Here's some advice for the women in our audience. You are being asked
to
break the fashionable habit of crossing your legs. According to Dr.
Luis
Navarro, a surgeon who runs the Vein Treatment Center at Beth Israel
Medical Center in Manhattan, "Crossing the legs is like second nature
for most women and some men, too. It's a bad habit and one of the first
things you should learn to undo if you suffer from varicose veins.

Crossing your legs slows proper blood flow and elevates pressure inside
the veins. And, according to Navarro, It doesn't matter if you cross at
the knee or the ankles. Both are bad - with knee-crossing the greatest
culprit.

What do experts advise for keeping your leg veins healthy? Among other
things, (1) don't sit for long periods of time, (2) walk at least 30
minutes a day, and (3) flex your toes or rotate your ankles while
sitting.

- Neil Eskelin