Our lymphatic system transports a light fluid known as lymph, which carries cellular wastes as well as remains that amass inside the cells of our body. Yet, at times the lymph system may get congested with toxic materials and have a negative effect on the immune system. If this occurs, the lymph glands, nodules that collects and filters the lymph, become distended and sore, damaging the immune system. However, cleansing and detoxifying the lymph system may help in lessening the damage. While you would like to visit you physician if you are not feeling well, but you may also do several things by yourself to maintain a healthy lymphatic system.
For instance, you should inhale deeply and you can achieve this by undertaking workouts, chanting, and singing as well as by laughing aloud.
At the same time, ensure that you drink lots of tolerated water, no less than 8 glasses daily. In addition, you should drink herbal teas that sustain the liver's health. Herbal teas prepared with ginger, licorice, dandelion and fennel help in cleansing the lymphatic system effectively.
Sweating out is an excellent way to cleanse the lymph. Infrared saunas, sauna baths, steam rooms as well as undertaking workouts are excellent means to get rid of the toxic substances from your skin.
In addition, you will find a detoxifying bath useful in eliminating toxins from the body. Prepare the bath by adding half cup (125 ml) of either Epsom salt, baking soda, or sea salt to your bath water and immerse yourself in it for anything between 15 and 25 minutes. Subsequently, cleanse the skin using soap on any natural fiber like luffa. As you do this, you will observe the bath water becoming dirty and dark-looking. The blackness of the bath water is owing to mercury and aluminum that is drawn out of your system.
Jump on a small trampoline (a stretched canvas used for practicing gymnastics) or remain seated on a medicine/ exercise ball for some time. The bounce back action washes out the lymph by means of stimulating the blood in the arteries to go into the capillaries with a view to supply fresh lymph to the cells.
In case the detoxifying process is very fast, it may result in a condition known as the Herxheimer reaction. When this occurs, you are likely to experience nausea, headaches and it will possibly make you feel unwell. Precisely speaking, the Herxheimer reaction occurs if the body discharges the toxic substances and accumulated wastes more rapidly compared to the pace that the lymph system can accommodate to get rid of them. Therefore, it is advisable that you should detoxify your body in a slow manner, besides drinking adequate amounts of water and undertaking exercise on a regular basis.
Cleansing the lymphatic system is necessary to ensure sound health, as the lymph system in humans performs a vital role in maintaining the health and comfort of the body. Lymphatic system is also vital for our immune system, and is in charge of transporting nourishments to the cells and carrying away the metabolic wastes and toxins from the cells.
A poor or inappropriate diet has an adverse effect on our lymphatic as well as immune systems. For instance, consuming sugar and alcohol obstructs the activities of the white blood cells. You will be surprised to learn that consuming even a small amount of sugar - the amount present in sweetened beverages, stops the activities of the white blood cells in just 30 minutes of taking it and the usual activity resumes only after four or five hours.
You need to consume foods containing high amounts of essential fatty acids, for instance, sea vegetables, fresh tuna and salmon, with a view to reinforce the response of your immune system. In addition, consuming sufficient amounts of protein and fresh vegetables and fruits is also important to maintain the health of your lymphatic and immune systems.
At times, the type of foods consumed by us influences the flow as well as functioning of the lymph. While some foods obstruct both, there are others that facilitate the lymph circulation and functioning. It is essential to stay away from consuming foods containing chemicals, additives, preservatives, synthetic flavourings and synthetic colors - substances included in foods to extend their shelf life, if you want to cleanse your lymphatic system. In fact, consumption of fresh foods is directly related to lymph system detoxification. Consumption of more stale foods or those containing artificial substances only add to congest lymphatic system or obstruct the free circulation of the lymph.
In addition, it is recommended that you avoid foods that are difficult to digest, for instance, foods having excessive animal protein, fat, carbohydrates and sugars. Sweetened foods that have a white hue, white rice, foods prepared with white flour like white bread, and white pasta require plenty of energy to be digested. This additional energy could have been utilized more prudently to cleanse the lymphatic system. Moreover, such foods also cause havoc with the levels of blood sugar in people who consume them.
Hence, it is quite clear now that cleansing the lymphatic system does not only mean what we should or can do, but also what we should avoid. And, in this case, it means avoiding certain types of foods.
Apart from what has been discussed so far, it is also important that you should drink about two litres of purified water daily. Preferably, you should drink tepid water, because this may assist in liquefying specific obdurate waste materials that have build up in different parts of your body. Perhaps, drinking enough and lots of clean water is the fundamental means to detoxify your entire body, including the lymphatic system.
A number of nutriments support the lymphatic system and they include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B complex, in addition to beta-carotene, calcium, iron, zinc and the trace mineral selenium. Protease is an enzyme that also works to boost up the lymphatic as well as immune system.
