Lymph Health...a Detox Key

Our bodies have two major fluid transport systems; the blood or cardiovascular system and the lymphatic system. Let’s talk now about the less well known of these two systems.

Your Lymphatic system plays a major role in detoxification of your body.  Remember the painful knots in your neck, armpit, or groin when you feel under the weather?  Those are your lymph nodes swelling as your immune system works overtime.  This system is made up of approximately 600-700 lymph nodes interconnected with lymph vessels that carry clear fluid called lymph. Unlike the blood, which flows in a constant loop, the lymph is supposed to flow in one direction: always up and towards the neck/heart. Lymphatic vessels connect to the subclavian veins, which are located on either side of the neck near the collarbones, and the fluid re-enters the circulatory system at this point.

The lymphatic system plays key roles in helping the body to maintain fluid balance. Key components of this system include the lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, and tonsils and adenoids.

The spleen is located on the left side of the body just above the left kidney. It is the largest lymphatic organ. 

• It controls the amount of red blood cells and blood storage in the body
• Helps to fight infection. 
• Removes old red blood cells and processes them for excretion.

The thymus is made up of a collection of lymph node type nodules located at the top of the breast bone.  The Thymus: 

• Produces hormones which support T cell development--playing a major role in the body’s white blood cell immune defense system.
• Collects and returns tissue fluid to the blood – maintains fluid balance.
• Filters and destroys bacteria, viruses and removes toxins 

The tonsils and adenoids are located in the back of the throat. Tonsils are large clusters of lymphatic cells found in the pharynx. They are one of the body's first line of defense aginst bacteria and viruses that enter the body through the mouth or nose.

The lymph nodes act as filters along the lymphatic route towards the heart. They filter the lymph and also produce lymphocytes that attack and destroy invaders such as cancer cells, bacteria, and viruses. 

The lymph is a clear, watery fluid composed of interstitial fluid, proteins, and micro-organisms. Lymph is formed when plasma leaves the body's cells after it has delivered its nutrients and removed debris from inside the cell. Most of this fluid returns to the venous circulation. The remainder becomes lymph.

Some of the most common diseases of the lymphatic system are: 

• Lymphadenopathy-enlargement of the lymph nodes
• Lymphedema-swelling due to lymph node blockage 
• Anemia if the spleen is overactive
• Cancers involving the lymphatic system. 

So how do we keep this intricate system healthy?

The most important thing you can do is exercise and drink plenty of good clean water! Simple and cheap, yet so many of us don’t do this. A good brisk walk will help the lymph in your lower extremities be pushed up and towards your heart and filtered out.

The lymph system does not have a pump like the cardiovascular system, so it is dependent on your muscles moving to push the lymph around.

For individuals that exercise is not appropriate, lymphatic massage may help tremendously to help their body stay healthy. Adequate lymph flow is imperative to health.

Other ways to support this system would be to add in essential oils to massage along the lymphatic vessel path. Most lymph vessels follow the line of the bones. Using an oil that is known for supporting the immune system, gently massage towards the heart, to support lymph flow and boost the fighting power of the lymphocytes.

One of my favorite powerful lymphatic massages to do for my family when their systems are struggling is the Raindrop Technique. The spinal cord is the key messenger pathway for electrical communication through the body, and there are loads of lymph nodes located along the spinal column. Use this light touch feathering technique, layering 9 power house oils that are traditionally revered for their immune supporting abilities, and you will help a body’s immune defenses in unparalleled ways.

For a simple quick Raindrop follow this recipe to make “Raindrop in a bottle”.  Check out this site if you'd like to know why I only recommend Young Living Essential Oils.

25 drops of Valor

10 drops of Oregano
5 drops of Peppermint
5 drops of Basil
5 drops of Thyme
5 drops of Cypress
5 drops of Wintergreen
5 drops of Marjoram
5 drops of Aroma Siez

Apply along the instep of the feet and along the spine as needed to support wellness.

