Quotes from Gerald M. Lemole

Try taking time for a few minutes of deep, slow breathing morning and evening, to train yourself for optimum breathing all

Place one hand on your abdomen; see if you can feel it move outward as you breathe in. This moves the diaphragm in a way that provides the most space for your breath. As you breathe out, tighten your belly muscles, pushing as much breath as possible upward and outward. Repeat for a few cycles, and remember to do this several times during the day, especially whenever you feel particularly tense.

your BDNF? Some things that have been shown to have such an effect: exercise, stress management, eating unprocessed foods (high sugar and saturated fat decrease BDNF), and emphasizing flavonoids (like berries, chocolate, tea, olive oil, and black pepper). Some supplements are also worth considering, such as ginseng, curcumin, quercetin, butyrate, and niacin/

niacinamide. Sun exposure also seems to be helpful.

Jump. A "rebounder" is a small trampoline you can use indoors to get your lymph to flow merrily gently down its stream without much effort (and it's a great way to burn calories, according to research from NASA). Utilizing the benefit of gravity, you can jump up and down or simply bounce your feet on the trampoline, and within a short time, your fluids are moved along four times faster than

You can plan for a short rebounding session in the morning and evening; start with just a few minutes, then gradually increase to tolerance. Most of the lymph travels through the chest in the thoracic duct (which has one-way valves). When you jump on the rebounder, you help the fluid move up and stay there when you come down. Since the lymphatic channels are next to your arteries, increasing

We recommend 10 to 20 minutes, but even five minutes or just 50 to 100 jumps can be powerful.

Enjoy the sauna. Sitting in the heat can increase heart rate, which helps the heart muscle get exercise and also moves lymph fluid where it needs to go to assist in maintenance and repair of your crucial coronary arteries. Toxins from your body are carried away with sweat. One prospective Finnish study showed that the more often subjects took a sauna, the lower their risk for heart attack and overall

15 to 20 minutes is enough—and rehydrate with fluids afterward. Taking a sauna even once a month was found to lower heart disease risk.

medicinal power of food. The strategy is two-fold: 1) Avoid foods that clog or inflame your vessels, the ones that carry your blood and the ones that carry your lymph.

Do yoga. The gentle stretching of yoga and tai chi systematically move your blood and

Most "comfort food" should actually be labeled "discomfort food" because of its disease-causing potential. 2) Choose the rainbow-colored foods that will leave you light and refreshed, whistling with energy and joy and keeping your lymph (and the rest of your body's systems) running strong. Best of all, you can do this and have fun with food, so that your tongue is as satisfied as the rest of your body.

Caloric Energy: Every ingredient is used to fuel our body. This energy comes in the form of calories. What we use is burned off; what we don't is stored in our body or expelled.

Meditate. Your heart and lymph vessels are constantly responding to your thoughts and emotions. Meditation is the process of training the mind to become

Macronutrients and Micronutrients: Macros come in three forms: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. And they all have different functions. Protein, for example, serves as the building blocks for our cells, while carbs and fat are used as energy (albeit in different ways). Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, and compounds found in food that also have effects on the body, namely in terms of promoting good health and strong systems at the cellular level.

Even a few minutes of meditation in the morning and evening can allow your lymph to flow to the more urgent needs of your cardiovascular system, for recovery and prevention. Meditation and mindfulness practice have been documented to lower stress levels, and decrease cholesterol and blood pressure directly. As

Eat for flow. Certain spices and herbs have medicinal effects on lymph flow because they contain compounds that help prevent

oregano on blueberries or oatmeal can give them a surprising pop of flavor. Other healthy dietary choices include:

Dark leafy greens in your diet—such as spinach, arugula, kale, and Swiss chard—provide an array of vitamins and minerals needed for blood and lymph vessel repair.

Food's Effect on the Body: While it's not quite as simple as saying some foods are good and some aren't, it is reasonable to say that most foods do skew one way or the other

when it comes to how they interact with the body. For example, simple sugars (especially when consumed in large amounts) tend to wreak havoc on multiple systems, including increasing damage to blood vessels and promoting damaging (chronic) inflammation throughout the body. Other foods (both macro and micro) have a positive effect, calming down inflammation or clearing blood vessels, for example.

Red and orange foods—such as pomegranates, carrots, red peppers, squash, and tomatoes—

Whole vs Processed: In general, the more you can eat food the way it came from the earth, the better. And the more processed foods you have, the worse effects they can have on your body.

Blueberries, blackberries, and dark-blue grapes contain anthocyanins, which give them their dark-blue