Have you noticed from time to time tiny lumps either side of your neck, in your groin or like me recently, just in front of your ears? These are lymph nodes and they swell up when infection is present.
The lymphatic system is crucial to our health, so is yours functioning as well as it should? The lymphatic system helps eliminate waste and toxins from the body via a network of tissues and organs which run throughout your body in the same way as the veins and arteries of the circulatory system.
It consists mostly of lymphatic vessels that infiltrate almost all the body’s tissues and are connected to the 600 to 700 lymph nodes all over the body where the clear, colourless lymph fluid is filtered. The tonsils, thymus, spleen and adenoids are all part of the system.
THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM HAS THREE MAIN FUNCTIONS:
1. Maintaining the balance of fluid in the blood versus the tissues.
2. Forming part of the immune system and helping defend against foreign bodies.
3. Facilitating absorption of fats and fat-soluble nutrients in the digestive system.
Lymphatic fluid is squeezed through the vessels when we consciously use our skeletal muscles and by the movement of muscles when we breathe or perform other involuntary actions.
If your lymph “river” is not running smoothly symptoms may include worsened allergies, cold and flu infections, joint pain, headaches, menstrual cramps, arthritis, fibrocystic breasts, sinusitis, loss of appetite, fatigue, depression and parasites, among others ailments.
Far more serious health issues can arise such as viral/bacterial infections and cancer which move through the lymph fluid and are destroyed in the lymph nodes, but only if the system is adequate to the task.
SO HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR LYMPHATIC SYSTEM MOVE EFFICIENTLY?
• Improve movement of the lymph around the body. Above I say how it flows by the voluntary and involuntary movement of muscle. So learn to breathe. Breathe deeply and efficiently which is much easier to do if you improve your postural habits. Exercise, of course, will help enormously. Rebounding – or trampolining – promotes the flow of lymph. Toxins are also removed from your body via sweat, so vigorous exercise which induces sweating will help.
• Consuming a diet of raw fruits and vegetables helps to hydrate the body, promote an alkaline environment in which pathogens cannot flourish and also remove pathogens which may be stagnant in lymph fluid. Some of the best detoxifying foods include pomegranates, cranberries, beetroot, cherries and raspberries which help thin bile, a major component to the regulation of the immune response in the gut.
• Hydrate with lemon infused mineral water which also promotes an alkaline environment.
• Yoga, especially inversions, is beneficial as gravity encourages flow of lymph towards the heart.
• Treat yourself to a sauna and massage!
