How To Cleanse The Lymphatic System

An unhealthy lymphatic system makes us worse at fighting cancer and other diseases.

Discover some therapies you can use to cleanse your lymphatic system. Find out what foods, herbs, and other remedies that move lymphatic fluid through the body.

What Does The Lymphatic System Do?

The lymphatic system is an integral part of our body's immune system. It consists of lymph vessels, ducts, nodes, and other tissues.

The primary function of the lymphatic system is to transport lymph. Lymph is a fluid containing white blood cells. It travels around the body through a network of vessels.

The lymph vessels form a network of branches that reach most of the body's tissues. They work in a similar way to blood vessels. The vessels branch through junctions called lymph nodes. These are often known as glands.

Lymph vessels drain fluid from the tissues and transport it to the lymph nodes. They are small glands all around your body that are part of your immune system.

They act as filters, trapping bacteria, viruses, and other invaders. Lymph nodes also transport infection-fighting liquid called lymphatic fluid around your body.

The primary roles of the lymphatic system include:

Lymph nodes are more common in the neck, under the chin, in the armpits, and around the groin. When you fight infections, you might get swollen in these areas.

There are hundreds of lymph nodes in the human body. Lymph nodes are not the only lymphatic tissues in the body. The tonsils, spleen, and thymus gland are also lymphatic tissues.

The spleen does many things as it filters and monitors our blood.  It also produces and stores a range of white blood cells, that are part of the body’s defense system.

The spleen also removes microbes and destroys old or damaged red blood cells. It also increases the blood volume fast if a person loses a lot of blood.

The thymus is inside the ribcage. It filters and monitors our blood and produces cells called T-lymphocytes. These cells travel through the body and fight infections.  

So let's explore common diseases of the lymphatic system.

Lymphatic System Diseases

You may have heard of lymph nodes after your cancer diagnosis. Lymph nodes might swell if you have cancer. Cancer can start in or spread to the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are always involved in how doctors classify cancers into stages.

Some disease associated with the lymph system include:

Lymphoma is cancer in the lymphatic system. It is the most severe lymphatic disease. Hodgkin lymphoma affects white blood cells known as Reed-Sternberg cells. 

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma does not involve these cells. Cancer that affects the lymphatic system is often secondary cancers.

The lymphatic system is like the body's sewage system. If we want to fight cancer and be healthy, then we need to take away the obstructions. So let's learn different ways you can detox your lymphatic system and aid your body in fighting cancer.

How To Detox The Lymphatic System

Water is essential and vital for a healthy body. It is part of many bodily fluids such as digestion and waste removal. One effective way to cleanse your lymph nodes is to drink enough water every day. Here are some rehydration therapies you can use to aid your lymph nodes:

Hot Water Sip Therapy

Lymph congestion often happens because of dehydration. The lymphatic system depends on water pressure to function well.  

One way you can fix the lymphatic system is to take hot sips of water.

Follow these instructions:

This cleanse is an old Ayurvedic remedy. Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine from India. This remedy improves the lymphatic function and detoxifies the body.

Sipping hot water increases the circulation and the ability of the lymphatic system.

Hot water detoxifies the body better. It is like when you use hot water to clean a pot or dish, instead of cold water. Hot water also increases the activity in and around the cells in contact with it.

Another rehydration therapy you can use is to drink enough water every day.

Daily Ounces Water Therapy

Another rehydration therapy you can use is to drink enough purified water every day. Use a water filter like the Berkey to clean the water.

Drink half of your ideal body weight in ounces of water. Do this for two weeks.

If you do the hot water sip therapy, it counts toward your daily ounces of water that you drink each day.

Keeping the body well-hydrated during a lymphatic therapy is crucial.

So this is how to do this therapy:

The third way to cleanse the lymph is to rehydrate the lining of the stomach.

Stomach Rehydration Therapy

Rehydrating the lining of the stomach is a great way to improve the function of the lymph system. Dehydration affects the stomach and prohibits it from producing stomach acid.

Rehydration Therapy is one of the simplest ways to increase your digestive strength. It helps the stomach acid break down hard-to-digest food. This method requires drinking about 12 ounces(3.5 dl) of room temperature water before each meal.

So this is how to do it:

This method allows the water to flood and hydrate the buffer layer of the stomach. When you prehydrate the stomach, it can create the needed acid required for digesting the food.

Don't drink copious amounts of water right before or with the meal. If you drink too much water either with or after the meal you can dilute your stomach acid.

