Did your doctor ever tell you there are almost 700 lymph nodes in your body that require a maintenance plan? Today's scientists at Johns Hopkins medicine have created an 'artificial lymph node' to fight cancer and other diseases.
“There’s Just something magical about lymph. Period.” - Dr. A. Einsberg.
The Lymphatic System
Many people know nothing about the Lymphatic system. And what you don't know (....can kill u), you cannot improve, enhance or capitalize on. Did you know several serious disease and cancers originate because of some deficiency in the lymphatic system?
The lymph system is a major part of the body's immune system-- a network of organs, lymph nodes, lymph ducts, and lymph vessels that produce and move lymph from tissues to the bloodstream. The goal of this blog is to teach you how to enhance the flow of lymph cells so you never see the inside of an acute care hospital.
How it Works for You
Drains toxic substances from your tissues, muscles and organs.
Maintains the correct fluid levels in our body tissues.
Plays an important role in the absorption of fats and fat-soluble nutrients from the intestines.
Removes all fluids that leak out of our blood and stagnate in our joints, lymphatic ducts and lymph nodes.
Spleen and thymus are lymphatic organs that monitor the blood--detect and respond to infections, pathogens and malignant cells.
Lymph circulates in our body in a parallel system to blood. When it does not functioning well it may play a role in cancer, immune system dysfunction, obesity, Crohn’s disease and many other disorders (1).
Too much Swelling in the Arms and Legs
You may have noticed some unusual swelling that goes on for several months in your arms and legs (called Lymphedema) or stood in line behind someone with very unusually big arms that did not relate to their body size. Talk show host Wendy Williams is doing a courageous and wonderful job of publicizing her struggle with Lymphoedema. The common reason this type of swelling can occur are 1) after the surgical removal of lymph nodes, 2) damage to the lymph nodes or 3) post chemotherapy for cancer, especially in patients with breast cancer.
The Secret Lymph Node
The secret lymph node is not one but approximately 500 to 700 lymph nodes in your body working to heal your body right now! Why don't you know this? Blame it on the "Sick Care industry--hospitals these days are looking more like a conveyer belt of non-stop customers that can put big bucks in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies. While the medical community, and physicians in particular, may be eager to help you see the value of maintaining a healthy lymphatic system-- cures don't drive business, drugs do!
'In 1994 and 1995, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital surveyed more than 3000 academic scientists and discovered 64 percent of them had financial ties to drug corporations' (2).
What Is Lymph?
Lymph is basically blood that lacks red blood cells and platelets. It is a clear to white fluid containing white blood cells, especially lymphocytes--the cells that attack bacteria, and filter out the "bad guys' like cancer cells from the blood.
Why is it so important?
It performs the most critical functions to keep your body alive- nourishment and defense against pathogens and infections.
If the production of lymphocytes is insufficient, the body’s defense against invaders and against cancer and other immune disorders will be impaired (3).
If the focus of the latest scientific research carried out by the prestigious Johns Hopkins Medical Center as of 2019, is to create a specialized gel that acts as a lymph node to successfully activate and multiply cancer-fighting immune system T-cells-- think what caring for 700 lymph nodes can do for your body!
How does it Work?
In a nutshell, Lymph fluid flows to body tissues through a network of vessels and veins known as the Lymphatic system. It accomplishes the task of absorbing many waste products and toxins trapped in various organs of the body. Lymph nodes play a vital role as they are the site where lymph is filtered and lymphocytes (white blood cells) are formed. They transform toxins and harmful microbes that are passed from the tissues to the lymph nodes into harmless substances. They are the headquarters where infectious agents interact with the cells of the immune system.
A New Artificial Lymph Node - Case Study
In a proof-of-principle study in mice, advanced scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report new techniques based on a wave of studies to use T-cells -- a type of white blood cell---in cancer treatment. "The artificial lymph node acts like a lymph node to successfully activate and multiply cancer fighting immune system T-cells. The work described in patents on hydrogel technology put scientists, a step closer they say to injecting such artificial lymph nodes into people and sparking T-cells to fight diseases (1)."
Wouldn't it be far more beneficial to start taking care of the lymph nodes we own?
Cancer
YOU DON'T EVER WANT YOUR LYMPH NODES TO MALFUNCTION --THEY FIGHT CANCER.
You do not want the lymph nodes to ‘give up', malfunction or empty out accumulated toxins into the general bloodstream! No need to get creative in thought, just imagine a septic tank spill! In a healthy body, once the lymph nodes have cleaned out lymph, it returns to the body, purified. Just like magic!
Cancer can show up in the lymph nodes in 2 ways. It can either start there (Primary site) or spread there from somewhere else in the body (Metastasis) (2).
