The lymphatic system is a vital part of our body that often gets forgotten about. Unlike blood and oxygen, there is no designated organ to deal with lymphatic fluid (also known as lymph) in our bodies. Therefore, it can be difficult to know how to treat it.
The main function of the lymphatic system is to deal with any toxins in our body. As such, it is not uncommon for the lymphatic system to get clogged. This can cause all sorts of issues such as headaches, sinusitis, swelling issues, chronic pain, and much more.
Some of the best ways of dealing with this are holistic in nature, and we have listed 10 of our favorite lymphatic system healing methods below.
Exercises
There are so many exercises that you can utilize when you want to help to improve the health of the lymphatic system. We don’t have to tell you about how beneficial exercise is for your general health.
As it turns out, it is just as vital when you want to keep your lymphatic system healthy. The best exercise you can do is jumping on a trampoline. Yep, we are totally serious! Using a trampoline is known as rebounding.
You have to do it for around 10 minutes to 30 minutes in order for it to be effective. It moves the lymph passively, and also helps to improve the circulation of blood around the body.
Also, it is so much fun and also helps to improve muscle definition as well as counting towards general exercise. As if we needed an excuse to jump around on the trampoline like a kid for half an hour, right?
Massage
Don’t underestimate the power of the massage! Did you know there was actually such a thing as a lymphatic massage? No? Well, now you do! You can get a lymphatic massage to help the flow of lymph around the body.
Any massage will be helpful, of course, but choose a lymphatic massage specifically to ensure you get the most out of it. It uses a specific amount of pressure in a certain rhythm to get the lymph flowing toward the heart ready for it to be drained and recirculated.
This is great for moving along static lymph that seems to be ‘stuck’ in the body, getting it circulating around the body again. In fact, it is also great for helping to shift toxins out of the body, which will, in turn, take some pressure off your lymphatic system.
You can do a lymphatic massage yourself at home, however, we highly recommend consulting a professional to do this for you. This way you can be sure of great results, and it will be performed safely by someone who has lots of experience in doing it.
Hot and cold treatments
Hot and cold treatments, particularly a hot and cold shower treatment, can work wonders for the overall health of your lymphatic system. Many spas will feature showers that run at various pressures and temperatures. The reason for this isn’t to clean you. No. Instead, it is meant to aid your lymphatic system between treatments.
Alternating between hot and cold can be particularly helpful because of the pump action that it creates. Hot water makes the blood vessels dilate, whereas the cold water closes them back up. In turn, this forces out toxins from the body.
Using this sort of treatment for your lymphatic system is not suitable for everyone though, so you should always consult a doctor before you try it for yourself. For example, if you have issues with your blood pressure, any cardiovascular issues, or even if you are pregnant you should avoid hot and cold treatments like this.
Diet
There are a number of ways you can help out the lymphatic system just through the foods that you eat. Of course, the benefits of having a good diet are many, but there are some foods in particular that we recommend choosing if you want to support the overall health of your lymphatic system.
It is very important that you eat a range of nutrient rich foods. The lymphatic system responds particularly well to raw foods! Some foods that you can incorporate into your diet include:
- Avocados
- Fruit that is low in sugar such as kiwis, watermelon, blackberries, lemons, limes, grapefruit, raspberries, cranberries, and strawberries
- Vitamin C rich foods including oranges and other citrus fruits we listed above
- Leafy green vegetables including spinach, cabbage greens, arugula, rocket, kale, collard greens, chard, spring greens, and many more
- Avocados
- Chia seeds
- Flaxseeds
- Almond nuts
- Brazil nuts
- Garlic
- Walnuts
- Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cabbage
- Salmon
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Pumpkin seeds
- Coconut oil
- …and so much more!
Dry brushing
Another easy way of improving the overall health of your lymphatic system is by dry brushing. This can be done at home and is relatively simple and straightforward to do.
All you need is to use a dry brush with coarse bristles and brush up toward the heart on dry skin. This can open up your pores, get your blood circulation flowing, and improve your circulation. It encourages any built up lymph in your body to get flowing again.
As well as this, it is also excellent for removing dead skin cells and exfoliating your body! Smooth skin and a healthy lymphatic system – yes, please!
