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Your gut has its own immune system, the “gut-associated lymphatic tissue” (GALT). It represents 70 to 80 percent of your body’s total immune system. This speaks volumes about the importance—and vulnerability—of your gut. If the events that take place in the gut weren’t so critical to life, then the majority of your immune system wouldn’t have to be there to guard and protect it.
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David Perlmutter (Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life)
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However, hidden power often lies in the most inconspicuous places — in this case, in the lymphatic system. Those tiny particles can enter the lymphatic system, embedded in fat droplets, and once there, they attract the attention of ever-vigilant immune cells. When they discover a tiny particle of peanut in the lymphatic fluid, for example, they naturally attack it as a foreign body.
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Giulia Enders (Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Under-Rated Organ)
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The housecleaning our bodies perform while we sleep is powered by the shakti that energizes the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and autonomous nervous systems to send instructions to the lymphatic system, the pituitary gland, and a host of other places in our slumbering forms. Whether it is blood circulating in the veins and arteries, a nerve impulse jumping a synaptic gap in the brain, our body straining while running the hundred-meter dash, or the working out of a physics or organic chemistry problem, our shakti provides the energy to accomplish the activity.
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Thomas Ashley-Farrand (Shakti Mantras: Tapping into the Great Goddess Energy Within)
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Try to eat at least three of these foods per day—the more the better—rotating your consumption so that in a given week or two, you get all of these foods into your system. Wild blueberries: help restore the central nervous system and flush EBV neurotoxins out of the liver. Celery: strengthens hydrochloric acid in the gut and provides mineral salts to the central nervous system. Sprouts: high in zinc and selenium to strengthen the immune system against EBV. Asparagus: cleanses the liver and spleen; strengthens the pancreas. Spinach: creates an alkaline environment in the body and provides highly absorbable micronutrients to the nervous system. Cilantro: removes heavy metals such as mercury and lead, which are favored foods of EBV. Parsley: removes high levels of copper and aluminum, which feed EBV. Coconut oil: antiviral and acts as an anti-inflammatory. Garlic: antiviral and antibacterial that defends against EBV. Ginger: helps with nutrient assimilation and relieves spasms associated with EBV. Raspberries: rich in antioxidants to remove free radicals from the organs and bloodstream. Lettuce: stimulates peristaltic action in the intestinal tract and helps cleanse EBV from the liver. Papayas: restore the central nervous system; strengthen and rebuild hydrochloric acid in the gut. Apricots: immune system rebuilders that also strengthen the blood. Pomegranates: help detox and cleanse the blood as well as the lymphatic system. Grapefruit: rich source of bioflavonoids and calcium to support the immune system and flush toxins out of the body. Kale: high in specific alkaloids that protect against viruses such as EBV. Sweet potatoes: help cleanse and detox the liver from EBV byproducts and toxins. Cucumbers: strengthen the adrenals and kidneys and flush neurotoxins out of the bloodstream. Fennel: contains strong antiviral compounds to fight off EBV. Healing Herbs and Supplements
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Anthony William (Medical Medium: Secrets Behind Chronic and Mystery Illness and How to Finally Heal)
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But the bigger point is that these studies reflect a sea change in how we think about thinking. They move us from “disembodied cognition,” the idea that our thinking happens only in the three pounds of gray matter tucked between our ears, to “embodied cognition,” where we see thinking for what it really is: an integrated, whole-system experience. “The body, the gut, the senses,6 the immune system, the lymphatic system,” explained embodied cognition expert and University of Winchester emeritus professor Guy Claxton to New York magazine, “are so instantaneously and complicatedly interacting that you can’t draw a line across the neck and say ‘above this line it’s smart and below the line it’s menial.
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Steven Kotler (Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work)
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Reflex points for the key organ groups of adrenals, liver, kidney, colon, and stomach are located above and approximately one inch to the left and right of the navel. Closest to the navel and below the other two are the kidney pressure points (or reflexes). One inch above the kidney reflex points are the adrenal points (one inch to the left and right and two inches above the navel). Three inches above and one inch to the left and right of the navel are the reflex points for the liver. Stimulation of tender accupressure points for twenty to thirty seconds two to three times a day activates lymphatic (the body’s sewage system), blood, and energy flow to the muscles, organs, and glands. For daily maintenance, stimulate all the reflexes identified in the following illustration for three to five seconds. If a spot is especially tender, continue to “work” the spot for sixty seconds or until the tenderness is reduced. During athletic competition, stimulation can continue for two to three minutes.
