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Lymphing Toward Health

by Dr. David Williams

Published 03/05/09

The human lymph system was first described by Hippocrates, who reported seeing vessels containing "white blood" around 400 BC. It was later described in greater detail in the early 1600s by the Italian physician Aselli as "milky veins." However, William Harvey published his well-known and very detailed description of the blood circulatory system in 1628, and the lymph system has largely been neglected ever since. I suspect that disinterest will change if and when researchers ever take a closer look at how crucial a role the lymphatic system plays in dealing with infections, inflammatory diseases, heart disease, asthma, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, metastasis (or spread) of cancerous tumors, transplant rejections, and more.

Although the average person doesn't even know the lymphatic system exists, it has twice as many vessels as the circulatory system, and there is two times more lymphatic fluid in your body than there is blood. (Your lymphatic system works in conjunction with your blood circulatory system. Technically, it also encompasses the spleen, thymus, and tonsils, as well as the lymph vessels and lymph nodes, but my discussion will primarily focus on the lymph vessels and lymph nodes.)

An Efficient Waste-Disposal System

Oxygenated blood passes from the heart through large arteries to increasingly smaller arterioles to, finally, the microscopic capillaries that weave between the various cells of your body. Between the cells and the capillaries is a fluid known as interstitial or lymph fluid. Proteins in this interstitial fluid help "pull" oxygen, sugars, and various nutrients out through the walls of the capillaries so that they can then be passed into your cells. However, red blood cells are too large to pass through the pores in the capillaries so, once they release their oxygen, they continue their journey into the veins and are re-circulated to pick up more oxygen in the lungs. Waste products from the cells (such as carbon dioxide, lactic acid, et cetera) pass the other direction through the fluid and enter the bloodstream to be disposed of through the liver, kidneys, and lungs.

As efficient as this system is, there is a certain amount of blood plasma lost in the process. Along with the plasma, there are also various large particles-such as proteins, dead cells, viruses, bacteria, inorganic compounds, water, cholesterol, fats, waste products, et cetera-that aren't re-absorbed into the blood stream, and this is where your lymph system plays a vital role.

Lymph vessels begin in the areas where the above-mentioned exchanges are taking place. As the pressure builds up in the interstitial space (the area between your cells and the capillaries), the surrounding tissue is slightly stretched, and the walls of the initial lymph vessels deform and begin to form openings that are four to six times larger than the openings in the capillaries. The fluid and various materials enter the lymph vessels and begin to move along the channels (which have one-way, flap-like valves to stop the backflow of the fluid). 

This fluid, now referred to as "lymph," moves into larger lymph vessels called pre-collectors and then into even larger vessels called collectors. Eventually, all lymph dumps into a big vessel called the thoracic duct that traverses your entire chest. From the thoracic duct, the lymph is dumped back into the veins to be filtered through either the liver or the kidneys (and eventually returned as blood plasma). Approximately two to three liters of lymph is filtered through the lymphatic system per day.

Along the way, the lymph passes through specialized glands called lymph nodes. Some are as small as the head of a pin, while others are as large as an olive. On the average, there are anywhere from 400 to 700 lymph nodes in the body. About half are located deeper in the abdominal area, but large concentrations are also found in the groin, neck, and armpits. I'm sure you've felt one or more in your neck when they become enlarged during a cold or sore throat. 

Lymph nodes could be compared to very sophisticated filters. A more appropriate description might be "mini chemical detoxification plants." They purify and filter the lymph. They also produce various types of lymphocytes (white blood cells) and macrophages that destroy damaged cells, bacteria, and viruses. While lymph nodes are a vital part of your immune system, they also tend to reabsorb about 40 percent of the liquids from the lymph fluid-which thickens the lymph and slows its flow.

 The lymph system doesn't have a pump (such as the heart in the circulatory system) to help it keep flowing. Instead, each of the fragile vessels has a spiral muscle surrounding them. As a vessel fills and begins to stretch, the muscle contracts-moving the fluid a little further up the line. This action also creates a vacuum effect behind it that helps to advance even more fluid.

Additionally, every time you inhale, your diaphragm moves downward, like a bellows, to create negative pressure in the lungs and chest cavity. Exhaling creates positive pressure that forces the air out. The overall process is quite complicated. However, in general terms, these changes in pressure create a massaging or milking effect on the thoracic duct. During inhalation, there is an increase in the flow of lymph fluid from other parts of the body into the thoracic duct. During exhalation, a suction-type effect is created that enhances the ability of the veins to empty the thoracic duct.

Researchers are just beginning to understand and demonstrate that your ability to remain healthy and disease-free is in large part directly related to how efficient your body is at circulating lymphatic fluid and dealing with the toxins and other materials it contains. Although the concept may be new (and even somewhat controversial) in our society, the importance of the lymphatic system has been understood and utilized for thousands of years in other parts of the world.

Trash Breeds Disease

Keep in mind that the development of most diseases we face today follows a very similar pattern. First, there is some type of initiating agent-such as an environmental toxin, a chemical herbicide, an oxidized fat or other food compound, a virus, bacteria, or a waste product. There may not be any problem if your body removes it in an efficient and timely manner. If, however, this agent lingers and gets stored in the body, or if there is repeated exposure, your body develops an inflammatory response in an effort to destroy it. If the inflammation continues and becomes chronic, then damage to normal surrounding tissue occurs. Cellular mutations may then result, which can lead to cancerous cells and tumor formation.

In just the last few years, a considerable amount of research has been undertaken, largely in Europe and Australia, concerning the lymph system's role in the metastasis or spread of cancerous tumors. Although there's been a general understanding that the prognosis of a cancer is far less favorable when the lymph nodes are involved, this new research indicates that the lymph system may also actively promote the spread of cancer by producing proteins that trigger the formation of additional lymph vessels to drain tumors. Your skin happens to be the likely source for these vessel-forming (angiogenic) proteins-which makes it imperative that you increase lymph flow in that area and protect it from unnecessary damage.

The positive aspect of this new research suggests that we can help stop or minimize the spread of cancer through the lymph system by keeping it flowing as efficiently as possible. It appears that the formation of new lymph vessels occurs when there is a failure to clear such angiogenic factors as metabolites, inflammatory agents, and growth factors that are associated with pathological changes. In other words, if you keep the lymph moving through your system, the compounds that help tumors spread won't have time to settle in and start doing their dirty work.

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