Positive Health Online

The reason for nutrition is to provide essential factors for growth, maintenance and repair. Adequate nutritional intake, along with efficient, effective utilization of it, is what most people consider relevant to the subject of nutrition. When considering nutrition, food quality and sources are usually the major factors which come to mind. Water, enzymes, gut bacteria and other digestive aids are also considered to be relevant. However, lymphatic drainage and muscular balance are rarely considered relevant to nutrition. Muscular imbalance is more likely to be thought of in terms of pain and posture, and the lymphatic system in terms of immunity.

Are lymphatic drainage and muscular balance connected to nutrition and if so, how?

When food is taken into the mouth it is chewed, mixed with enzymes, swallowed and processed with the redundant parts being eliminated through the bowel. The nutritional factors taken into the body proper, through the mucous membranes, stomach and intestines, go directly into the blood stream, lymphatic system and to the liver. If the lymphatic system is sluggish it will impede the transport of some nutrition (fats) to the liver as well as waste, excess fluids and trapped proteins from tissue cells. If muscles are imbalanced, the overly tight ones could constrict lymph and blood vessels, as well as nerves, resulting in deprivation to tissue, and possibly with associated pain.

The whole point of taking in nutrition through the mouth is to get it to its target, which is the individual cell. Therefore, anything which would interfere with the transport of nutrition from mouth to cell is potentially an important aspect of nutrition. Cellular level activity is the all important 'factory' of bodily manufacture, and if the transport system is slow or blocked then the essential raw materials will not be readily available. This may result in an inability to efficiently produce cellular products, including hormones and enzymes, bio-electrical energy, and the accumulated uncollected waste, which could potentially cause serious problems, eventually requiring an emergency clear-out via local or systemic detoxification.[1]

Aerobic exercise is often combined with weight loss regimes, but this can be done even whilst the lymphatic system is sluggish and musculature is imbalanced, i.e. muscles are not in a state of balanced tone but are either too tight or too loose. Doing aerobic exercise whilst musculature is in a state of imbalance is not as effective as it could be and can lead to muscle fatigue.

Exercising the lymphatic system to bring about its clearance is termed 'lymphasizing' by the late Samuel West and does not tip into the aerobic state. His method gently and effectively uses a small rebounder to energize and help clear the lymphatics, as described in his book The Golden Seven Plus One.[2] Lymphatic drainage massage is also very effective, and herbs such as Cleavers and Ginkgo work well in combination with this. Because one of the most common lymphatic blockers is stress, lymphatic clearing as a regular part of health maintenance pays huge dividends.

A large and important muscle which is not often associated with nutrition is the diaphragm. This sheet of muscle, which separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities, puts rhythmic pressure on the Cisterna Chyli (the 'tree trunk' of the lymphatic system in the abdomen), aiding its drainage during correct deep breathing, and also keeps the top of the stomach correctly positioned at the oesophageal sphincter. When this is ineffective, the top of the stomach can slide or protrude through, causing a hiatus hernia. This is one good reason to eat properly positioned so that internal organs are unrestricted.

Another muscular sphincter which can become overly loose and cause sluggishness in the completion of the total digestive cycle is the ileo-caecal valve (ICV). This is positioned between the small and large intestines and acts like a one-way trap door allowing food to pass from the small into the large intestine. This little sphincter, when imbalanced, can cause potentially large problems, because the contents of the large intestine can back up into the small intestine, causing a toxic state which can circulate round the whole body through the blood. Although this muscular sphincter cannot be actively exercised correctly, as can the diaphragm, the cause of malfunction can be corrected; it is commonly a symptom of chronic mercury poisoning from amalgam fillings. ICV malfunction can be corrected daily using acupuncture points or corrective abdominal massage until proper functioning is achieved. ICV malfunction is often present in infantile colic, along with the intake of cow's milk via breast or bottle.

When cells call for nutrition supplies, via the appetite, a clear route has to be available for its delivery.

References

1. Bradshaw-Black V. Detoxification… ICHC article. 1996.
2. West CS. The Golden Seven Plus One. Samuel Publishing Co. Orem. Ut. USA. 1981.