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Stu Mittleman (Slow Burn: Burn Fat Faster By Exercising Slower)
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Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system and are very common to AIDS patients," Dr. Hanson explained. "What can be done?" Katherine asked as the rest of the group sat silent, struggling with the word cancer.
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Deanna Lynn Sletten (Widow, Virgin, Whore)
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Sitting shuts down the recovery mechanisms that are critical to your training adaptations. Your circulation is compromised, and so is your lymphatic system. It’s like tying knots in a bunch of garden hoses. Here’s
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Kelly Starrett (Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally)
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You finish the work of processing your food about eight hours after your last meal. Only then can the body turn its attention to "cleaning up" not only the day's mess, but also all the accumulated garbage that you have not had the energy or detox time to get to for weeks, months, or years (if not decades). Once digestion is done, the signal to release accumulated toxins from tissues into circulation (bloodstream and lymphatic system) can get triggered. Not every meal is created equal: quantity and quality of food may cause the signal to go on sooner, six hours after eating, or later, up to ten hours after the meal. As a general rule, the more you eat, the longer it takes to process your meal and for the signal to start intense detoxification. Solid foods must first be liquefied for digestion; this takes energy and time. Liquid meals are practically ready for absorption, bypassing the need and energy expense of being broken down. (p. 131)
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Alejandro Junger (Clean: The Revolutionary Program to Restore the Body's Natural Ability to Heal Itself)
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The lymphatic system is the vehicle through which the immune system acts.
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Matthew Wood (The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism: Basic Doctrine, Energetics, and Classification)
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The Fongnam Massage Therapy has its own massage room equipped with a reclining massage bed and a lounger with footstool. Working long hours in front of a computer can cause stress, muscle strain, injury or pain that can leave you physically, mentally or emotionally exhausted. This can negatively affect your social life as well as your work. As the main benefit of massage is stress reduction, massage therapy can improve and maintain overall health and reduce or prevent the negative effects of stress. It can permanently relieve pain, prevent injury and maintain health. It is an important ingredient for staying healthy physically and mentally as it reduces stress, which is responsible for 90% of all illness and pain.
Due to the reflex effects of the autonomic nervous system, massage affects internal organs and areas distant from the treated area. It promotes relaxation, relieves pain, elevates mood and mental clarity. Massage can be used for relaxation or stimulation and can be used for rehabilitation after surgery, injury, or health issues. It improves blood and lymphatic circulation, increases natural killer cells and lymphocytes that destroy cancer cells, improves mood by increasing serotonin and dopamine, and relieves pain by increasing analgesic endorphins. Massage can relax the body, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and reduce stress and depression. It can also provide symptomatic relief from acute and chronic conditions such as headaches, facial pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. It realigns and rejuvenates, restoring balance to your body and being so you can face whatever life throws at you at every turn. It promotes digestion, joint mobility, muscle relaxation, relief from spasms and cramps.
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fongnams
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WBV has such a powerful effect on the lymphatic system, causing so much detoxification, that I suggest caution; start slow, with just a minute or two, and increase slowly. In this case, truly, less is more—but can you imagine an exercise system where the biggest problem is not to do too much?!
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Becky Chambers (Whole Body Vibration: The Future of Good Health)
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The lymphatic system is a network of vessels, nodes, and organs that removes waste products and toxins from our bodies, and it is part of your immune system, which protects you against infection and disease. This system relies on passive circulation. In other words, unlike the blood vessels (which require a heart to pump the blood around the body), there is no pump for the lymph system. The lymph system relies on your muscles tightening and relaxing around the lymph vessels to move the lymph, a process called lymph drainage. To keep this system working well, it is important to be using your muscles regularly—another benefit of WBV!
