By Tina Paulus FDNP
Today I am going to talk to you about your body’s sewer system, the lymphatic system.
Lymphatic congestion is a major factor leading to inflammation and disease. It is very clogged up by mold mycotoxins that your cells are trying to get rid of. The problems are, one, mold stops your whole body from working correctly, and two, before that happens your drainage system parts get clogged up.
Our first stop, in a previous article, was the colon. If it is not open and working well, then things like your lymphatic system won’t be able to drain right either, since that is the main place the lymph drains to. It will then be up to the skin, kidneys, and lungs to take up the slack, which can bring rashes, respiratory disease, and possible damage to the kidneys and liver as they can’t do their work properly.
If the lymph is not flowing well, the cells are poisoned from their own waste and the lymph fluid becomes an even more toxic dumping ground, resulting in fatigue, swelling, infection, inflammation, and disease. You must keep you lymph moving.
The problem is, unlike the circulatory system that has a pump (your heart), the lymphatic system doesn’t. But that’s ok because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. There are things you can do help your lymph to clean your body well. Let me tell you about some of those ways.
1. Get upside down. An inversion table is a padded table that allows you to invert upside down while strapped in by the feet. This decompresses joints and stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory system.
2. Lymph helping diet. There are herbal teas that help lymphatic action such as red clover, mullein, goldenseal, ginger, sarsaparilla (which binds endotoxins), golden seal, cleavers, and olive leaf tea. Try to incorporate one of these teas or a blend into your daily routine. Teas are most effective if you drink several cups over the course of the day.
Plenty of fresh produce and other minimally processed, healthy foods also help maintain a strong gut-blood barrier, which prevents toxins and food irritants from leaking into the bloodstream (aka leaky gut syndrome). The result is less inflammation and a lower potential invasion of toxins that might otherwise clog up your lymphatic system.
3. Get a lymph massage. Lymphatic massage reduces swelling, helps detoxify the body, and helps speed regeneration of tissues and cells. You can go for a whole body massage or focus on targeted areas. For example, backed up lymphatic fluid in the head can contribute to head congestion, feeling of pressure in the head or ears, sinus congestion, vertigo, dizziness, even insomnia.
4. Dry skin brushing. Dry skin brushing promotes lymphatic drainage of toxic waste by helping it to move. Start a habit of dry skin brushing a few minutes before your shower or bath using an inexpensive natural bristle brush. Start at your extremities and brush toward your heart.
5. Alternate hot and cold in the shower. Lymphatic vessels contract when exposed to cold, and dilate in response to heat. A hot and cold shower is a type of hydrotherapy that uses the properties of water temperature and pressure to move stagnant lymphatic fluid, increase circulation, boost immune function and metabolism. After dry skin brushing, super charge your morning shower by alternating hot and cold water for between 90 seconds and several minutes. Be sure to always end on cold water.
6. Movement of your body. This can be done in any number of ways. You can do Yoga, walk, stretch, bouncing on a rebounder or exercise ball, jogging, whatever gets your body moving.
7. Deep Breathing. Not only do muscle contractions initiated by deep breathing help move lymphatic fluid, the mindfulness practices that go along with deep breathing are some of the best ways to manage stress. And when it comes to things that congest the lymph system, stress is probably the biggest factor. If you can spend some time each day taking mini time-outs throughout the day to focus on breathing using that time to close your eyes and take five to ten deep belly breaths. When you inhale, simply allow your belly to fully expand out like a balloon, and then slowly exhale as much as you can.
8. Infrared Sauna. Infrared saunas provide a gentle, side-effect-free, powerful tool for detoxification. Their waves penetrate deep into your body, elevating your body’s surface temperature, activating circulation, sweating and evacuation of toxins from the lymph and blood through the skin. The heat also increases your heart rate and encourages deeper breathing, which boosts the drainage process even further.
9. Loose fitting clothing (especially while you sleep). Tight-fitting clothes can contribute to a lot of problems, including restricted lymph flow. Wear comfortable clothes made from natural fibers such as cotton, silk, linen, wool, or other natural fibers, as the chemicals in synthetic clothing are absorbed through the skin, taken up by the lymphatic system and added to the body’s toxic burden.
10. Hydration. Hydrating daily with water is the most important because lymph becomes thicker and less able to move when you are dehydrated, but flows well when you are hydrated. Remember, you can dehydrate yourself by drinking too much water as well. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water, dispersed throughout the day, every day. Drink more if sweating.
So in conclusion you can help clean the mold mycotoxins out of your body’s sewer system by many things. Some of them are to drink enough water every day, wear loose fitting clothing (especially while you sleep), use infrared sauna, incorporate deep breathing every day, move your body every day, alternate hot and cold in the shower, dry skin brushing, get a lymph massage, drinking herbal teas, eating fresh organic produce, and getting upside down. Try any or all of these, because your lymphatic system is especially important to the drainage system of the body to get rid of mycotoxins. And after all, you do want to get to feeling like yourself again right?
If you have been dealing with a mysterious illness and want to regain your strength and energy so you can live a purposeful life again, click here to get “Could my mysterious illness be from mold?