According to Marisa Weiss, M.D., chief medical oncology officer, Founder of Breastcancer.org, "The bottom line is that if your lymph nodes are involved, it tells your doctors a lot about the nature of your cancer. It means that this is a tumor with a potential nasty streak and a higher risk of spreading to other parts of your body (4).
Doctors remove several nodes to determine as accurately as possible how many lymph nodes are involved with the cancer. This number strongly predicts the nature of the cancer and how aggressive the treatment modality needs to be.
Body Movement
So,you want to know this-- lymph does not have an organ like the heart to keep it circulating in the body. It depends on body movement in order to flow. Examples such as sports and fitness, yoga, High Intensity Training exercises, deep tissue massage, dry brushing, or bathing and vigorous, hard loofa massage in concentric circles of your abdomen, kidneys, liver, underarms and breasts--all do wonders to move your lymph around.
How Do I Maintain the Health of Lymph Nodes?
If lymph fluid, which carries “toxins" were emptied directly into the blood after its journey through the tissues --we would experience severe illness, cancers and poisoning. The best way of maintaining the lymphatic system is to 1) keep it clean and 2) keep it flowing. The quality of the food we eat and the quality of the air we breath are a good place to begin to enhance the vitality of our lymph.
“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
― Thomas Edison
The empowered listener may choose to:
✓ Avoid poor quality food and drink, often.
✓ Avoid alcohol, drugs, high inflammatory foods.
✓ Eating bad or toxic chemicals often overburdens the body with waste products & poison.
✓ Engage head-to-toe movement to improve and increase the flow of lymph.
Location Of Nodes
There are several lymph nodes in the body. There is good news for those who have a few removed--there are many more nodes in total throughout the body that can still work for you. The exact number varies by individual. The most complained about lymph nodes are located in the front of the neck, side of the neck, behind the ears and under the chin. Have you ever felt your M.D’s fingers feeling along the side of your neck, along your ear? He is feeling for swollen lymph nodes! Many others are located under the armpits and a cluster in the groin. The lymph nodes in the armpits and groin total to around 100, the former frequently removed to check for cancer.
What Causes Swollen Lymph Nodes?
Infections/attacks on the immune system can cause the lymph nodes to swell:
1. Yes, You are Sensitive to Strep Throat!
The lymph nodes--which have the task of cleaning toxins-- are localized centers of infection when they are overwhelmed with the extremes of your daily exposure to toxins and are no longer in control. The infiltration of inflammatory cells during an infection can cause the lymph nodes to swell. This is a sign it is fighting an infection of illness.
Strep throat is a bacterial infection of the tonsils caused by streptococcus bacteria. It is something you can get by being exposed to someone with strep, usually from droplets like if they're coughing or they touched something that's been in their mouth and then shared that with you.
If you spike a fever in a couple of weeks and push on the front part of your neck and you feel your glands or your lymph nodes, and feel like it's swollen and it hurts, that most likely could mean you have strep. There are several others like Tuberculosis, ear infection, tooth infection and blood cancers that cause it to swell!
2. Yes, You Have an Infection!
Infections are confirmed by a blood test that counts how much the number of white blood cells in your blood has increased. Think of it as a governments deployment of soldiers in a time of battle. How many soldiers deployed depends on the severity of the battle.
If your lymph nodes under your armpits are swollen, it could be due to an infection caused by a visit to the dentist gone wrong! It could also be due to an injury to your arm, or it could be a generalized swelling of several lymph nodes in reaction to a viral infection like "Mono" or HIV. Swollen lymph nodes? This is a definite alert to go to a doctor!
3. Yes, You May Have Cancer.
Malignant cells or cancer cells can travel to the lymph nodes from organs or tissues infected by a particular kind of cancer. Although lymphedema can happen anywhere in the body, it is most commonly seen in individuals who have had their lymph nodes removed or who've been treated for breast cancer, prostate cancer and chronic venous insufficiency (9). If you know someone with breast cancer, it is imperative that they book an appointment at a good Lymphedema clinic to improve the function of the Lymphatic system and decrease the pain and discomfort associated with the condition.
Lymphedema involves fluid stagnation and swelling in the arms, legs and other parts of the body resulting from damaged or missing lymph nodes (9)
Let us begin.
I hope you are starting to see how important it is to move all parts of your body in your daily venture to maintain the flow of lymph in your life. Maintain its flow, a diet that is free of toxins and limit as much as sposible your exposure to toxins. Wash your hands frequently when you are outside. Include turmeric and ginger daily, lemon and cinnamon water, eat less animal saturated fats and abstain from all unnatural foods and an inflammatory diet as all organs become less efficient when they are fighting inflammation.
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Sources
Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation, Breakthrough Medicine for the 21st Century, Andreas Moritz.
https://www.breastcancer.org/about_us/team/marisa_weiss
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418141559.htm
https://parklandmedicalcenter.com/service/lymphedema-services