Get your lymph moving and shed cellulite.

Every second of every day, your body’s cells are producing waste products—and dying. Bacteria, cancer cells, environmental toxins, and other harmful agents are also moving throughout your body.

Lymph is a clear fluid that carries these unwanted wastes away from the cells, produces immune protectors, and collects digested fat from the food we eat—depositing it directly into the bloodstream—bypassing the liver. Another superb organ of detoxification, the lymph channels are your body’s drainage system.

A complex network of needle-thin tubes carries lymph fluid (filled with fat globules, toxins, and excess liquid) to your lymph nodes where these wastes are filtered and neutralized. Lymph may be the most important part of the body that most people have never heard of!

Gerald Lemole, MD, an AMA Physician’s Recognition Award recipient, says that the lymphatic system also protects heart health. That’s because lymph circulation helps HDL (healthy) cholesterol scavenge excess fat from your arteries.

There’s only one catch to this highly effective system of garbage disposal—lymph (unlike blood circulating through your body) has no pump (like your heart) to keep it circulating. You need to move lymph yourself—by moving your body and breathing deeply.

When the Flow Won’t Go
Our increasingly sedentary lifestyle is bad news for lymph circulation. Plus, the everyday stress we live under also stresses the lymphatic system. Like the liver, the lymph can get overloaded with environmental pollutants and other harmful wastes.

When lymph isn’t flowing effectively, your tissues aren’t draining excess fluid. This creates a backlog, leading to bloating. Waterlogged tissues can cause your body to swell up two extra sizes—packing on an extra ten to fifteen pounds—yikes!

Slow flowing lymph can also cause cellulite—that dimply, cottage cheese-like fat that’s all too often found on the thighs, stomach, and buttocks. Finally, bacteria, cancer cells, and toxins remain in your body—where they can damage your cells and health.

Move That Lymph
The good news is it’s easy to get your lymph flowing again. And when you do, you’ll tone your body and enjoy smooth, glowing skin. Cellulite and cravings will disappear, along with bloating—only to be replaced with radiant good health.

Here’s how to make that happen:

1. Breathe deeply. Inhale slowly through your nose and exhale through your mouth, making an “a-h-h-h” sound against the back of your throat. Deep, regulated breathing massages the thorax and all the lymph vessels in your chest, helping HDL cholesterol get where it needs to go.

2. Don’t sit too long. Sedentary people are most at risk for heart disease because lymph flow through the thoracic cavity is limited. Sitting packs on pounds too! Even if your work keeps you at a desk, get up and walk around every hour or so to get lymph flowing again.

3. Rebound. Bouncing on a mini-trampoline is the best exercise I know to get lymph moving effectively. Low-impact rebounding acts to gently move lymph (along with wastes), and the light pressure on the thighs activates lymph drainage. Within two weeks, ankles, buttocks, stomach, and thighs will look toned and dimpled fat will begin to disappear.

Best of all, anyone at any age or stage of life can rebound—anytime of year and in any climate! I use ReboundAIR—the highest quality rebounder that will last a lifetime. Start off slowly, rebounding gently for five minutes at a time, working up to 20 minutes a day.

Sources:
The Fat Flush Plan
Hot Times, How to Eat Well, Live Healthy, and Feel Sexy During the Change
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21313736
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20863266