Captain Lymphatic & It’s Fighting Team

Who is Captain Lymphatic?

Well I guess it’s more of a “what” than a “who”.

Captain Lymphatic The Lymphatic system is a critical part of the immune system, vital for protecting us from illness and damaging, disease-causing inflammation. Essentially, the lymphatic system is the body’s inner “drainage system,” a network of blood vessels and lymph nodes that carry fluids from tissues around the body into the blood and vice versa.

This crime fighting bad ass system’s primary role is to fight off outside threats - bacteria, infections, and cancer cells, all while keeping our fluid levels balanced. It is one tough job, but someone has to do it.

Our lymphatic system is similar to our circulatory system in the fact that it is branches of vessels, arteries and capillaries criss-crossing (not the 1980’s dance move) over our body carrying the essentials that we need to keep us alive. Unlike the circulatory system which moves our blood around, the lymphatic system carries a clear, watery liquid called lymph that stores our white blood cells. (1) This fluid also carries protein molecules, salts, glucose and other substances, along with bacteria, throughout the body.

The Lymphatic system has 3 main functions: Fluid Balance, Absorption, and Immune Support.

Fluid balance
The lymphatic system helps maintain fluid balance. It returns excess fluid and proteins from the tissues that cannot be returned through the blood vessels. The fluid is found in tissue spaces and cavities, in the tiny spaces surrounding cells.

Absorption
Most of the fats absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract are taken up in a part of the gut membrane in the small intestine that is specially adapted by the lymphatic system. In our small intestine we have weird tiny finger-like structures villi created by tiny folds on the surface of the gut. Lactealsare part of the villi that absorb fat and fat-soluble vitamins and turn them into liquid. The liquid then delivers the nutrients through blood circulation.

Defend the Throne! (or, um the body)
As I mentioned before, the lymphatic system produces white blood cells that are crucial for fighting off infection. The lymph system defends your honor protects your body by fending off the haters unwanted organisms.Without it’s protective power we would die. Why? We are constantly bombarded by potentially hazardous microorganisms Susan coughing in my office like a heathen everyday..

Fortunately, we have a first line of defense, Our skin is the largest barrier that protects the immune system from harmful microorganisms. ( Our stomach has a protective barrier as well. Stomach acid and happy bacteria ( the good bacteria that lives in our bodies) protects .However, the bad guys “pathogens”sometimes do succeed in entering the body despite these defenses.This is when King Lymphatic summons its fighting minions our lymphatic system enables our immune system to respond.

If the immune system is not able to fight off these bad guys, they can be harmful or even fatal….

What can we do to help out of Lymphatic System?

1. Reduce Inflammatory & Improve Circulation
Eating a healthy diet, exercising, not smoking, getting enough sleep and reducing stress are all critical for lowering oxidative stress and boosting the body’s natural detoxification processes. The circulatory system and lymphatic system rely on one another.

2. Exercise
The lymphatic system works best when you jazzercise move your body, which helps keep fluids circulating and nutrients reaching your cells. There’s a reason why being stagnant causes you to feel more achy, stiff and prone to becoming sick.

3. Massage Therapy & Foam Rolling
Foam rolling and massage therapy are both used for preventing swelling, pain and fluid buildup with tissue. Foam rolling is a type of self-massage that many people do before or after exercising. Its purpose is to help tissue repair more easily and break up muscle and tissue adhesions that can cause tightness and injuries. Foam rolling also increases blood flow to your muscles and is used to help with quicker recovery and better performance.

4. Immune Boost, Extreme Endurance & Omega+D3

Immune Boost is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients that fight oxidative stress. Extreme Endurance is clinically proven to reduce oxidative stress by 39% when taken daily. Omega-3 fish oils are beneficial for improving blood flow and lowering inflammation. Learn more about this Power Trio at xendurance.com