The lymphatic system has an important role in fat digestion.
Most nutrients absorbed by the small intestine enter the blood stream. Fat,
along with fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E, and K is taken into the lymph first. The
lymphatic system does not have its own pump. Fluid is moved through the one-way-valved
vessels slowly, by the contraction of surrounding muscles, helped along by
pressure changes in the chest during breathing. If we don’t move much, the lymphatic
system struggles, along with the venous system.
Every day around 3000 milliliters of lymph enters the blood
stream- the same amount of fluid that left the arterial capillaries and didn’t return
to the venous capillaries. Without healthy lymph vessels, fluid quickly builds
up in the tissues, causing water retention(edema).
The lymph vessels pass through many lymph nodes, which filter
the lymph before it enters the blood stream. These nodes are found in cluster
in the neck, armpits, abdomen, groin, and back of the knees. When they are
swollen you can feel them- they swell due to infection. The nodes are made up
of connective tissue in which white blood cells are enmeshed. As fluid enters a
node, the cells within it engulf the old bits of cells, bacteria, viruses and
microorganisms.
reference
Deeply holistic
pip waller
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