Lymph nodes are about the size and shape of a bean and have a honeycomb structure.  They play an extremely important role in maintaining health by filtering bodily fluids and trapping foreign particles.  They also fight disease and house lymphocytes which are critical at fighting off disease.  The lymphocytes pass through the nodes and if pathogens are detected, antigens from the pathogen bind to the lymphocytes and produce antibodies.  Other types of lymphocytes contain a toxic compound and destroy invading pathogens.  Macrophages are another pathogen component that trap the intruder.  Lymph nodes can swell due to an increase of lymphocytes, antibodies and macrophages. 

The disease of the lymphatic system is called lymphedema.  It is the swelling or bloating caused by the accumulation of lymph fluid in our skin tissue in the arms or legs.  This condition will occur if the lymphatic system is damaged or has malformations.  The swelling is usually in the limbs.  Some causes of swollen lymph nodes are cancer, infections and infectious mononucleosis.  Lymph nodes act as filters.  They contain many lymphocytes or white blood cells and they will destroy bacteria and viruses in the lymph.  While fighting the infection, the node becomes swollen and tender.  You may have noticed swollen lymph nodes in your neck, but not experience any other symptoms.  I often get pain or swelling in my lymph nodes in my neck.  I believe it’s a flushing out of toxins or that my body is trying to flush out an infection.  This could be emotional or physical.  I believe that all chronic pain, suffering and diseases are caused by lack of oxygen at the cellular level.  This is what they teach at Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL.  Wheatgrass and living foods are wonderful ways to get healing oxygen into your body and cells.  Dr. Guyton wrote, “The importance of this function of the lymphatics cannot be stressed too strongly, for there is no other route besides the lymphatics through which excess proteins can return to the circulatory system.”

One of the functions of the lymphatic system is removing impurities, dead cells, bacteria, unwanted organisms or toxins from the body.  Another is the absorption of fats and proteins from our diet through the intestinal lacteals.  This gives the lymph fluid its milky color.  The lymph fluid is circulated by our muscles moving.  It also helps get oxygen and nutrients to cells by removing the dead cells, toxins, poison, and excess water from around the cells.  Intestinal tract cleansing helps with the absorption of nutrients and fats needed for good lymphatic system function.  A diet high in fresh veggies and fruit will help raise your oxygen, energy and nutrient levels.  And drinking plenty of water will flush your system and hydrate your body.

A lymph system cleanse is a wonderful thing.  The lymph system is filled with waste that has built up over your lifetime.  A cleanse will help to clean every organ and system you have.  It will effect every part of your body.  You can purchase lymph system cleanses online or ask your local health food store what they recommend.

So here we are again…..back to diet.  It’s common sense.  We need fresh foods and the nutrients they provide for our energy.  This brings life to our cells.  Junk food uses up more oxygen and we need that oxygen to heal.  Fats and proteins are low in oxygen content.  They also require extra oxygen.  Processed sugar, white flour, alcohol, coffee and soda, are other foods that require precious oxygen and take it away from our cells.

Here are a few easy things to try:

Breathing…just breathing.  Breathing helps move the lymph fluid.  Take some deep breaths.  In yoga it’s called pranayama.  Take a deep breath into your belly and hold it for a couple of heartbeats.  Exhale slowly.  Exhaling toxins out.  Massage is great too.  Check with your local massage therapist to see if they offer lymphatic massage.  Don’t forget to drink water after your massage.  This will increase lymphatic flow and release toxins.  Also, try a rebounder or inversion table.  Jumping on a mini trampoline is a great form of exercise for the lymph system.  This will help the fluid pump around the body.  Cycling, walking and running are also good.  Sweating is good.  This is releasing toxins. 

Take in some good breaths and flush out the old!

How are our unborn babies getting exposed to toxic chemicals?  Here’s a quote from the article I mentioned above, “…according to a new study commissioned by the Environmental Working Group…..laboratory tests of the umbilical cord blood taken from 10 babies born in August and September of 2004 in U. S. hospitals…..revealed a total of 287 chemicals….The blood…collected by the Red Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage.  Of these chemicals, the researchers say, ‘we know that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous systems, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests’.”  Mmmmmmm….I think I’d be concerned if just ONE of these chemicals were found, let alone 287!  Some of these chemicals were mercury, fire retardants and the Teflon chemical known as C-8 (PFOA).  In 2009, a study at the University of California found a strong link between levels of PFOA in blood and infertility in women of child-bearing age.  This chemical has also been found to alter hormone levels, affect the immune system and cause dangerously high cholesterol.

Toxic chemicals are far more dangerous to a fetus or developing child.  Here we have a product, Teflon, being advertised as making life easier, but it is poisoning us and our children.  This product is also used in carpet and clothing cleaners and in cosmetics and food packaging.  C-8 has been linked to cancer, organ damage and other health effects in laboratory animals (I do not believe in animal testing).  Two to five minutes on a stovetop and cookware coated with Teflon can exceed temperatures at which the coating breaks apart and starts to emit toxic particles and gases linked to hundreds of pet bird deaths and an unknown number of human illnesess each year.  C-8 is not only in cookware, but also clothing.  “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, some of the highest C-8 levels were found in children”.  DuPont claims that the substance is completely safe.  That C-8 is in everyone’s blood.  And inhaling the chemical may get you flu-like symptoms that are reversible and last only a couple of days.  A warning is on the DuPont website, but not on their pans.  Time to take a second look at your cooking products?  No?  Ok, then I’ll give you more.

In birds, when inhaling the toxic fumes, their lungs hemorrhage and fill with fluid, leading to suffocation.  DuPont has never studied the incidence of fever among users of their non-stick pots and pans. 

