Tag Archives: research

The Meningeal Lymphatic System. Keeping this well, to keep YOU well!

The Meningeal Lymphatic System.  Keeping this well, to keep YOU well!

Happy Monday Tribe!

It’s been a couple of weeks since our last blog, and a lot has changed.  I definitely have been feeling the weight of the recent laws in California regarding vaccinations throughout the week.  Although extremely discouraging, I know that a wave of change has to come.  The fighting won’t cease, and it really has to stop here.  Prayer works!

Since the weather (for some) is changing, it means that immune systems change.  In fact, our immune system is always adapting. Because of all the increase in vaccinations (people shedding viruses), flu shots (which do NOT give immunity), decrease in sunlight, increase in inside time and EMF exposure, we are just exposed ALOT.
Creating a healthy immune system is a FULL TIME JOB!
Let me tell you!

It requires your internal processing working efficiently, and a HUGE player in that is your lymphatic system. 
This is the clear liquid that surrounds the cells of your body.  Except for cartilage, nails and hair your ENTIRE body is bathed in lymph.  Basically we are a big pool of it!
This is why diseases like: chronic pain or illness like Lyme, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, IBS, Crohn’s Disease, etc., you will have a lymphatic problem.  It’s a given.  It was definitely a given for me figuring out my healing journey.

If the body can’t rid of cellular waste during the healing process, the inflammation simply stays in the tissues causing pain. If it can’t get out of the body, you can’t get better.

So, since this liquid is everywhere we need to make sure that everywhere is draining and flowing.  One reason I’m very adamant about not having a sedentary life.  Even when you feel very ill, you must try and keep your body moving.  Unlike our circulatory system that is pumped constantly because our our heart beating, the lymphatic fluid is not.

It flows through movement.  And I mean movement everywhere from the head down to your toes.

It’s extremely important for the fluid surrounding your organs to remain in constant motion.  Why?

Because lymphatic fluid is like the plumbing system in our body.  It removes waste and toxins.  That means if it’s not working, then those substances will remain in your body, remain around those organs.


(not my image)

One area we DO not want this to remain is the BRAIN of course.

There is around 501 and 700 lymph nodes in the body depending on the person.  1/2 of all of those are in the stomach/abdominal cavity, and 1/3 of all the lymph nodes of the body are in your neck!  

For the sake of this week’s post I want to talk about the lymphatic system in the brain called the glymphatic system.  By meningeal I mean BRAIN.

Meningeal lymphatic vessels at the skull base drains cerebrospinal fluid.  We need spinal fluid drainage to flow freely so that our nervous system can work efficiently.  This fluid cushions the brain, and serves as a shock absorber for the central nervous system. CSF also circulates nutrients and chemicals filtered from the blood and removes waste products from the brain.

Impaired lymphatic drainage messes with your brain.  You get accumulated macromolecules in the brain when lymph doesn’t work well.  And that in turn will lead to brain inflammation.  In recent research, protein accumulation and aggregation in the brain, such as found in alzheimer’s brains, was linked to a backup of of lymphatic vessels in the meningeal (brain).

In yet another study, blocking meningeal lymphatic drainage aggravated parkinson’s disease like pathology in a mice study. 

I can give you this research if you want.

But in short, it’s suppper important for this system to work in your brain.  It can affect your memory, the way you process, your immune system (don’t want that waste product) hormone and of course the gut brain axis!

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You will get a problem in the gut brain as well.  Cranial brain problems are gut brain problems.
Remember 1/2 of your lymph nodes are in the gut. So, if the majority are in the gut and the brain, makes sense to make sure these two are working at their best right?!!

So… how do we keep this moving to keep up moving out of that toxic zone?!

1.  Make sure you are getting regular cranial chiropractic care. You cannot move this system on your own.  You need someone like myself who is trained to help get your cranial system moving.  If the bones/joint of your head are stuck, this fluid will get back up.  

Remember.  This system moves through motion.  So we must start with your head and work our way down your entire body to make sure there is no tension causing a backup.

2. Another form of body care that’s great is lymphatic massage or electric lymphatic massage.  I will say thought, this DOES not take away from needing #1. Colon hydro-therapy is also helpful to clean out stagnant lymph in the abdomen.

3. Keep moving.  Exercise daily, no matter what it is is so helpful.  Sitting for long periods, computer work, just being in stagnant positions creates a pooling of fluid.

4. Infrared saunas.  Very helpful for increasing circulation and getting that fluid pumping.

5. Nutritional.  There are some genetic components that can back up the lymphatic system.  This was a big factor for me.  It didn’t matter how much body work I got, I got to a certain point where I would plateau.  This being because my natural detox processes in my liver and kidneys weren’t working effectively to clear out what I needed. When I started focusing on this, I needed less massages and lymph clearing as my body was able to do it more efficiently.

When you are fighting infections though, you might need some extra help like those mentioned above even if your internal system isn’t too bad (which it probably is since you got sick!)

This system is really BIG for making sure your immune system is resilient.  So many individuals that come in for regular care are far less sick than those that aren’t.  And they recover more quickly.

Look forward to chatting with you in a couple weeks!!

Dr. Hamel

Exercise Improves Your Memory

Happy Monday Tribe!

Continuing on our brain topics, per usual, this week we are going to talk about the benefits of exercise.  Well, the benefits for your brain!!

A research study in February of this year came out with some exciting information on this topic!

In 2012, Harvard came out with a study that showed that a substance called “irisin ”  is produced during intense physical activity.  This is actually a hormone that converts white fat to brown fat which produces heat.  Based on this, new research has been conducted on the deeper roles of this hormone.

They founds several things throughout this exploration:

1. Post mortem tissue showed that irisin traveled to the hippocampus the region where we store our memories. (The  brain’s of Alzheimer’s patients shows a vast depletion of this hormone).

2. Researchers found that disabling irisin in the brain’s of mice, weakened their memory and synaptic function in the brain. Then increased levels, provided increased memory and synapses.

3.  The researchers found that mice after swimming for 60 minutes, five days a week, secreted detectable amounts or irisin, proving it’s linked to exercise!

4.  They went further and wanted to see in Alzheimer’s brains if irisin would change outcomes.  They injected into the “athletic” mice, beta amyloid proteins as the buildup is linked to developing alzheimers. They found that irisin is protective, and the neurons of the brain were not harmed when introduced to the plaques. They were then injected with a pharmaceutical that decreased the irisin, and they no longer had neuron protection.

The results: exercise induced irisn production protects against alzheimers and other forms of dementia. Pretty cool huh?

Well, we also already know prior to this study that exercise also promotes the release of something called brain derived neurotrophic factor. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in neuronal survival and growth, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory.

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So, if you didn’t already need a bump in the hiney to get back into exercise let this be it!  If you have limitations in what you for exercise can do because of pain or limitations, thats where I come in! Mobility is key is having safe exercise.  But don’t just NOT exercise because of pain and limitations.  Figure out why those limitations are there!

OIL OF THE WEEK

ON the spotlight this week is Do Terra Basil.

In a recently published study (March 2016), Colombian researchers conducted a preliminary pre-clinical study examining the effects of ingesting linalool for three months. Memory was then assessed in several different tests. Ingested linalool was associated with improvements in learning, memory, and overall cognitive health.* Not surprisingly, ingesting linalool also improved measures of emotional health.

Linalool is the top component of many essential oils, including LavenderClary SageBasilCilantro, and Coriander. So next time you are exercising your brain, you may want to reach for one of these oils.