This move then weakens your digestive strength. Drink enough water to create a soup-like consistency of the food inside the stomach.

Other ways to improve your lymphatic system is to eat lymph-moving foods.

Great Lymph-Moving Foods You Should Eat

Plants used as dyes stimulates the lymph. Good lymph moving foods include:

Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are all traditional dyes. Their antioxidants support lymph function.

To know if what you eat is a lymph-mover ask yourself, does it stain your finger when you eat it? If it does, then it is probably a lymph-mover.

Year-round, nature is providing foods that support lymph flow. Here are some things you should eat during different seasons.

Spring: March through June

Through March to June, we harvest cherries, berries, and leafy greens in abundance. These spring foods are often alkaline, which also supports the lymph flow of the body.  Chlorophyll in vegetables is a powerful lymph mover. It also repopulates the gut with beneficial microbes.

Summer: July through October

In the summer, there are more leafy greens and a variety of lymph-moving green vegetables. Cruciferous veggies and greens encourage healthy lymphatic movement.

Citrus fruits contain vitamin C and flavonoids that support the lymph vessels. Other summer harvest fruits include:

Fall And Winter: November through February

Lymph-moving food in the fall  include:

These fall foods sustain us into winter, until the cold weather.

Fennel A Great Lymph Mover

Eating fennel or drinking tea made from fennel seeds is a traditional way to move the lymph. Fennel prevents gas and bloating, and improves your digestion.

It increases the white blood cells in the lymphatic system and is also a powerful antioxidant.  Fennel protects the gut from harmful bacteria and fungi.

Apples and beets are also great lymph movers. Learn how you can use them to cleanse your lymph.

Super Apple-Beet Salad

Apples and other antioxidant-rich fruits are high in procyanidins.

Procyanidins in apples may reduce or prevent allergies and immune disorders. They assist the lymphatic system in removing these diseases.

Beets are anti-inflammatory and antioxidants. They protect the liver and have anti-cancer properties that support healthy lymphatic function. Antioxidants have a health-enhancing effect on the lymphatic system.

Eat this apple-beet salad to assist your lymphatic system.

Another way to detoxify the lymphatic system is to use herbs.

Lymph-Moving Herbs

Manjistha root(Rubia cordifolia) is an excellent Ayurvedic herb that supports the lymphatic system. Its name means “bright red” and often works as a red dye. 

Manjistha supports the liver when it has higher levels of toxic chemicals. It boosts the production of glutathione. Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant.

Turmeric is a popular cooking spice. It is an excellent cancer killer and also improves the lymphatic flow. Turmeric may also reduce swollen lymph glands. This herb also increases the bile flow from the liver and gallbladder.

Brahmi is also known as Centella Asiatica or Gotu Kola. It aids the lymph flow. It also improves your cognitive function, by draining toxins from the brain.

That is why this herb is so useful for brain fog. Brahmi improves the skin cells that line the veins, lymph vessels, and stomach.

Red root (Ceanothus americanus) is a traditional herb used by native people to promote healthy lymph flow. It also reduces inflammation and swollen glands.  

Other excellent herbs for cleansing the lymph include:

A surprising lymph mover is the white pith in oranges.

Why You Should Eat The White Pith Of Citrus Fruit

The white pith from oranges and pomegranates are good lymph movers. It is an old Ayurvedic remedy for blood pressure. The peel of certain citrus fruits like oranges contains a flavonoid called diosmin.

Healthy blood pressure depends on good circulation and lymphatic drainage. Diosmin has a potent effect on moving and decongesting the lymphatic system.

It helps the healthy function, and strength of the lymph, capillary, and venous systems. Diosmin also eases the effect of stress hormones. Make sure to get organic citrus fruit so that you don't swallow herbicides.

Another remedy you can use to help the lymphatic system is apple cider vinegar.

Apple Cider Vinegar Cleanse

Apple cider vinegar is made from apples, sugar, and yeast. Natural apple cider vinegar is rich in acetic acid, yeast, and other good bacteria. ACV supports our health and boosts our digestive fire.

It also stops the oxidation of fats and cholesterol in the body and is a powerful antioxidant. ACV is also useful for lowering blood sugar and reducing infections.

It will also boost your stomach acid production and bile flow and protect the intestinal wall.

How to do this cleanse:

Make sure you buy organic apple cider vinegar. Organic varieties contain natural yeast and acetic acid bacteria needed for the cleanse.