Getting Your Lymphatic System Circulating

Who knew how important the lymphatic system could be to health? I knew that swollen lymph nodes meant infection, but little more. I've been learning a lot more about this quiet member of the immune system's team.

Let's start with the fact that the lymphatic system is responsible for taking cellular garbage out. You can think of the lymphatic system as your body's filter, with lymph nodes filtering antigens of all kinds, bad bacteria, and foreign materials that don't belong in the circulatory system.

Efficient lymphatic filtering is critical to healthy immune system function, especially when it comes to standing sentry against colonizing cancer cells, who prefer to take up residence when lymph is sluggish and distracted by too much waste from faulty digestion and ingestion of toxins.

A simple antidote to sluggish lymph? A mini trampoline. It sounded silly at first but it makes sense. In health circles, they call the exercise "rebounding" -- you simply bounce or run in place on a mini trampoline, something anyone can do easily, and you perk up your lymphatic system in a hurry.

You get some nice side benefits, like increasing bone density (good for us gals who have some kind of mild osteopenia and don't want it to progress) and improving glow to older skin (yep, circulation of the blood helps, but getting the waste manager in helps skin too!).

It feels good even if you rebound (bounce, run, hop) for only 10-15 minutes. So think about a mini trampoline for someone you love this holiday season. Better immune function, better bones, better skin. How can you go wrong?!