginkgo and gotu kola have been shown to be more effective and better tolerated than tribenoside, the standard drug used for this purpose.
Horse chestnut and butcher's broom—strangely named herbs that are not nearly as well-known in North America as in Europe—can also be used to make veins stronger and less porous. In the seventeenth century, an herbalist wrote that butcher's broom, a Mediterranean shrub, was so named because butchers made brooms from it—the herb's smell kept rodents away. Clinical research conducted in Italy, France and Germany shows that butcher's broom does much more than deter pests—it encourages blood to move up out of the legs, decreases inflammation in the veins and helps to tighten the veins.
Horse chestnut, an ornamental tree that originated in Asia, probably got its name as a corruption of the Welsh gwres, meaning "pungent," which was used to differentiate it from the unrelated sweet, edible chestnut. Horse chestnut is one of the few herbs mentioned in this book that needs to be taken with extra care. Small doses (50 milligrams of the plant's active ingredient, aescin) taken two or three times a day are sufficient; very high doses are slightly toxic. European herbalists describe this herb as a "venotonic," a tonic that improves the tone of the veins by tightening the elastic fibers in their walls.
Horse chestnut, the enzyme bromelain from pineapple and gotu kola also stop the enzymes that break down damaged veins. After only 12 days of taking horse chestnut, the level of these enzymes drops by one-quarter. Bromelain even prevents vein breakage right after surgery, when operations are necessary to remove badly varicosed veins. Garlic and pineapple prevent fibrin from forming lumpy deposits around varicose veins.
The compounds known as anthocyanidins are also beneficial in treating varicose veins—they stop swollen capillaries from leaking by making them less porous. Several European pharmaceuticals sold in France, Germany, Italy and Spain contain anthocyanidins. In Europe these compounds are considered so safe that they are even used during pregnancy. In numerous studies, people with various circulation problems, including hemorrhoids and varicose veins, who were given anthocyanidins experienced dramatic and sometimes total improvement in their conditions. In none of the published studies did researchers note side effects.
Similar compounds known as proanthocyanidins—currently derived either from grape seeds or from pine needles—support skin and blood vessels in several ways. For one thing, they increase the amounts of intercellular vitamin C and collagen (fibrous protein bundles that form the connective tissue that sup ports blood vessels, ligaments and cartilage). Another way to strengthen connective tissue is with the silica-rich herbs horsetail, knotgrass and nettles.
Horse chestnut, butcher's broom, calendula and Saint-John's-wort are used in several European varicose vein ointments and in suppositories for hemorrhoids, to reduce inflammation, pain and broken veins. Thewitch hazel sold in drugstores and the essential oils of palmarosa, chamomile and cypress have similar properties. If varicose veins break, you can cover them with a cold compress of calendula or Saint-John's-wort with chamomile and carrot seed essential oils. This will decrease the swelling and pain and will deliver healing factors that help repair the veins.
Varicose Vein/Hemorrhoid Tea
½ ounce each hawthorn berries and flowers, ginkgo leaves and butcher's broom (if available)
Hot water (enough to cover herbs)
Combine herbs. Cover with hot water and steep for 5 minutes. Strain and drink. The same herbs can also be used to make a tincture (they are, in fact, used in several commercial tincture formulas).
Varicose Vein/Hemorrhoid Oil
1 ounce Saint-John's-wort oil
8 drops each essential oils of chamomile, palma rosa and cypress
Combine ingredients. Apply externally.
Varicose Vein/Hemorrhoid Compress
1 cup cold water
1 teaspoon tincture of calendula or Saint-John's-wort
3 drops each essential oils of chamomile and carrot seed
Combine ingredients. Stir a soft cloth in them, wring out and place over itching or broken varicose veins or hemorrhoids as often as practical.
