Cardiovascular System Related to the Lymphatic System

What is the Lymph System and How Does it Work?

You know your lymph nodes? Those little lumps in your throat and groin that swell up when you get sick?

That’s your lymphatic system. Part of it, anyway. The most famous bit.

The whole system actually comprises of an entire network of organs, vessels, ducts, and capilliaries that run all over your body. It’s your secondary circulation system and runs right along side your body’s network of veins and arteries, except it doesn’t carry blood, it carries a clear liquid called lymph fluid.

You know when you squeeze a pimple, and instead of blood, you get that clear, white, fluid that then forms a scab? Yeah… that’s lymph fluid.

The lymph fluid circulates infection fighting white blood cells, which help you to avoid infection and sickness, as well as create antibodies so your body can respond to invaders better in the future. It also collects extra fluid from the body and filters the waste, toxins, and excess hormones from it by sending those things to the lymph nodes to be destroyed. It’s proper circulation and functioning is super important to keeping you healthy. It’s often referred to as the body’s “drainage system” or “sewer system” – and you don’t want your sewer or drains clogged up, do you?!

The odd thing about the lymph system though is that unlike the main circulatory system which pumps blood around the body via the heart, the lymph system does not have its own pump, and it only circulates in one direction.

This means that it relies on the movement of your muscles and the movement of your diaphragm (deep breath now!) in order to circulate.

How the Cardiovascular System is Related to the Lymphatic System

• To understand how the cardiovascular system is related to the lymphatic system, we need to look at both of these symptoms more in depth. In the cardiovascular system, blood is the vehicle used to deliver oxygen, nutrients and hormones to the various muscle and organ tissues within the body. Arteries deliver this loaded blood into the various body parts, using capillaries for some of the delivery. Then, the veins return the depleted blood back to the heart for oxygenation again.
  While the kidneys serve as the main blood cleaning station in the body, removing waste and fluid excess from it, the lymphatic system also plays a role in the purifying of the blood. It removes the old red blood cells and any wayward blood that may have seeped into muscle tissues accidentally during transit through the body.

Lymphatic System Explained

• As muscles and blood vessels within the body begin to move and function throughout the day (like from deep breathing activity or physical movement), waste products in the muscle tissues begin to seep into the lymph capillaries. This propelling of the muscle and organ tissue waste products into the lymph vessels aids the lymph in collecting and removing this type of waste, which sometimes contains blood that dissipated into the muscle tissues accidentally.
  As the waste passes by the lymph nodes located throughout the body, some debris (old red blood cells, for example) and excess fluids (as well as bacteria and cancer cells) are ingested by the lymph nodes' cells. Finally, after these waste products are removed, the remaining healthy lymph travels on to either the thoracic or right lymphatic ducts---located in the shoulder area---where it is then mixed with blood, so it can be returned to the heart for further use.

One Relationship Between the Two Systems: Waste Removal

• One way there is a relationship between the cardiovascular and the lymphatic system is the fact that both systems have processes that rid the body of waste products, and these processes help to eliminate some of the same detrimental properties common to them both: old red blood cells, toxic waste and pathogens.

Relation of Capillaries and Vessels

• Another relationship between both is the internal system of capillaries and vessels that basically parallel one another throughout the body: one working to provide nutrients and oxygen to muscles and organs; the other working to rid them of the waste produced. Although the capillaries and vessels for the cardiovascular system hold blood, and the lymphatic ones hold lymph, both systems work in unison with the same overall objective: maintaining the body's ability to function at an optimum level without hindrance of pathogens or detrimental waste.