It is also said to be helpful for improving the appearance of cellulite, but we say that cellulite is natural and you look beautiful with or without it!
Just be careful of this technique if you have sensitive skin, and do not do it on irritated or broken skin!
Loose clothing
It might sound so simple, but the tight clothes, bra underwires, and belts of today can actually wreak havoc on our lymphatic systems. Try to avoid any sort of tight clothing as much as you possibly can.
Choose light, flowy, and loosely fitting clothing to help to improve your lymphatic system overall health. You can do this by avoiding tight jeans, loosening belts, buying non-underwired bras, and choosing clothes with elasticated waistbands. Baggy t-shirts are your friend for sure!
Clothes that are too tight can restrict the lymphatic flow around your body, this is especially true if you wear a tight bra as it restricts it around your chest, thus affecting the circulation of lymph in the body. Choose elasticated, fabric bras or, better still, choose to go braless if possible, especially in the comfort of your home. In our opinion, going bra free is comfortable as heck and we don’t need any encouragement to do it whenever possible!
Acupuncture
Acupuncture, in case you have never heard of it, is a treatment where thin needles are applied to the body at certain acupuncture pressure points. It is a component of Chinese medicine and has been used for centuries. It is thought to be very beneficial for issues such as lymphatic build up and helps to promote overall lymphatic system health and well-being.
It can help to drain your built up lymph from all around your body and get it all flowing through again. This is especially good if you have never had any lymph relief before, as you may have lots built up.
That being said, it should be noted that you should only undergo procedures like acupuncture if you are medically able to do so. Talk to a doctor or other professional first before going ahead with it.
As well as this, you should only go to a licensed acupuncture therapist or practitioner to perform this. This is because there is a use of needles for the procedure – that is not something you want to be dealing with at home!
Herbs and spices
We have already gone into detail about the different foods we can incorporate into our diets to help with our lymphatic system health, but we also wanted to let you know that there are dozens of herbs and spices out there that are excellent at holistically helping out our lymph systems.
With the foods, you have to eat them to feel the effects. However, herbs can be consumed in many ways. You can use them to flavor meals, take them as supplements, or make them into a tea. This means they can be easy to incorporate into your daily life.
Some of the best herbs and spices for holistically treating the lymphatic system include:
- Cleavers
- Devil’s claw
- Dandelion
- Goldenseal
- Wild indigo root
- Astragalus
- Calendula
- Knotted figwort
- Purple cornflower (also known as Echinacea Angustifolia)
- Sweet clover
- Red clover
- Sweet woodruff
- Horse chestnut
- …and so many more
Bear in mind that, as with lots of herbal remedies, you should seek medical advice before you take them. Many of these listed have to be taken in different ways. For example, some are best taken as a supplement whereas others are better suited when applied to the body directly as a tincture. Others make a good tea or cold drink or even sprinkled on food.
Crystals
If you have read any of our articles before, you may be aware that we just love crystals over here t WishesnKisses. Crystals have so many wonderful whaling properties, so it may come as no surprise that there are even crystals out there that can help to holistically heal the lymphatic system!
When you are using crystals for this purpose, you can use them directly on the body, in a bath (provided the crystals you are using are safe for use in the water), or even when you are meditating. Blue crystals tend to work really well for the lymphatic system, but there are also a number of others in different colors that can work too. Suffice to say that you have a lot of crystals to choose from for helping your lymphatic system, and we have listed a handful of our favorites below:
- Bloodstone
- Carnelian
- Clear quartz
- Sodalite
- Agate
- Moss agate
- Blue chalcedony
- Amethyst
- Aquamarine
- Jet
- Jade
- Rose quartz
- Blue tourmaline
Yoga breathing
Last but by no means least we have yoga breathing, or simply deep breathing if you prefer to call it that. Deep breathing and healing breaths are wonderful for so many issues and ailments. We think yoga breathing is one of the most underrated practices there is. When it comes to your lymphatic system, yoga breathing is one of the best holistic treatments you can utilize, and better yet, it is free and easy to do.
The reason for this is because of the deep breaths. These breaths get the lymph moving around the body. There is no lymph in the body than there is blood, but unlike blood, there is no organ that is designated to get it moving. That is where the breath comes in! Yoga breathing can help with this….bonus points if you actually do some yoga poses too!
