Most neighborhoods have curbs and gutters, allowing the streets to drain properly into a centralized drainage system, which eventually leads to a filtering system. Without these systems, our streets would easily overflow, backing up into our yards, causing massive problems of waste and the spread of infectious disease. To have curbs but no gutters or streets without drainage systems would be ridiculous, as the two require each other to work properly. Our bodies are much the same. Wherever there's a blood vessel there's a lymph vessel, both of which work together to filter and protect our body.
Our body's processes protein and water from tissues back into the blood stream. The lymphatic system is related to our blood and circulatory system, thereby being a vital system that is used to resupply and assist our body in properly functioning. The lymphatic system is comprised of a network of ducts (aka lymph vessels) that act much the same as blood vessels. Lymph, a clear watery fluid closely resembling blood, performs alongside blood vessels (where there are blood vessels there are lymph vessels). The lymphatic works to flow towards the blood stream, returning body fluid from tissues to the blood vessels. Without this flow, the body would retain fluid and swell. When our body swells the lymphatic system works to carry that excess fluid from the tissue back through the vessels. The lymphatic system is so important in the overall function of our body, as it constantly assists in the recirculation of excessive water, proteins and excessive molecules that leak out into our tissue, constantly draining and circulating our body fluids.
The lymphatic system also works in conjunction with "lymph nodes", which house/store important antibodies to fight off disease and infection. The nodes act as a "filter" from which bacteria, viruses and various fungi filter through, stopping the threat of disease from going further into our bodies. When our natural "anti-bodies" are insufficient, disease spreads. Although our body can build/store antibodies through our lymphatic nodes, housing them in our lymphocytes (white blood cells), and in our spleen, what we feed our body assists in the rebuilding of these antibodies. When our white blood count, which is stored in our lymph nodes, is high it's a red flag that our body is fighting off an infection which has by now reached into our blood stream.
A quick way to understand how vital and important our lymphatic system is to every part of our body is to remember that it is connected to everything except the central nervous system. Heart, lungs, intestines, liver, marrow, spleen, thymus gland, lymph nodes and tonsils are all connected to the lymphatic system. It is a major filter to our entire "wellness" and body function. Something as simple as swollen glands are a signal of infection in our body, as this is where the germs congregate in greater numbers. If an infection or disease infects the body it is typical (based upon the severity or type of infection/disease) for the nodes surrounding that area to be removed (i.e. cancerous areas along with their surrounding nodes).
Much of this blog was researched at http://www.gorhams.dk/html/the_lymphatic_system.html, which gives great detail of the lymphatic system. My purpose in explaining this part of our body is to help us understand the significance/importance of why what we eat, drink, consume and interact with (environment) is so vital to our overall wellness. Our body is a filter to every part of our being. What we take in goes somewhere and filters through a natural process that is meant for our wellbeing. When we abuse food, beverage and drugs, we are not only overworking our filter (i.e. lymphatic system) we are slowly breaking down its ability to help us stay healthy. Preservatives are another form of toxins to our body. Refined sugar, saturated fat and enriched products are unhealthy and should be avoided altogether. The more we do "naturally" to help our body the more our body will "naturally" help us.
Something as simply as consuming a healthy amount of antioxidants a day (five servings of a combination of fruits and vegetables daily) not only helps replenish/restore/rebuild our antibodies, it assists our lymphatic system in performing its job. If you are leading an unhealthy lifestyle my best advice is to stop immediately and start consuming healthier choices. No matter how long your granddad lived or what he did to reach 90 years old doesn't guarantee you or me that our body can handle the stuff we're doing to it today. Too many times I hear people say that they've got great "genes" and they don't have to worry about their health. Pure nonsense. The conditions under which we live today are more toxic than ever before and that is why disease and infection is so much more rampant in our culture today.
Stay tuned…more to come on how we can help our lymphatic system do its job!
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