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Becky Chambers (Whole Body Vibration: The Future of Good Health)
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Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by lymphatic vessels we didn’t know existed.25 That we had no idea about these vessels given the fact that the lymphatic system has been so thoroughly studied and charted throughout the body is astonishing on its own. And such a discovery will have significant effects on the study and treatment of neurological diseases, from autism and multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer’s disease and, yes, depression. It’s
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Kelly Brogan (A Mind of Your Own: The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies to Reclaim Their Lives)
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The spleen is a large organ in the lymphatic system working with the thymus, lymph and bone marrow. It is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm, behind the fundus of the stomach. It weighs between 5-7 ounces. It is vulnerable to being injured by fractures of the 9th, 10th and 11th ribs, and it is one of the few organs whose metabolic rate isn’t controlled by the thyroid.
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Michael Lebowitz (Body Restoration - An Owners Manual)
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Red: Most yang, warm, and stimulating. Produces heat. Stimulates vital energy and circulation of the blood. Stimulates sensory nervous systems and energizes the five basic senses. Stimulates the healing of wounds without pus. Used in treatment of chronic infections. Too much red leads to anger and hyperactivity. Orange: Gentle yang, tonifies. Stimulates appetite, relieves cramps and spasms, increases blood pressure, induces vomiting, relieves gas, builds bones. When used with blue, regulates the endocrine system. Stimulates joy, optimism, and enthusiasm. Yellow: Yang, and the brightest of all colors. Strengthens motor nervous system and metabolism, and aids conditions of the glandular, lymphatic, and digestive systems. Stimulates intellectual functions; boosts cheerfulness and confidence. Green: Neutral yin. Slightly cooling. Treats conditions of the lungs, eyes, diabetes, musculoskeletal and inflammatory joint problems, and ulcers. Is antibacterial and aids in detoxification. Calms, soothes, and balances. Blue: Yin or cool. Relaxes body and mind, reduces fever, congestion, itching, irritation, and pain. Treats high blood pressure, burns, inflammations with pus and diseases involving heat. Contracts tissues and muscles. Calms and tranquilizes when used on the pituitary and pineal acupoints. Helpful for insomnia, phobias, and endocrine imbalances. Not indicated for depression as it is a melancholy color. Violet: Most yin color. Aids the spleen, reduces irritability, and balances the right brain. When combined with yellow, increases lymph production, controls hunger, and balances the nervous system. Acts on the unconscious.35 Complementary Colors The complementary color pairs are: red-green, orange-blue, and yellow-violet. Together, these colors balance yin and yang. For example, red might stimulate the blood and improve circulation while green calms conditions creating stress. Blue might assuage pain while orange lifts fear or depression causing tension. Yellow will strengthen the nervous system while violet calms it with a meditative state.
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Cyndi Dale (The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy)
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detoxification. This is the body’s natural process of removing toxins, or any substance that can cause cell injury and disease. Toxins include internal waste from our own metabolic processes, as well as external waste from drugs, pollutants, harmful germs, or radiation. The primary detox organ is the liver, but there are accessory detox organs, too: a healthy gut rids our bodies of waste via stool; the skin via sweat; the lungs via mucus and exhalation; the kidneys via urine; and the immune system via lymphatic channels. The only way I had known before to reduce pollutants in the body was to live a clean life and eat a nutrient-dense diet. Though still important to reduce harmful chemicals, for myself and for the planet, certain foods and nutrients could help my body more efficiently metabolize and eliminate harmful substances. That is, in addition to 5: Detoxify the house, we can detoxify our bodies—(and detoxify yourself).
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Cynthia Li (Brave New Medicine: A Doctor's Unconventional Path to Healing Her Autoimmune Illness)
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All through the fall we were greatly worried about Eleanor. An overlooked 'sticker' in a finger, though poulticed and removed as soon as noticed, led to a case of blood poisoning in a sort of local form. It affected the glands of the lymphatic system of her whole arm and for a time looked very bad. We are so far from any reliable help that I felt exceedingly anxious.
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Caroline Henderson (Letters from the Dust Bowl)
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The major organs affected by the depressed tissue state are the colon, liver, pancreas, lymphatic/immune system, blood and cardiovascular system. In extreme cases the nervous system is damaged.