Significance

• Just as the cardiovascular veins have one-way valves in order to prevent blood backflow, the lymph vessels have one-way valves to prohibit backflow of lymph. This is yet another way that these two systems are similar to one another

Read more: How Is the Lymphatic System Related to the Cardiovascular System? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5147126_lymphatic-system-related-cardiovascular-system.html#ixzz2PSt8lUM4

Boost Your Lymphatic System for Great Health

12 Ways to Detoxify: Speed Up Your Lymph System

from
Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM, DAc, CNC
Do you suffer from cellulite or fatty deposits? Do you experience aches and pains? Are you overweight? Do you experience abdominal bloating? Do you feel bloated or have areas on your body that seem pudgy? Have you been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, lupus, or other chronic immune system disorder? Have you ever yo-yo dieted? Do you experience eye puffiness? Do you experience 2 or more cold or flu viruses yearly? Have you experienced breast cancer?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, your lymphatic system may be sluggish.This system is possibly the most neglected cleansing and healing system in the body, yet it is intensely powerful. It is a complex network of fluid-filled nodes, glands, and tubes tht bathe our cells and carry the body’s “sewage” away from the tissues and neutralize it. It includes the spleen, tonsils, and thymus gland and plays an important role in boosting immunity, lessening pain and inflammation, and an overall sense of lightness and health.
A recent study found that 80 percent of women have sluggish lymphatic systems and that getting them flowing smoothly is the key to easy weight loss and improved feelings of well-being. Another study found that women with cellulite showed lymphatic system deficiencies. Here’s how you can get your lymph flowing smoothly:
1. Breathe deeply. The lymph system has 3 times more fluid than blood in the body, yet no heart-type organ to pump it. One of the main ways it moves is through breathing deeply. Breathe in that sweet smell of healing oxygen.
2. Get moving. Exercise also ensures the lymph system flows properly. The best kind is rebounding on a mini-trampoline, which can dramatically improve lymph flow, but stretching and aerobic exercise also works well.
3. Drink plenty of water. Without adequate water, lymph fluid cannot flow properly. To help ensure the water is readily absorbed by your cells, I frequently add some fresh lemon juice or Cellfood oxygen+nutrient drops to pure water.
4. Forget the soda, trash the color-laden sports-drink, and drop the sugary fruit “juices” that are more sugar than fruit. These sugar, color, and preservative-laden beverages add to the already overloaded work your lymph system must handle.
5. Eat more fruit on an empty stomach. The enzymes and acids in fruit are powerful lymph cleansers. Eat them on an empty stomach for best digestion and maximum lymph-cleansing benefits. Most fruits are digested within 30 minutes or so and are quick to start helping you feel better.
6. Eat plenty of green vegetables to get adequate chlorophyll to help purify your blood and lymph.
7. Eat raw, unsalted nuts and seeds to power up your lymph with adequate fatty acids. They include: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamias, Brazil nuts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
8. Drink pure, unsweetened cranberry juice. Cranberries and cranberry juice emulsifies stubborn fat in the lymphatic system. Dilute it about 4:1 water to cranberry juice. Alternatively, if you prefer a sweeter juice, dilute one part cranberry juice with two parts unsweetened apple juice and two parts water.

9. Add a few lymph-boosting herbal teas to your day, such as astragalus, echinacea, goldenseal, pokeroot, or wild indigo root. Consult an herbalist or natural medicine specialist before combining two or more herbs or if you’re taking any medications or suffer from any serious health conditions. Avoid using herbs while pregnant or lactating and avoid long-term use of any herb without first consulting a qualified professional.
10. Dry skin brush before showering. Use a natural bristle brush. Brush your skin in circular motions upward from the feet to the torso and from the fingers to the chest. You want to work in the same direction as your lymph flows–toward the heart.

11. Alternate hot and cold showers for several minutes. The heat dilates the blood vessels and the cold causes them to contract. Avoid this type of therapy if you have a heart or blood pressure condition or if you are pregnant.
12. Get a gentle massage. Studies show that a gentle massage can push up to 78 percent of stagnant lymph back into circulation. Massage frees trapped toxins. You can also try a lymph drainage massage. It is a special form of massage that specifically targets lymph flow in the body. Whatever type of massage you choose, make sure it is gentle. Too much pressure may feel good on the muscles but it doesn’t have the same lymph stimulating effects.
Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM, DAc, CNC is a best-selling and six-time book author and doctor of natural medicine, whose works include: The Life Force Diet, The Ultimate pH Solution, and The 4-Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan. Learn more at: www.TheLifeForceDiet.com