Toxic Load & the Lymphatic System
A common topic with my clients this past week was toxic load. For some of you this may be a new concept, so I’ll explain.
The lymphatic system is responsible for moving lymph, white blood cells, toxins, waste and other unwanted debris out of the body (lymphatic load). The lymphatic system works closely with the immune system and is our ‘second’ circulatory system. It’s that important! The lymphatic system’s transport capacity is the maximum amount that the system can carry. In a healthy system, the transport capacity exceeds the lymphatic load. When we get sick, or don’t take care of ourselves, the lymphatic load may end up exceeding our transport capacity.
This is not good.
New big words… transport capacity and lymphatic load… things to consider
This defines ‘toxic load’. When does this happen? I’ll give some examples:
Let’s start with the physical load
Let’s start with the physical load. Say your diet, in general, is a healthy one. Then you go on vacation. You are badly behaved and take in too much rich food and alcohol. You get sick your last day of vacation and miss your first day back to work.
Does this sound familiar?
This is an example of the transport capacity of the lymphatic system being overwhelmed by the toxins its being asked to transport. Toxic load.
How about an emotional or mental load?
How about an emotional or mental load? I know what is likely to happen when I push myself to do more than I have the energy to do. When I do this I am walking on thin ice. I live on a lake, so I know what cracking ice sounds like. It is scary! Sometimes I overload myself emotionally or mentally thinking I can get away with it. I push myself and and as a result my energy and transport capacity go down. Too much load to move and too little capacity to move it. What happens? I get sick of course!
Do you find yourself getting sick too frequently? You need to consider strategies to both decrease your lymphatic load and increase your transport capacity!
What you can do
Here are some things you can do to reduce your lymphatic load: Watch what you eat and drink – less ‘bad for you’ food in and you decrease the load on your system. Take the occasional day off. I call these pajama days. I stay in my PJs all day until I soak in the tub before bed. Awesome day!!! This will decrease the load on the body from stress.
Here are some things you can do to maximize your transport capacity: Get more exercise, drink more water, get more rest! Have you ever used a scrub after a shower to wake up your skin? This is where the superficial lymphatic vessels are. I love the sugar and olive oil scrub I am current using. I need all the moisturizing I can get during the winter. This is a great way to increase transport capacity.
Big Hugs and Much Love,
Cindy