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Matthew Wood (The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism: Basic Doctrine, Energetics, and Classification)
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In the brain, there’s a similar system called the glia-lymphatic system (really glymphatic but let’s use glia-lymphatic as we think it describes the system better).2 But often we don’t have optimal ability to clear waste from that area. Not surprisingly, this circumstance is largely related to the food we eat, how much exercise we get, and other lifestyle choices we make, especially regarding sleep.
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Michael F. Roizen (The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow)
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For example, it is only in the past few years that scientists have discovered how the brain gets rid of its waste. In other parts of the body, waste is removed in several ways, including via the lymphatic system, a system of vessels that run in parallel to the blood circulatory system. The lymphatic system picks up waste, broken-down cells, and invaders like viruses, bacteria, and fungi and carries them to the lymph glands, where the immune-system cells deal with them. Despite our well-established understanding of this process, we really didn’t know how the brain accomplished the same feat because the lymphatic system had not yet been discovered in the brain. One of the coolest studies I’ve seen in a long time was released last year by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.21 Nedergaard’s team showed that during sleep, the size of the neurons in the brain is reduced by up to 60%. This creates a lot of space between brain cells. Then, still during sleep, a microscopic network of lymphatic vessels—the glymphatic system—clears the metabolic waste from these spaces between the neurons. This research shows that you can literally wash your brain of waste products and damage each night, if you sleep well.22 Dr. Jeffrey Iliff, who works in the same lab as Dr. Nedergaard, has shown that more than half of the amyloid beta, a protein that accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, is washed out of the brain each night via the glymphatic system. This is important because waste buildup in the brain occurs in nearly all people with neurodegenerative diseases, and this buildup may kill neurons, ultimately leading to cognitive diseases and mental deterioration. (Dr. Iliff’s TED Talk “One More Reason to Get a Good Night’s Sleep” is a great watch.)
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Greg Wells (The Ripple Effect: Sleep Better, Eat Better, Move Better, Think Better)
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The body comprises seven dynamically interconnected, networked systems that underlie all disease—155,000 diseases, in fact. What are these systems? 1. Assimilating nutrients, digestion, and the microbiome 2. Defense and repair (immune and inflammatory system) 3. Energy production (mitochondria) 4. Detoxification 5. Transportation (circulation and lymphatic system) 6. Communication (hormones, neurotransmitters, etc.) 7. The body’s structure (from cellular structures to the musculoskeletal system)
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Mark Hyman (Young Forever)
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Up to 95 percent of the original Native American population, estimated at roughly twenty million people, disappeared after the invasion of European colonizers. While there was direct violence toward Native Americans, many of these deaths can be attributed to the introduction of smallpox. Smallpox is a virus that is spread when one comes into contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects such as clothing or blankets. The virus then finds its way into a person's lymphatic system. Within days of infection, large, painful pustules begin to erupt over the victim's skin.
In school curriculums, this has often been taught as an unfortunate tragedy, an accidental side effect of trade, and therefore a reason to claim that the Europeans did not commit genocide. However, in recent years, many historians have recognized that the spreading of smallpox was an early form of biological warfare, one which was understood and used without mercy from at least the mid-1700s. Noted conversations among army officials include letters discussing the idea of "sending the Small Pox among those disaffected tribes" and using "every stratagem to reduce them." Another official, Henry Bouquet, wrote a letter that told his subordinates to "try to Innoculate [sic] the Indians, by means of Blankets, as well as to Try Every other Method, that can serve to Extirpate this Execrable Race." They followed through on their plan, giving two blankets and a handkerchief from a Smallpox Hospital alongside other gifts to seal an agreement of friendship between the local Native tribes and the men at Fort Pitt, located in what is now western Pennsylvania.
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Leah Myers (Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity)
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Toxic. I need it to actually work. Carly: I use lemons instead of deodorant myself. Josh: Are you shitting me? Carly: No. I rub a wedge onto each pit daily. Josh: That explains why you smell. Carly: You’d better be joking. Josh: Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. Carly: The lemons work and are completely safe. No aluminum to enter my lymphatic system and kill me twenty years from now. Josh: All the shit there is to worry about in life and you’re concerned about deodorant? You should probably chill out.