A favorite way to get the lymphatic fluid pumping is getting the garden ready to wake up from it's winter nap.  There are numerous "chores" that benefit mind and body with productive movement.

• Building cold frames
• Spreading and turning in compost
• Building new compost piles
• Expanding beds
• Applying organic amendments like
• bio-char or wood ashes from the stove
• bone meal
• rock powders
• manures that aren't 'hot'--rabbit, goat, cow or composted horse, chicken.
• Starting your plants in sunny windows

The kids and I planted the tomatoes we saved last summer just a few days ago.  Here is how to save seeds if you'd like to start making your own family heirloom.

What's your favorite lymph circulating outdoor activity?

Health is more than skin deep

You know the old saying, “Beauty is only skin deep”?   Well, did you know that the beauty of the skin comes from deep inside you? 

Your skin is actually an organ.  In fact, your skin is the single largest organ of your body. 

Your skin has many functions.  Obviously it protects your muscles and bones.  It is also an elimination organ, meaning it will help eliminate toxins when needed.  It helps to cool your body with its ability to sweat.  It also helps you stay warm by shunting blood from the vast capillary beds.

Healthy skin in our environment takes work.  Just look at the average American teenager.  Most teens don’t stand a chance without some serious diet, toxin elimination, and concentrated gut health work.

You see, the health of our skin, often reflects the health of other body systems.  When the liver is backed up with toxins, when the lining of the small intestine is damaged, when the kidneys aren’t functioning properly, or when the endocrine(hormone) system is off kilter, often these will be manifested in poor skin health.

The health of our skin is also a reflection of our diet.  Many times when people complain of dry skin, I’ll ask if they drink water or if they eat healthy fat.  Both of those things are imperative to soft, well hydrated skin.

So what do you do if you have skin that isn’t where you would like it to be?  

• First……examine your diet.  Do you drink half your body weight in ounces of pure water each day?  Do you consume adequate amounts of healthy fats, especially those high in omega’s?   

• Second, examine your gut health.  If you need to work on that, go read the last few blog posts, they will walk you through a quick tutorial on how to regain gut health and hook you up with where to get more information on gut health.

• Third, take inventory of the toxin load on your body from your environment.  Look at all the products you are using in, on, and around your body.  What improvements can you make?  Can you eliminate any of the toxin load?  Making small changes can all add up to a huge difference for your health.

Want a few ideas on toxin sources to get rid of?

• In your body:
• cooking with tools made of aluminum or teflon coatings
• bpa plastic containers
• oral care products
• highly processed foods and preservatives
• synthetically manufactured vitamins and OTC drugs
• poor water
• On your body:
• deodorants with aluminum hydroxides
• synthetic cosmetics
• perfumes (remember the skin absorbs things readily...if you don't intend to ingest something don't put it on your skin!)
• synthetic personal care products
• Around your body:
• synthetic air fresheners (inhalation is a very efficient way to get chemicals outside of you, into you.)
• synthetic cleaners and the fumes that accompany them (marketers have caught on that putting "natural" on the label sells products)
• environmental pollution

Young Living has solutions for all these challenges.

Cleaning products are a huge source of these toxins.  If you need scary reasons to de-tox your cleaning regimen, ‘check out this cleaning agent hall of shame’.

So, I thought I would share a toxin-free and cost saving DIY:

Thieves Foaming Hand Soap: Cost is about $2.00

Supplies:

• Empty Foaming Soap Container in working condition 

• Dr Bronner’s Unscented Liquid Castile Soap 

• Coconut or Vit E oil 

• Young Living Essential Oils of choice 

Depending on your container size, start with 10% soap, fill remainder with water(remember to leave room at the top for the foam making apparatus.

Then I add 2tbs of liquid soap, 8-10 drop of Thieves oil for my 8oz container. I usually don’t add the coconut or vit E, but that is just me. Shake well.

Oh and did I mention your scent combinations here are endless. Two of my favorite aside from Thieves are 

• Lemongrass/Lavender 
• Lemon/Spearmint. 