In 2001, residents living and working around a Teflon plant and landfill, filed a class-action lawsuit against DuPont for withholding information about contaminated water, air and bodies by the chemical C-8.  C-8 was originally produced by the 3M Company. 3M stopped their production due to concerns about toxicity. C-8 accumulates over time and never breaks down in your body or the environment.   Local residents were drinking the water and breathing the air.  Children were exposed to this chemical.  Residents also worked at the plant and were lied to.  DuPont has never volunteered any information.  Residents are also being denied health insurance coverage due to their exposure to a toxic chemical.  Cancer and birth defects are high in this area. 

What else?  Did you know that recent FDA studies revealed that 20% of PFOA levels in human blood may come from the leaching of PFOA coating from the lining of microwave popcorn bags? 

Here’s some good news: In 2006, the EPA entered into an agreement with 8 major makers of PFOA to eliminate virtually all sources of this chemical in the environment by 2015.  Could it be too little too late? 

Make your own choices.  Read labels.  Breathe.

The nose.  What are you inhaling in your work and home environment?   Air fresheners, smoke, cleaning chemicals, mold, dust, pollens, and the fumes that come out of the carpeting.  Air fresheners only mask the odor. They are filled with deadly, poisonous chemicals.  For many years I inhaled a common cleaning chemical (I have a cleaning business).  When I started a wheatgrass routine, I expelled mucous the color and smell of this chemical!  Anything that you can smell, is going into your body.  Today we are inhaling toxins on a daily basis.  Get yourself out into nature where the only thing you inhale is the air, the smell of trees and grass.  Reducing the toxins you inhale can have a dramatic effect on your health, helping you with depression, anxiety, irritability, appetite, digestion and sleep.

The eyes.  Through the eyes, solar energy penetrates the body.  The sun is not a toxin.  Lack of sun creates deficiencies and leads to imbalance and disease.  Images entering the eyes are toxic.  Violence from all forms of the media can create bad emotions, causing the body to become acidic.  Remember, we want our bodies to be more alkaline.

The ears.  Things that you put in your ears as well as sound that enter your ears can be toxic.  Sounds are vibration and frequency.  My brother has done tests on growing wheatgrass.  Classical music had a positive effect on the growth of wheatgrass.  Certain music has been know to cause plants to wither and die.  Repetitive sound can cause stress.  Certain frequencies can enter through the ear and cause every cell to be stressed.  This in turn causing dis-ease in the body.  Toxic words from someone, can also enter your body.  Stress and the body?  We already know that’s a bad idea.  Walk in nature and listen to all the sounds.  How about chirping birds and insects, running water and the sound of the wind for stress relief?

Okay, so toxins are out there.  And not just in the air or at the local nuclear power plant.  Consider not only the carbs, calories and fats that are in your food, but the chemicals in processed foods that also enter your bloodstream and organs.  Address the toxins in your life today.  What are you eating? What are you breathing?  What and who are you listening to?   

Unnatural electromagnetic energy is attacking our bodies every day.  Satellites, radar, cell phones, cell phone towers, high tension power lines, electric wiring, computers, microwave ovens and even people emit electromagnetic energy.  Negatively charged ions have a positive effect on the body.  These life-enhancing ions are in the running water of the stream, waterfalls or the ocean.  Wind blowing through the trees also emit these ions.

What are you going to do today to feel good?  Go outside and find some fresh air.  Breathe deeply.  Eliminate the amount of television, computer, and microwave use as much as you can.  Speak positively.  Meditate.  Eat slowly.  Love life.

Dr. Belcher, an associate professor in the pharmacology and cell biophysics department at UC College of Medicine, explains that “BPA molecules are linked into polymers used to create polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that are widely used in many products”.   Scientists have known for years that BPA molecules are unstable and they can leak into foods or beverages that come in contact with the plastic, especially when used for extended periods or used in high temperatures, like a microwave.  When these plastics and resins are exposed to high heat or hot liquids, BPA leaches out 55 times faster than under normal circumstances.  How much do you use your plastic containers, plates and bottles in the microwave?  Want to think twice about that?  Children were shown to have higher levels than adults. If you are pregnant or nursing, you should especially avoid BPA leakage.  How about using glass containers to reheat and glass to store your food, and heating the baby bottle on the stove top instead?  BPA can also leak when hot foods are stored in plastic containers or when plastics are put in the dishwasher or cleaned with harsh chemicals.  Take a look at your plastic containers.  Are they scratched and worn out?  Do you leave liquids sitting in your plastic bottles throughout the day?  It’s time to throw out the old and start using something different.

In February, 2008, the FDA saw no reason to ban or restrict the use of BPA.  In March of this year, U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation to ban the chemical BPA in all food and beverage containers.  Last week, six baby bottle manufacturers announced they would stop using BPA in their baby bottles.  The gas and chemical company, Sunoco, told its investors that it will now be refusing to sell BPA to companies for use in containers for children younger than 3.

What can you do right now?  Watch what you put in the microwave.  Use glass baby bottles and dishes.  Throw out your old plastic cups and dishes, store leftovers in glass containers and use glass instead of plastic in the microwave if you absolutely have to use it.  I use glass mason jars for my drinks and I rarely use the microwave.  I still haven’t gotten rid of it, but it’s on its way out.  Plastic wrap?  Never use in the microwave.  Bottles and containers with the recycling No. 7 on the bottom, may contain BPA.   Many companies are now advertising BPA Free items. 

Be proactive about your health.  I wish you good health!