Get a leg up.
The legs are among the most overworked parts of the body, but they also get the least care. Bad enough that they bear your weight or cover long distances every single day, but they’re also subjected to such tortures as poorly-made shoes with ridiculously high heels. And yet today’s fashions require that your legs look great in tiny shorts (Appointment with gynecologist?) and 6-inch heels. How your legs actually feel is beside the point; one must suffer for beauty.
At the launch of the anti-varicose vein supplement Antistax, it was noted that many women (and men too, we guess) experience leg pains, heaviness (pangangalay), swelling (pagmamanas), cramps and varicose veins, but don’t consider them serious enough to consult a doctor. (We’ll spare you the gross photos.) Leg problems won’t kill you, so they are dismissed as aesthetic rather than functional concerns. However, these pains may be symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, in which weak and damaged legs cannot pump blood back to the heart. This supplement contains flavonoids from red vine leaf extracts, which improve blood circulation in the legs.
The leg experts offered the following tips for the care and maintenance of healthy legs:
1. Move. Standing still: not good.
2. Bathe your legs in cold water. (Like ice baths for athletes.)
3. Elevate your legs. In the office, put them up on a footstool; at home, prop them up on pillows.
4. Don’t cross your legs for extended periods.
5. Avoid excessive heat. (Plunging them in very hot water: not good.)
6. Avoid high heels.
7. Wear loose, flowing clothes for easy movement.
8. Eat a balanced diet with enough fiber.
Got questions about leg health? Post them in Comments and we’ll forward them to the Antistax team.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
March 15th, 2013 at 15:37
kawawa ang mga cashier ngayon sa mga supermarket. dati, may mga upuan pa sila. ngayon buong araw nakatayo. hindi ba human rights violation na yun?
March 15th, 2013 at 16:12
Multi-tasking na kasi sila ngayon bilang cashier/bagger. Malaki nga ang natipid ng supermarket: sweldo ng bagger at pambayad sa upuan.
March 15th, 2013 at 16:31
Doon sa supermarket na napuntahan namin sa Turkey, nakaupo ang cashier at bahala ka nang mag-bag ng sarili mong groceries. Uubra kaya yon sa Pilipinas? Spoiled tayo sa serbisyo.
March 15th, 2013 at 17:32
Maraming magrereklamo tungkol sa customer service ek-ek kapag ganoon ang ginawa sa Pilipinas. Iyong ibang shoppers nga, nagpapahatid pa hanggang sa parking area kahit madali lang magtulak ng trolley.
March 15th, 2013 at 21:26
Totoo ba na kapag kumain ng madaming mani, munggo at sweet beans eh magkaka uric acid ang talampakan kasi ako na experience ko yun mukhang totoo? (sumakit talampakan ko na parang nagka bukol dinurog lang ng masahista ko kaya nawala))
March 15th, 2013 at 22:49
@swanoepel: Grabe yung experience mo. Uric acid is a legitimate health concern kasi yun daw ang contributing factor sa arthritis/rheumatism; in fact, marami akong kakilala na hindi na talaga makakain ng beans dahil may early-onset arthritis na. Pero mahirap nga ang magkaroon ng high fiber diet kung yung mga staples (especially oatmeal and beans) ay mataas sa uric acid din… what to do?
For the experts: I do a lot of walking and running (and until my field work started last month, Zumba) but in terms of improving my muscle tone, I’m trying to decide between yoga and weight training. In your opinion, which one would help me reduce my risk of getting any leg-related ailments?
March 15th, 2013 at 22:56
Jessica: On the very day that I came home to the Philippines after living abroad, my parents and I went grocery shopping at SM Sucat. Almost by instinct, sinubukan kong mag-bag ng sarili naming groceries. Ang sama talaga ng tingin sa akin nung tindera.
In fairness, though, noong na-ban yung mga plastic bags sa Los Banos eh lalong dumami yung mga taga-buhat ng groceries kasi halos nilalagay lahat sa kahon. Mas madali pa rin ang magdala ng bayong.
March 17th, 2013 at 04:43
bathe your legs in cold water? does that mean it’s not good to soak yourself in hot baths? mahilig pa naman ako mag-shower at mag-bath nang sobrang mainit. and what about the people na addicted sa hot springs? around 40 degrees kaya ang temp nung tubig dun. and supposedly, good for the health ang hot springs.
March 17th, 2013 at 04:46
oops… i just read the list item no. 5: Avoid excessive heat. (Plunging them in very hot water: not good.). i made the above comment when i only read up to no. 2 in the list.