After your initial cost of the bottle, you can refill for less than $1 with ingredients you can pronounce!

Would you like to burn some calories and produce something for your community?  How about up-cycling to build a cold frame or hoop house?  Nothing beats cabin fever like planting.  It's probably good for your skin too...

It's amazing what can come together in one afternoon with cheap plastic sheeting, hoops from conduit or PVC pipe, and left-over lumber.  I put old wire around mine so the chickens can prepare the beds when it's time to re-plant.  Carrots and salad greens are only a few weeks away!

What are your favorite up-cycling and toxin busting activities?

Give your gut a break from the daily grind

We have talked about teeth, livers, kidneys and elimination.  I will continue to talk about that topic today.

I want to talk about giving your intestines(guts) a break from their daily grind of digesting and eliminating food waste. We are going to talk about cleansing your intestines. One quick word of caution: Absolutely NO cleansing if you are pregnant or breastfeeding! Your body will follow the path of least resistance when eliminating waste and toxins will be pushed to the baby. I’m in that season right now. I’m looking forward to my next gut vacation, but I have a little one dependent on me and she is my priority.

I have two favorite books that talk about the importance of intestinal health and how to begin to regain control of your gut’s health. The first book is “Renew Your Life” by Brenda Watson ND. The second is Inner Transformations Using Essential Oils by Deardeuff & Deardeuff. Both are excellent!

Opinions are a dime a dozen on when, where, how, how long…..to cleanse. Do some research and decide what you think works best for you. I’m going to share what worked for me…but it may not be where you need/want to start. Remember….baby steps are still forward motion. Don’t feel like you have to jump into an intense food fast to be successful. Baby steps.

Young Living has a GREAT first step called the Nutritive Cleanse. It is a five day cleanse that would be a great first cleanse for someone new to cleansing. Using this cleanse is gentle, it is short in duration, and you won’t be hungry!  Another option is the Cleansing Trio kit.  Because so many people love these, they are often out of stock, but most of the time you can get substitutes.

Ok, before I go any further…..I want to remind you that before you embark on any cleansing journey that you check out your plans with your medical provider. You may be on a medication or have a health condition that warrants medical oversight prior to attempting something like this. Did you know there are inpatient health spa’s all over the country with Medical Doctors that can help you? YES again, you have choices, you have options! You DO NOT have to continue to live in a state of dis-ease. However, I know for a FACT if you change nothing, nothing will change for the better. In fact, chances are things will get worse.

Ok, moving off that soap box…..

The cleanse I (Joy) use most often is the Master Cleanse. It consists of a diet of Lemonade made with water, organic lemon juice, grade B maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Yep, that’s it. I drank a gallon+ of that every day for 10 days. At the risk of TMI, it took 4 days for me to not have formed stool. Thinking I was a bit backed up! But then just think, my liver and intestines had 6 days to celebrate and have a vacation.

Because the Grade B maple syrup has loads of calories(all low glycemic index), I was never hungry. The first 4 days were pretty challenging! I used LOTS of oils to help with the headaches, nausea, and DRA(dirty rotten attitude) I struggled with. After that however I felt great. In fact, I felt amazing!

I lost about 10 lbs the first time I did this cleanse. My tummy was relatively flat when I got done. The bloated feeling was gone. The heavy, weighted down, can’t get up off the couch, stuck in slow motion feeling was gone as well.

I don’t recommend this cleanse to just anyone. Again, check with your medical provider to make sure they are aware of your plans, especially if you are under care for a chronic illness. The book “Master Cleanse” will give you all the ins and outs of this cleanse. Or you can get a good picture of the plan from Google.  The purpose of fasting and cleansing is to flush and rest the gut.  The diagram of a cross-section of the small intestine is instructive.  These little fingers, Villi, are designed to absorb nutrients and secrete digestive enzymes through surface contact with the output of the stomach.  When our modern diet builds up plaque these Villi literally get covered up with gunk.

