Need Help for PAD: Try these 4 Foods and 2 Drinks

Need help for PAD? Well, guess what? Researchers have discovered that drinking hot cocoa could help improve your gait if you have peripheral arterial disease (PAD.) And that's not all: science also suggests that Vitamin K2 can lower your risk for developing PAD, or other types of coronary disease. Plus, water-based exercises can help restore your mobility. (Often as effectively as gym-based workouts, which could be painful when you're dealing with this health concern.)

You see, PAD is a serious condition that sets in when atherosclerosis (hardened arteries) limit blood flow to your lower limbs. In fact, studies show that having this condition increases your mortality rate by 68%. Moreover, one of the worst PAD symptoms is sudden pain with walking. So we're excited about preventing PAD, but we're also excited about this tasty discovery regarding symptom relief! Let’s take a closer look.

Flavanols Offer Help for PAD

First things first: let’s clear up our cocoa discussion after reviewing this study highlighting its PAD benefits. Cocoa is rich in flavonols, which is why it can help PAD patients. But not all cocoa is created equally. As study author Mary McGrae McDermott explains, "A large amount of chocolate available without a prescription is alkalized, which improves taste [but destroys] the beneficial cocoa flavanols that have therapeutic effects."

What does that mean? You need powder with more than 85% cocoa content to get health benefits. Simply grabbing some Nesquick at the super market won’t cut it—even though your cocoa will probably taste pretty great. But if you choose a product with the right percentages? You’ll get those cocoa flavanols, including epicatechin, that, according to the study, "have therapeutic properties that can improve performance when walking in people with PAD." More specifically, cocoa can help target therapy directly to your legs (limb perfusion) and improve cell and muscle regeneration in your legs. Finally, McDermott notes, previous studies have also discovered that blood flow and muscle health improve with cocoa consumption.

Now we know why cocoa is such a valuable ingredient, let’s take a closer look at how you can leverage cocoa to improve your PAD symptoms.

How Cocoa Fights PAD

The purpose of this study was to see if cocoa could help PAD patients walk longer distances before experiencing leg pain. And, happily, it did! To reach their findings, McDermott’s team studied 44 patients aged 60 and older. Every day, participants drank either cocoa or a placebo drink. By the end of the study period, cocoa drinkers found it much easier to walk for six minutes, as compared to their placebo-drinking counterparts. People who drank three cups a day saw the best results.

In presenting her findings, McDermott explained, "Our study showed better health in the blood flow to the legs, improvements in the 6-minute walking distance and also improved the health of the calf skeletal muscle. Since people with PAD have difficulty walking due to blood flow problems, we think that this therapy can be particularly beneficial.”

While these findings are certainly exciting—for our taste buds and our symptom management—don’t start planning to ditch your meds. As mentioned, you’d have to have the exact cocoa makeup included in the study. Plus, while cocoa can help with symptom relief, it’s unlikely to clear up your underlying disease trigger. So, by all means, talk to your doctor about including cocoa in your diet. And take a look at the findings about Vitamin K1 and PAD!

Vitamins and PAD Risk

According to long-term studies in the journal Atherosclerosis, daily vitamin K2 can reduce your PAD risk if you have hypertension or diabetes.

After following more than 36,000 men and women for just over 12 years, researchers noted that 489 participants developed PAD. But they found that taking vitamin K2 reduced that PAD risk. All the people benefited from the supplement. But the risk reduction was strongest for those with hypertension, and for those with diabetes.

Based on their discovery, the study authors can recommend daily vitamin k2 supplements. Great sources of vitamin k2 include dairy products, fermented foods like kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut, and some animal products.

Additionally, one cross-sectional study suggests that getting too little magnesium in your diet increases your PAD risk. As such, you'll want to add magnesium-rich staples such as spinach (more on that in a minute), as well as nuts like cashews, almonds or peanuts. Pumpkin and chia seeds are great options, too!

Of course, if you already have peripheral arterial disease, you may notice symptoms such as leg cramps while you walk. In which case, you'll want to read more about beet-juice, as well as water-based workouts that offer help for PAD.

Adding Spinach to the Mix 

Want to really kick PAD to the curb? Studies reveal that eating one cup of spinach a day lowers your PAD risk by 26%! This power green helps in several ways. But its most important job seems to be lowering blood pressure.

As a result, just a few leaves a day can reduce stiffness in your arteries. (Which is likely why it helps lower PAD risk.) And it also means you're less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. All of which is great news, as far as we're concerned!

Considering Beetroot Juice for Help with PAD

This systematic review of beetroot Juice as a PAD treatment found mixed results. Beetroot juice is high in dietary nitrate; researchers guessed that its ability to boost vascular function would make it easier to exercise with this disease. And, for the most part, that seemed to be true: the review found that PAD patients who drank beetroot juice saw an improvement in walking time of 18% before experiencing claudication. (That term describes pain, cramping, or leg fatigue that comes on with activity and resolves with rest. It’s caused by arteria narrowing that reduces the amount of oxygen-rich blood reaching your legs.) Researchers also noted that beetroot juice could improve blood pressure regulation. But, because these results weren’t consistent across every study reviewed, they noted that more research is necessary to determine the right dosing amount and schedule necessary to achieve consistent results. Yet, while we watch and wait for more information on this juice, we can always stick with an old favorite: water!

Fighting PAD Symptoms in and with Water

According to research out of Sheffield Hallam University, water-based exercises can be an effective part of a PAD rehab program. Plus, these workouts could offer protective cardiovascular health benefits. Because, according to Dr. Markos Klonizakis, getting four water workouts a week offered the same protective heart and arterial benefits as four weekly workouts in the gym.

Now, this news is especially important for older adults. Because water workouts are lower impact. Which means they're easier to do, even if you already deal with joint or PAD pain.

So, getting in the water can help reduce your disease risk. But drinking water—at least 8 glasses per day—can further reduce your risk. How? Staying well hydrated is a great way to lower your blood pressure. And lowering blood pressure to a healthy range reduces your risk for all forms of CVD, including PAD.

Find it hard to swallow all that H20? Consider giving cranberry juice a try! In addition to keeping you hydrated, cranberry juice is also packed with vitamin c. And that vitamin c can improve blood flow, again reducing your peripheral arterial disease risk factors.

Of course, all of these dietary and lifestyle changes can offer help for PAD. But that doesn't mean you should give up on other PAD interventions. So, if you're worried about your symptoms, we encourage you to Schedule an Appointment request a consultation [/tx-appt link] at one of our seven locations in the Houston and Dallas area. When you come in for a visit, we can explore your candidacy for minimally invasive PAD treatment.