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How To Improve Lymphatic Drainage With Diet, Supplements & More

The lymphatic system is a major circulatory system, just as important as the cardiovascular system [1]. Let’s treat it accordingly.

Conventional medicine recommends specific treatments targeting lymphatic system health only in cases of lymphedema (whether is primary or secondary to cancer treatments or other causes).

However, there is scientific evidence pointing out that many of us have issues have poor lymphatic drainage. Lymphatic system has dual function: it detoxifies the body, while bringing more nutrients to the tissues. It fuels the cells with energy between meals, and processes large molecules of fats and proteins that aren’t digested in the stomach and small intestine.  I wrote in details about lymphatic system and symptoms associated with congested lymph flow in this article.

  1. How To Improve Lymphatic Drainage- Key Principles

The lymphatic system does not have a pump system (like the heart for the cardiovascular system) to move the fluid. Lymphatic vessels have within their walls some tiny, smooth muscles that just by squeezing, will help the lymph move forward, . However, this is not enough to maintain a healthy lymphatic system.

The lymph will move better with the help of the :

This means that healthy heart, lungs, gut and skin will help improve the lymphatic system as well. It makes sense, right? In addition, diet and supplements can further promote a healthy lymph flow.

How To Improve Lymphatic Drainage With Exercise and Massage

Exercise is by far, the most effective way to maintain a healthy lymph flow. It will also improve the health of your heart, lungs and gut, so it is a win-win.

While simply moving will help your muscles contract, and push the lymph forward, some exercises may work better than others. If you have lymphedema, the best thing to do is to get a customized fitness program from a lymphedema specialist. For lymphedema treatment there are also specific compression garments and decongestive therapies. If you wish to improve the lymphatic drainage, here are some great options.

Rebounding (trampoline benefits lymphatic system). Rebounding involves jumping on a mini trampoline and seems to be one of the best exercise to improve the lymphatic flow. It had been researched for lymphedema as part of a more complex training [4]. It  also helps increase the activity of the immune cells [5] . Is a great cardio exercise, improving  lung function[6], [7]  better than running or jogging [8]. Rebounding also improves balance [9], promotes healthy weight, cholesterol levels and blood pressure in those who are overweight [10], as well as diabetes and depression [11].

The next two forms of exercise that showed benefits to improve the lymphatic health are resistance training and yoga [12], [13]. If you are not a big fan of trampoline, weights or yoga, find a form of exercise that you like. Any exercise is better than no exercise.  The idea is to stay active and keep moving.

Massage

You can try a lymphatic drainage massage provides by a massage therapist specifically trained in this field.

Also consider self massage specifically targeting lymphatic health. The dry massage called Garshana. Here is a quick video on how to do it. or the oiled massage called Abyanga. Here is a video on how to do Abyanga.  If you want to see the power of lymphatic massage, try this lymphatic head massage on a day when you feel congestion (from a cold/flu or allergy). See the difference within minutes. 

3. How To Improve Lymphatic Drainage With Proper Hydration & Diet

-Get hydrated. Getting enough water is one thing, and drinking close to 3 liters or water (rather than the recommended 2 liters) may be a better for your lymphatic system. Try a 4-7 days intense hydration plan where you drink one cup of warm water with lemon every hours for 8 hours daily.  To improve hydration at the cellular level (getting the water inside the cells) consider: adding lemon or apple cider vinegar to your water; include juicing (fruits and veggies), hot liquids (a soup and a couple of herbal teas every day) and increase the fiber intake (with ground flax seeds, psyllium husk, walnuts, etc) and add a multimineral supplements. Reducing EMF exposure is also important, not just for optimal hydration, but overall health

-Diet. Diet, along with exercise can help you lose excess weight. Weight management is very important because being overweight or obese is a well-known risk factor for congested lymphatic system. Even if you have ideal weight, you still need to pay attention to the diet. A good first step is to eliminate all processed foods. I know ketogenic diet is very trendy right now, and some are recommending it to improve lymphatic flow. However, I think keto diet doesn’t have enough proteins and carbs and too many fats.

4. How To Improve Lymphatic Drainage With Supplements (Supplements For Lymphatic System, Including Herbs For Lymphatic Drainage)

5. How To Improve Lymphatic Drainage — Other Therapies

 

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