What I (Clint) enjoy doing is intermittent fasting.  A pubmed.gov search for 'intermittent fasting and human metabolic health' yields 25 interesting articles. I will skip dinner Saturday evening, then break the fast Monday morning.  This gives the gut a regular break of 24 to 36 hours.  It's hugely important to increase water intake while fasting.  Our bodies can do quite well without food for many days--not so without water.  Fasting is as much mental as it is physical.  You may need to work up to longer fasts.  Start with skipping a dinner meal and have breakfast as normal the following day.  Then skip dinner and stretch it to break the fast with lunch.  Keep working towards your time goal.  Many things can help such as:

• avoid being around really smelly foods
• drink water when you feel hungry
• stay active-go for a walk, get out of the house
• tinker with a hobby i.e. crafts, fly tying, art, etc.
• keep spiritually connected to fasting's other higher purposes
• increase fresh fruits and vegetables intake before and after fast
• add Young Living essential oils supporting normal digestion to your water bottle
• Peppermint Vitality™
• DiGize™ Vitality™ 
• Citrus Fresh™ Vitality™

Some folks start with a 10 day raw diet or a 10 day juicing fast. Both are great!

The book Inner Transformations talks about setting up a cleansing routine. It makes parallels with the seasons and how nature has a cleansing routine. I love how it gives easy to follow guide lines.

Renew Your Life has a similar set up, in that it helps you figure out where to start and how to cleanse the whole digestive system in a systematic way. What it doesn’t seem to have is an ongoing plan that provides a structured plan for maintenance.

The bottom line is start somewhere. Just like you need a vacation from time to time, your digestive system will improve its performance if you will rest it from time to time as well.

A common term lately is "Leaky Gut".  This is simply a gut that no longer can tell what it should expel and what it should absorb.  It absorbs toxins right along with needed nutrients, and likewise expels at random.  I think many of the intestinal issues we face today come from poor diet that causes elimination problems, which causes absorption problems.  

Bone broth is a great way to boost the easily absorbable nutrients your body needs.  This is a no-fuss way to make it.  As always, think about the raw materials you're starting with.  It would be counter-productive to make bone broth from bones produced with (and still present) pharmacueticals, hormones, GMOs, etc.  So find a food source you can meet and ask questions of.  Gelatin is highest in the feet and neck bones of chicken, lamb, or beef.  Gelatin is important because it is very hydrophilic, meaning it attracts liquids (including digestive juices and enzymes) that tend to be repelled by cooked foods.  The method described is based on the recipes from Nourishing Traditions.

Depending on your family size, you'll need:

• chicken carcass leftover after baked chicken meal
• fish bones (not bottom feeders)
• soup bones, long bones, etc. (we like to roast in oven or wood grill for flavor)
• crock pot
• purest water possible
• vegetables and herbs of choice
• vinegar (to increase nutrient leaching from the bones)
• Sea salt

For a large crock pot we usually do about 4 pounds of bones, 2 cups veggies, 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 Tbs salt, gallon filtered water (enough to bring up to 1" from top of crock pot).  We let this cook on low for 24-72 hours.  When you can't stand the smell anymore(or do what Joy does and banish the crockpot to the garage while it cooks), skim the top, strain out the bones, and refrigerate.  Once cool, pull off fat from top and freeze or can the broth. 

If you are struggling with a 'leaky gut' or digestive issues, you can just have a continual broth by rotating out bones every few days and adding water as you drink it straight.  Impurities float, so skim before serving.  A cup of broth with each meal is good soul food.

Productive exercise for this time?  How about providing your own chickens for the pot?  Many cities are coming on board with allowing backyard chicken flocks.  Building a coop and husbanding your birds daily is not going to be found on a personal trainer's fitness plan.  But, the stress-reducing and therapeutic benefit of providing for your own table is not to be despised.  I just got a catalog in the mail from the hatchery the other day...Spring is right around the corner!

How has fasting and cleansing impacted your health?  If you haven't tried these practices, what has held you back?  We'd love to hear your comments.