LESLIE ADAMS
Certified Fitness & Nutrition Counselor
Personal Trainer

The best foods for optimum performance are foods that nourish the blood. Good blood-nutrition is essential on all levels and pervades all aspects of our body and being.  Blood isn’t just platelets and plasma; it is our vitality. Blood carries the story of our ancestry. Blood operates within the larger and deeper context of our being. It is both physical and archetypical, and carries meaning beyond its movement through capillaries, veins, and arteries. In thinking about the circulatory system and the blood that enlivens it, it is vital to understand this bodily system not just for its individual components and physical function, but for its significance on a primal, symbolic level.

 

I have personally become more aware of the pivotal role of blood and circulation during my studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I am amazed by how an imbalance in blood and circulation can be intimately linked to so many other health imbalances. Since blood is all-pervasive, it follows that improving the quality of one’s blood and circulation can assist in managing and preventing a vast array of physical, emotional, and psychological imbalances. The more I learn, the more I see how deficient and/or stagnant blood is behind so many maladies. By properly moving and nourishing the blood, one can potentially ameliorate and prevent so many problems. ​

 

According to Dr. William Morris, PhD, DAOM, RH(AHG) in Austin, Texas, some helpful foods for building the blood are Dates.  Dates soaked in ghee with spices are great for building energy. Also, blood-colored foods such as beets and pomegranate juice are helpful. In some cases, iron supplements are appropriate. (see Gaia Plant Force Liquid Iron as a brand that is recommended because it is vegetarian and non-constipative). 

Other basic foods and supplements great for nourishing your blood are:

Eggs
Beef
Chicken
Liver/pate
Sea vegetables
Seeds and nuts
Beets
Pumpkin
Sweet potato
Carrots
Leafy greens
Oatmeal
Brown rice
Quinoa
Beans (combined with a grain)
Spirulina /blue green algae
Nutritional yeast
Iron (taken with vitamin C for better absorption)
B12

 

 

If there is overall dryness and depletion, work with building ojas, which translates as ‘vigor’ or ‘prime energy of the body’ (Frawley, 2000). Healthy ojas gives rise to a strong immune system and an overall sense of contentment and resilience. In this case, add more juice and water to the diet. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza spp.),shatavari (Asparagus racemosus), and other demulcents are also indicated to help build blood volume. Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is a good blood mover. The client may take cinnamon in capsule form, anywhere from 2-10 caps per day depending on the needs and constitution of the client.

 

Healthy ojas gives rise to a strong immune system and an overall sense of contentment and resilience. In this case, add more juice and water to the diet. Licorice (Glycyrrhiza spp.),shatavari (Asparagus racemosus), and other demulcents are also indicated to help build blood volume. Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is a good blood mover. The client may take cinnamon in capsule form, anywhere from 2-10 caps per day depending on the needs and constitution of the client.

 

Signs of improved blood balance are consistent energy day-to-day, a healthy menstrual cycle, and absence of any heat imbalance (e.g., cold hands and feet and heat in other parts of the body).