Do cold hands always mean a warm heart? Or could they just be a symptom of something else?
 
 I worked with a client some time ago who had been diagnosed as having Raynaud’s Disease.  When her hands got cold, they would turn white, then blue, and literally seize up to where she could not move them; they were literally ‘frozen stiff’.   Finally the affected part turned red, tingled, and burned as blood flow began to return.  She had lived in the Yukon Territories for a time, and had to leave because of her hands.  She could not buy a jug of milk. Touching the cold jug long enough to load it into the grocery cart would start the Raynaud’s reaction.
 
The trick here, according to the medical profession, is to make an accurate diagnosis.  These types of circulatory symptoms can be caused by many things, including hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, reactive hypoglycemia, and other circulatory problems.  Cigarette smoking and certain drugs, including the birth control pill, blood pressure medications, migraine medications, and caffeine can also stimulate this kind of circulatory compromise.
 
This condition is called Raynaud’s Phenomenon when it is a secondary problem associated with other disease processes like scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, thyroiditis, trauma, primary pulmonary hypertension, and thoracic outlet syndrome. 
 
Just as Raynaud’s can be a symptom of another problem, it can also cause other disease processes such as migraine headaches and Prinzmetal’s angina (angina caused by spasming of coronary arteries)
 
Raynaud’s, itself, is a condition that involves spasms of the arterioles of the hands, feet, ears, and nose.  These spasms may be caused by cold, emotional upsets, stress, vibrations (such as with construction equipment), or food sensitivities.  Episodes may last just a few minutes to several hours.  The pain caused by the impaired blood flow can be excruciating, and other symptoms can include tingling, numbness, and burning. If allowed to progress unchecked, Raynaud’s can damage tissues and lead to ulcers and chronic infections in the affected body parts, and even gangrene.  This condition is more common in women than men
 
In the clients I have worked with I have found a common problem.  Many of them internalize stress to an extreme degree.  The demand this places on their adrenal glands is more than their tired adrenals can stand. 
 
Many foods have been found helpful in supporting the body against Raynaud’s.  Two Tbsp of unrefined, cold-pressed flax oil per day can improve circulation and enhance the body’s ability to produce stress-controlling hormones.  Beets, carrots, artichokes, parsnips, dandelion greens, watercress and burdock root all have a cleansing affect on the liver and seem to help with the normalization of circulation.
 
Avoid alcohol and foods that are refined.  Refined carbohydrates, especially, can send the blood sugars on a wild roller-coaster ride that can cause adrenal stress and uspet the circulatory balance.
 
There are also foods that should be avoided.  These foods stress the liver and have a significant impact on the body’s internal energy system.  The list includes beef, pork, alcohol, hot sauces, spicy foods, fried foods, processed foods, and cold or cooling foods. 
 
Drugs from the calcium channel blocker family including nifedipine (procardia, adalat, and others) and verapamil (calan, isoptin, verelan) can have a bad impact on Raynaud’s.
 
Surgery is another remedy offered by the medical world.  A sympathectomy, wherein appropriate fibers of the sympathetic nervous system that regulate the tension in the capillaries are severed, is used as a desperate measure to improve circulation.
 
Of course, there are several herbs that may be helpful in controlling this most uncomfortable condition.  There are two clear herbal approaches that may be used simultaneously.  The first is to work with the circulatory system.  By choosing herbs that may dilate the capillaries, circulation to the extremities will be enhances.  The second is to support the adrenal glands.  In doing so the release of the stress-coping adrenal hormones that constrict the capillaries may be reduced, thus allowing better circulation even under stress.
 
Circulatory System Support
 
Capsicum is known as a circulation normalizer.  If capillaries need dilating or constricting, capsicum knows just what to do and does it.  A little capsicum sprinkled in gloves or socks can keep hands or feet warm in cold weather.  (I wish I’d known this when I used to down-hill ski.)
 
Combining capsicum with garlic and ginger can produce a dynamic trio.  Garlic is well known for its ability to remove obstructions from the circulatory system and ginger for its strengthening effect on other herbs
 
Butcher’s Broom is another excellent choice for peripheral circulatory insufficiency.  It has a tremendous ability to strengthen capillary walls.  It also has been found in testing to increase circulation to the arms and legs.  It does have a carminative action, so a little caution is a good thing.
 