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Penelope Ward (I Could Never)
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Habitat. The environmental niche occupied by a plant reflects stresses and conditions which it has had to adapt to, and these often correspond to conditions in the organism. Plants which grow in wet situations often relate to organ systems which handle dampness in the body, such as the lymphatics and kidneys. They correspond to diseases produced by an excess of dampness—respiratory problems, mucus, lymphatic stagnation, swollen glands, kidney and bladder problems, intermittent fever and rheumatic complaints (rheuma = dampness in Greek). Here we think of Horsetail (low, wet sands/kidneys), Eryngo (salty, sandy seashores/kidneys), Gravel Root (swamps/kidneys), Swamp Milkweed (swamps/kidneys), Hydrangea (sides of streams/kidneys), Boneset (wet soils/joints and fever), Willow (low ground/joints and fever), Meadowsweet (low ground/rheumatic pains, intermittent fever), Northern White Cedar (cedar swamps and margins of lakes/lymphatics), Labrador Tea (cedar swamps and margins of lakes/lymphatics), various Knotweeds (low ground/kidneys), Sweet Flag (swamps/mucus, lungs and joints), Angelica (damp, shady, cool valleys/damp, cold rheumatic and respiratory conditions).
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Matthew Wood (The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines)
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Habitat. The environmental niche occupied by a plant reflects stresses and conditions which it has had to adapt to, and these often correspond to conditions in the organism. Plants which grow in wet situations often relate to organ systems which handle dampness in the body, such as the lymphatics and kidneys. They correspond to diseases produced by an excess of dampness—respiratory problems, mucus, lymphatic stagnation, swollen glands, kidney and bladder problems, intermittent fever and rheumatic complaints (rheuma = dampness in Greek). Here we think of Horsetail (low, wet sands/kidneys), Eryngo (salty, sandy seashores/kidneys), Gravel Root (swamps/kidneys), Swamp Milkweed (swamps/kidneys), Hydrangea (sides of streams/kidneys), Boneset (wet soils/joints and fever), Willow (low ground/joints and fever), Meadowsweet (low ground/rheumatic pains, intermittent fever), Northern White Cedar (cedar swamps and margins of lakes/lymphatics), Labrador Tea (cedar swamps and margins of lakes/lymphatics), various Knotweeds (low ground/kidneys), Sweet Flag (swamps/mucus, lungs and joints), Angelica (damp, shady, cool valleys/damp, cold rheumatic and respiratory conditions). It is interesting to note that sandy, gravely soils are also a signature for kidney remedies (Horsetail, Eryngo, Gravel Root, Gromwell, False Gromwell, Uva ursi, etc.)
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Matthew Wood (The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines)
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researchers have shown that the same trick can work on people. Obviously, if I told you to adjust your lymphocytes (white blood cells in your lymphatic system) down by 30 percent right now, you wouldn’t be able to do it. But if I mixed a lymphocyte-lowering drug into a sweet-flavored drink and gave it to you on multiple occasions, and then just started giving you the drink without the drug, your body might do it on its own.
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Erik Vance (Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain's Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal)
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Just before each sauna session, take approximately 100 milligrams of niacin on an empty stomach and spend twenty minutes dry-brushing (to remove dead skin and stimulate the lymphatic system) and twenty minutes doing high-intensity exercise to stimulate the circulation. (Be aware that niacin, a vasodilator, can make you feel very flushed and hot, which can be uncomfortable but is not a cause for concern.)
