Did you know that blood is a tissue? Here are some other interesting facts about the blood in your body:

• Your body contain roughly 6 quarts (5.6 liters) of blood

• Blood daily travels about 12,000 miles

• Your heart beats approximately 35 million times each year

• During an average human lifetime, the heart will pump about a million barrels of blood. That is enough to fill up three supertankers!

Blood: our lifeline

We know that we need blood to live, but what exactly does it do for our bodies? The red colored liquid travels throughout our hearts, arteries, capillaries and veins. In its journey, the blood also does a little multi-tasking. It delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body's issues, while removing metabolic waste from them. The blood is rich in protein, thickens when it contacts damaged tissue, helps to control the balance of fluids in humans, and aids in the body in maintaining the correct temperature.

In a nutshell, the blood is the lifeline of the body. So that explains why good blood circulation is so vital. The blood circulation is continuous, and involves a trip that would make any frequent flyer green with envy. First, the heart pumps out blood throughout tiny vessels in the body. Then the blood meets in the veins and returns back to the heart. Afterwards, the blood flows through our lungs, and then returns to the heart again.

A small world

In this complicated process, it is vital that blood flows properly through each part that needs it. For example, the brain gets about 15% of the blood that the heart pumps out. Meanwhile, when muscles contract, they produce "metabolites" that circulating blood removes. Blood must also flow properly from the coronary arteries, to the heart. This involves about 5% of blood that the heart pumps. Next, when you are in hot temperatures, more blood is pumped to your skin (think air conditioner), but nearly no blood is pumped there in cold temperatures. Blood circulation is also important for absorbing and digesting food. Finally, though kidneys are fairly small organs, they get roughly 20% of the blood that the heart pumps out.

Problems and solutions

So what happens when someone suffers from various blood circulation problems? Many discomforts form. These include cold hands and feet, aches that excess lactic acid in the muscles cause, exhaustion, and fluid in the toes.

Several methods can be used to improve blood circulation:

• Calendula Officinalis (pot marigold plant)

• Cayenne (created from dried peppers)

• Damiana (shrub native to Central America)

• Exercising (low-impact)

• Garlic

• Ginger

• Ginkgo (Asian tree)

• Hydrotherapy (translation: hot and cold showers)

• Onions

• Reetha (herb)

• Tamri Bancha (translation: soy sauce + tea)

• Ume-Sho-Bancha with ginger (drink)

• Wine with rosemary flowers or leaves

Massage, such as hot stone massages, is another ideal way to treat poor blood circulation. The massage method helps blood to move through areas where it is getting clogged up. Also, the pressure from the massage allows new blood to flow in. The massage's pulling squeezing also removes lactic acid from the muscles. And the lymph fluid circulation is boosted. Lymph nodes are small groups of tissue where white blood cells are formed. This process is important, as the metabolic waste is transported away from the muscles and internal organs. The end result is that blood pressure is reduced and the body's overall functioning is improved.

Blood circulation serves as one of the most important functions of our bodies, providing a lifeline to various tissues and organs. Poor blood circulation, though problematic, can be solved by using a variety of techniques, including massage with hot stones. That will give us the energy to continue through our day-to-day lives.