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) has a strong vasodilating effect.  A definite symptom that vasodilating is taking place is the ‘niacin flush’.  As large doses of niacin are assimilated capillaries dilate causing hot blushing and itching, usually starting at the top of the body and spreading down.  These symptoms are not harmful.  They are simply an indication that an excess of niacin has been consumed and it is working well.  Obviously, dilating the capillaries of the hands and feet in an episode of Raynaud’s is a desirable outcome.  Caution should be exercised since large amounts of niacin (2000 mg per day), taken on a regular basis, can be hard on the liver.  Circulatory problems should respond well to amounts of between 50 and 500 mg per day.
 
Adrenal gland and nervous system support
 
Ginkgo biloba exhibits beneficial effects on Raynaud’s on several levels.  This herb’s ability to scavenge free radicals from the brain and nervous tissue is notable.  It also prevents metabolic disturbances in the brain by enhancing oxygen utilization and increasing cellular uptake of glucose to maintain steady energy production in the brain.  This may keep the nervous system on a steady enough keel to prevent the adrenal gland over-reactions that would cause the capillaries to constrict.
 
Pain control can be a challenge with Raynaud’s.  St. John’s wort is an effective choice for pain, as well as for anxiety and nervous tension, both of which can make Raynaud’s symptoms worse.  St. John’s wort strengthens capillaries, dilates coronary arteries, and contains the bioflavonoids rutin,  quercetin, and hyperoside.
 
Passion flower and valerian both have the ability to reduce muscle spasms and relax the nervous system.  Remember that arteries are muscled vessels that feed into the capillaries.  If the arteries are spasmed and constricted there will be less blood flow into the capillaries.
 
Licorice root is an amazing adrenal support herb.  By strengthening the adrenal glands and making them more able to balance their output of stress-coping hormones we increase the body’s ability to respond to stressful events without creating major imbalances in its normal functioning. 
 
Adrenal Support and AD-C are two more supplements that do an excellent job of supporting the adrenal glands to bring their functioning back into the normal range.
 
You know when your adrenal glands and nervous system are working well. You will handle stress with grace.  The same situation with poorly functioning adrenal glands and nervous system will produce much more out-of-control reactions.
 
Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements
 
Several other supplements have proven helpful with controlling or relieving Raynaud’s.  Germanium, amongst many other things, has been shown to stop the progress of advanced cases of Raynaud’s.  Germanium acts as a body normalizer in many conditions, including hypertension and hypotension, relieves pain, and normalizes blood values after surgery.
 
Blood flow to the extremities has been improved and numbness relieved by using Vitamin E.  The d-mixed tocopherol form is the most bio-effective.  Doses of up to 1200 IUs are usually well tolerated and have been used with good results.  This vitamin can be found in fresh, raw wheat germ and avocados.
 
The omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (think of evening primrose oil and flaxseed oil or Super Oil) do several things that can be helpful in working with Raynaud’s.  These oils prevent blood clots, break down blockages in arteries, and provide the essential fatty acids needed by the adrenal glands to balance the production of stress-coping hormones.  Common doses used in Raynaud’s are 3000 mg per day in divided doses.  This amount of oils can sometimes loosen the bowels, so be sure to divide the dose.
 
The proanthocyanadin complex (Grapine) can also be beneficial.  It seems to have a positive, normalizing effect on nearly every tissue in the body, and, while it is 50 times stronger than vitamin C and 20 times stronger than vitamin E there has been no evidence of toxicity at any level in any studies done to date.
 
Another nutrient that prevents and corrects muscle spasms is the mineral magnesium.  Its ability to relieve muscle spasms allows the capillaries to relax and dilate, warming the extremity more quickly.  Since magnesium can also loosen the bowels, be sure to balance it with an equal amount of calcium.

Lifestyle
 
It makes good sense to do what one can to prevent Raynaud’s from surfacing.  Easy to do things include being properly dressed for the weather, taking care to wear warm gloves, socks, boots, and hats.  Avoid repeatedly immersing the hands into cold water or substances.  Limit stress, and learn stress-coping techniques. 
 
Using the proper diet, supplements, and lifestyle skills can go a long way to warming one heart and hands.
 
 
Return to the Joy of Health, Zoltan Rona, 1995
 
Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Balch & Balch, 1997
 
Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements, Michael Murray, 1996
 
The Healing Power of Herbs, Michael Murray, 1995
 
Today’s Herbal Health,  Louise Tenney, 2000
 
The Real Vitamin & Mineral Book, Lieberman and Bruning, 1990
 

Judith Cobb