Exercise – Shake Out The Waste

Our body was made for hard labor. Our ancestor worked hard each day to hunt, gather, grow, and store food to provide for the cold winters. They did not have the option of working in front of the computer all day, ordering some take out on the way home, and sitting in front of the TV relaxing at night. No, the body was design to move. We need to exercise to maintain tone muscles, strengthen bones, stay in shape, and keep the heart healthy. An important overlooked benefit of exercise is that it helps to move the lymph.

Lymph (part of the lymphatic system) is a fluid that surrounds all our cells much like water to a fish. All nutrients and oxygen from the blood is passed to the lymph to feed the cell. The cell, as it does its job, produce waste that also gets release back into the lymph. It is a bit like a fish eating in the water where he poops. The lymph needs to circulate to get rid of the waste products and allow more oxygen and nutrients to reach the cells. The waste is moved into one way valve vessels which drains into the lymph nodes for filtering and killing any bacteria or virus. Then it gets passed back into the bloodstream for the liver and kidneys to remove from the body.

The amazing thing is that the lymph does not get pumped around like blood. It is powered by osmosis, and by contracting and relaxing our muscles. In other words, exercise! Our body has about 100 trillion cells, and they are all dumping their waste into the lymph. That is a lot of poo in the water. The best way to clean it all up is to get off the couch and do some exercise. It takes just half an hour of vigorous exercise to get things moving and clean. The best way to continue exercising is to find some activity or sport that you enjoy and do it. So go outside, breath in some fresh air, soak up some sun, and do some activity that you like, it cannot get any simpler!