Living Well That steadily beating organ isn't the only heart you've got...
Just like octopuses and squids, you've got three major pumps.
Your ticker constantly pumps to push oxygen-rich blood throughout your body. You've also got two other honorary "hearts," one in each lower leg...
Made up of the muscles in your calves and feet, these "venous muscle pumps" fight the forces of gravity to send the blood back up to your chest to be replenished with oxygen.
But these cardiac cousins also happen to push another kind of fluid around in your body's "second circulatory system."
Every day, your capillaries release about 2 gallons of fluid from your blood... into the space between the cells of your tissues. And that stuff can contain waste products and bacteria.
It's all handled by a network of vessels and nodes that most of us probably don't give much thought to...
Connected to these vessels are small, bean-shaped cell clusters. Those are your lymph nodes.
Lymph nodes are little sewage-treatment plants stationed all throughout your body. They filter your lymph, removing pathogens and toxins.
A well-functioning lymphatic system handles a massive driver of diseases: chronic inflammation. This system has some other mission-critical jobs like...
- Transporting away excess fluid,
- Filtering out waste to prevent buildup of toxins,
- Fighting harmful, disease-causing invaders, so it's an important part of your immune system,
- And aiding in the absorption and metabolism of fat you eat.
So you can see just how important a well-functioning lymphatic system is for your health. And for your lymphatic system to perform those tasks, you need to keep your lymph flowing through your body.
But there's one problem...
Your lymphatic system doesn't have the luxury of owning a central pump like your circulatory system does with the heart.
So it's up to the collective effort of all the muscles in your body to move along that lymphatic fluid, or lymph.
And since your body likes maintaining balance, it's up to your lymphatic vessels to remove excess fluid before dumping it back into your bloodstream.
My favorite way to keep that lymph chugging along is to simply go for a walk.
Walking is a joint- and beginner-friendly, low-impact way to get your blood and lymph flowing.
It engages many muscles in the lower body (where lymph loves to collect) to carry lymph to its venous destination near the heart. And that includes those venous muscle pumps I mentioned earlier.
If you're pressed for time in your busy day, I recommend at least carving out some time after a meal.
According to a study published in April in the journal Nutrients, try aiming for 15 to 30 minutes of light- to moderate-intensity aerobic and/or resistance exercise after you put down that fork and knife.
Walking as soon as possible after eating lunch also keeps my blood-glucose levels from spiking. Not to mention, it keeps my lymph flowing instead of collecting in my feet. And to add even more flow, I like to swing my arms a bit as I walk, too.
It's OK to take breaks, too, if you're feeling stuffed. According to the researchers, taking even a super-short walk (two and a half to five minutes), sitting for 15 minutes, and then repeating over a three-hour period can still improve blood-sugar control.
Aside from putting your venous muscle pumps to work, I have another tip to promoting lymphatic health and preventing dysfunction. Check out a recent issue of Retirement Millionaire here. If you're not already a subscriber, sign up here.)
What We're Reading...
- Something different: Some (chickens) like it hot.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
September 19, 2024