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Nasha Winters (The Metabolic Approach to Cancer: Integrating Deep Nutrition, the Ketogenic Diet, and Nontoxic Bio-Individualized Therapies)
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Let us bring our account to a summation. Burdock acts so widely on the system that it is somewhat difficult to pin down its exact affinities. Yet, we can say that it opens pores and promotes secretion from internal and external surfaces. It seems to act particularly through the liver, lymphatics, and kidneys. It stimulates metabolism through the liver, cleansing and feeding through the lymph, and waste removal through the veins. Thus, it strengthens, wrings out and lifts tissues and organs, including the uterus and prostate. It acts strongly on the skin, to promote or correct perspiration. On the psychological level, Burdock helps us to deal with our worries about the unknown, the “Hedge Ruffians,” the bears, which lurk in the dark woods beyond our control. It seizes upon deep, complex issues, penetrates to the core and brings up old memories and new answers. It gives us the faith to move ahead on our path, despite the unknown problems which may ensnare us along the way. It helps the person who is afraid become more hardy, while it brings the hardy wanderer back to his original path. It restores vigor and momentum. Preparation,
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Matthew Wood (The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines)
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But no one on the internet is actually a person; they’re just an amalgamation of human parts, like a robot made from all the components of a person but missing the essentials, like a brain or a lymphatic system. It sounds like a person and, sometimes, looks like one, but it’s not. It’s an idea. You can’t get mad at ideas as if they’re people. An idea isn’t going to hold your hand. Ideas don’t owe you anything.
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Scaachi Koul (One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter: Essays)
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Having gained access to a patient’s bloodstream, Rickettsiae are carried by the circulatory and lymphatic systems to the small capillaries of internal organs—the brain, lungs, kidneys, and heart.
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Frank M. Snowden III (Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present)
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The body’s initial response to a noxious local insult is to produce a local inflammatory response with sequestration and activation of white blood cells and the release of a variety of mediators to deal with the primary ‘insult’ and prevent further damage either locally or in distant organs. Normally, a delicate balance is achieved between pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators. However, if the inflammatory response is excessive, local control is lost and a large array of mediators, including prostaglandins, leukotrienes, free oxygen radicals and particularly pro-inflammatory cytokines (p. 72), are released into the circulation. The inflammatory and coagulation cascades are intimately related. The process of blood clotting not only involves platelet activation and fibrin deposition but also causes activation of leucocytes and endothelial cells. Conversely, leucocyte activation induces tissue factor expression and initiates coagulation. Control of the coagulation cascade is achieved through the natural anticoagulants, antithrombin (AT III), activated protein C (APC) and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), which not only regulate the initiation and amplification of the coagulation cascade but also inhibit the pro-inflammatory cytokines. Deficiency of AT III and APC (features of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)) facilitates thrombin generation and promotes further endothelial cell dysfunction. Systemic inflammation During a severe inflammatory response, systemic release of cytokines and other mediators triggers widespread interaction between the coagulation pathways, platelets, endothelial cells and white blood cells, particularly the polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs). These ‘activated’ PMNs express adhesion factors (selectins), causing them initially to adhere to and roll along the endothelium, then to adhere firmly and migrate through the damaged and disrupted endothelium into the extravascular, interstitial space together with fluid and proteins, resulting in tissue oedema and inflammation. A vicious circle of endothelial injury, intravascular coagulation, microvascular occlusion, tissue damage and further release of inflammatory mediators ensues. All organs may become involved. This manifests in the lungs as the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and in the kidneys as acute tubular necrosis (ATN), while widespread disruption of the coagulation system results in the clinical picture of DIC. The endothelium itself produces mediators that control blood vessel tone locally: endothelin 1, a potent vasoconstrictor, and prostacyclin and nitric oxide (NO, p. 82), which are systemic vasodilators. NO (which is also generated outside the endothelium) is implicated in both the myocardial depression and the profound vasodilatation of both arterioles and venules that causes the relative hypovolaemia and systemic hypotension found in septic/systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) shock. A major component of the tissue damage in septic/SIRS shock is the inability to take up and use oxygen at mitochondrial level, even if global oxygen delivery is supranormal. This effective bypassing of the tissues results in a reduced arteriovenous oxygen difference, a low oxygen extraction ratio, a raised plasma lactate and a paradoxically high mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2). Role of splanchnic ischaemia In shock, splanchnic hypoperfusion plays a major role in initiating and amplifying the inflammatory response, ultimately resulting in multiple organ failure (MOF). The processes involved include: • increased gut mucosal permeability • translocation of organisms from the gastrointestinal tract lumen into portal venous and lymphatic circulation • Kupffer cell activation with production and release of inflammatory mediators.
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Nicki R. Colledge (Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine (MRCP Study Guides))