Why you should include lymphatic flow techniques in your detox

The lymph is often known as the sewerage system for our body, or even the secondary circulatory system. It plays such an important role in so many processes of the body, often forgotten system of the body, the lymph plays a role in excretion and circulation of old pathogens, immune cells, waste products and destroyed bacteria back into the bloodstream. The liver or kidneys then remove these from the blood. Without these cells being able to get to the location they need to be we can find ourselves in immune insufficiency.

Some signs your lymph may not be working optimally: 

• More obvious signs such as inflamed nodes or oedema.

• More subtle signs: lowered immune function (chronic inflammation & infection, overactive immune system), issues with detoxification (pimples, sensitivity to smell, altered gut function)

The lymph lies just underneath the skin. We can often even feel our nodes, even when they aren’t up. This allows us to have the perfect tool to manipulate and move this important method of elimination. 

When we look to detoxify the body we often jump the liver. Using herbs and supplements to upregulate liver function. This can put us into a healing crisis - making us feel even more sluggish, headachey and upset digestion processes with the overload of toxins being thrown into the system. A more holistic approach to detox includes lymph stimulation. To ensure the detoxification process is as easeful and also complete. 

Conditions correlated with poor lymph flow

• Skin conditions

• Eczema

• Rosacea

• Acne

• Psoriasis

• Allergies

• Immunocompromised states

• Oedema

• Chronic inflammation

• Chronic infection

• Brain fog

The problem with the lymph is it unfortunately does not flow on its own and only moves in a gentle pulsation. Unlike the circulatory system it does not pump itself and needs to be manually manipulated. Some ways that the lymph can be moved include:

How to increase lymphatic flow

• Movement - as we move our muscles it moves our lymph. Doesn't have to be anything serious walks are fabulous at increasing lymph flow.

• Massage - manually moving our lymph increases the circulation of lymph and you may notice you need to urinate more after a massage or feel a little foggy.

• Dry body brushing

• Some herbs can increase lymph circulation - poke root and echinacea

• Warm water foot baths

• Hot + cold showers (yes interchanging between the two) - the dilation and then restriction of blood vessels provides a pumping action for the lymph.

• Sauna

You don’t need to do all of these every day, if we are injecting a few of these into our week we can improve our lymphatic flow greatly. Choose what works for you and create a weekly ritual.

Written by Naturopath Ally Stuart from Kismet Health