Specific herbs are effective in cleansing the lymphatic system, especially extracts of Echinacea and astragalus. While Echinacea works to lessen the congestion as well as swelling of the lymphatic system, red root is considered to be a potent herb that not only cleanses the lymph, but also boosts the effectiveness of Echinacea. Another herb called ocotillo is useful for rinsing out the congestion in the lymphatic system.
Herbs like Echinacea, astragalus, pokeroot, goldenseal, red clover, burdock and wild indigo root are all effective in cleansing the lymph as well as rinsing out the build-up of toxic substances inside the lymph. However, it is important to take all these herbs or any herbal product with organic foods or foods not containing any chemicals. It is also important that you continue your workouts while you are using these herbs to detoxify the lymphatic system, as this will help to obtain the utmost benefits.
It is vital to undertake exercises every day in order to maintain the normal flow of lymph throughout the body. You may undertake rhythmic aerobic workouts, for instance, walking, 'step' exercise, or dancing, as this will facilitate in circulating the lymph. Before you commence an exercise session, you need to do deep breathing as well as some stretching.
It is important that you fix a particular time to exercise every day and also select the activities that you actually enjoy. In addition, the exercises you select should be convenient to perform and those that you are able to perform at any time.
When we are dealing with the issue of cleansing the lymphatic system, exercises are extremely crucial and the best detox method. As one of the major roles of the lymphatic system is to combat infections, it is vital that we should always work to maintain the sound health of the lymphatic system. Exercises ensure that the lymph circulates at its best and also that plenty of toxic substances are washed out from our body through perspiration. Undertaking regular workouts also helps to augment blood circulation, make the heart stronger and, at the same time, provide sufficient oxygen to the cells. There is no doubt that exercise is the most excellent as well as natural form of detoxifying the lymphatic system. An important point to note here is that you should essentially take a bath or a shower following your exercise sessions with a view to rinse out the toxic materials sent out along with the sweat.
In addition to what has been discussed above, you may undertake some other measures to cleanse the lymphatic system. For instance, massage therapy is very effective in stimulating the circulation of lymph throughout the body. Besides, acupressure and acupuncture may also prove to be useful in detoxifying the lymphatic system.
Taking showers with hot and cold water alternately will also help in augmenting the circulation of the lymph. So will doing breathing exercises.
Massaging geranium, black pepper and juniper essential oils on the skin will also help in cleansing the lymphatic system. Add 15 drops of any of these essential oils to one ounce of suitable carrier or base oil to dilute the essential oil and massage your skin with it. In addition, you may also add 8 to 10 drops of any these essential oils to your bath water and soak yourself in it for some time. This will support the lymphatic system.
Alternately, you may also employ complex homeopathic remedies, as they are also useful for detoxifying as well as supporting the lymphatic system.
Skin brushing: As in the case of skin cleansing, dry brushing your skin is another important and useful means to cleanse and detoxify the lymphatic system. Our lymphatic system comprises several tiny vessels that enclose just one-sided (upwards) valves that facilitate in releasing the waste materials from different tissues. Subsequently, the lymph system discharges these waste materials into the bloodstream.
Skin brushing is useful for efficiently as well as rapidly pushing the different waste products upwards through the lymphatic system and finally into the bloodstream. In this way, the lymphatic system is cleansed fast. For this, you need a normal brush with supple bristles and having a somewhat elongated handle that will assist you to reach the different body parts without much difficulty. Ideally, you should undertake skin brushing when you have taken a bath or shower. Brush your skin making long strokes in upwardly motion in the direction of the heart.
Lymphatic massage is another way of cleansing and detoxifying the lymph system. Such massages are useful in stimulating the lymph system as well as the lymph nodes by smoothing the progress of rinsing out the entire waste materials build up owing to cellular metabolism together with microorganisms and surplus fluids in our body. When you massage manually, it stimulates the lymphatic system and assists in facilitating unrestricted and smooth circulation of lymph (also called lymphatic fluid), and, in doing so, it helps to make the immune system stronger.
A clay bath taken for anything between 15-30 minutes and two hours may also cleanse the lymphatic system. However, the duration of the mud bath depends on the comfort level of an individual. When one undertakes this type of clay bath, it facilitates the discharge of toxic substances from their skin, thereby freeing the lymphatic system of particular heavy toxic materials.
Taking a clay bath is quite simple and anyone is able to do it using clay of a living variety that is available in powdered form. The best way of taking a clay bath is adding two (500 ml) to three (750 ml) cups of clay in dried and powdered form to your hot bath water. Clear out the entire clumps manually and immerse yourself in the muddy water for anything between 15 minutes and 30 minutes, subject to your comfort level. In case your body releases profuse toxins, the color of the clay water may become dark during your bath. Once you have completed the clay bath, use plenty of clean water to clear out the bath water. Pat yourself dry with a towel and experience the freshness.
