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Why your lymph system is key to healing, reducing inflammation, and keeping your bones strong
When we think of bone health, the conversation usually centers around nutrition, exercise, and hormones. But there’s another vital — and often overlooked — system in your body that plays a powerful role in how well you heal and how strong your bones remain: your lymphatic system.
In this week’s Stronger Bones Lifestyle Podcast, I’m joined by Kelly Kennedy, lymphatic health educator and founder of the Flowpresso™ lymphatic therapy method. We dive deep into what your lymph system does, why stagnation can cause inflammation and chronic illness, and how supporting your lymph flow can help your bones — and your whole body — thrive.
What Is the Lymphatic System?
Think of your lymph system as your body’s drainage and detox network. It runs alongside your circulatory system, moving a clear fluid called lymph that carries away waste, toxins, and unwanted materials from tissues.
Unlike your blood, which has the heart to pump it, lymph has no central pump. It relies on muscle movement, deep breathing, and certain types of bodywork to keep it moving.
When your lymph system gets sluggish, waste builds up. That buildup triggers inflammation, which is a known driver of bone loss, joint pain, and chronic disease.
Lymph Flow and Bone Health
Bones are living tissue, constantly breaking down and rebuilding. For that rebuilding to happen optimally, you need good nutrient delivery and effective waste removal. Poor lymph flow can mean:
- Increased inflammatory cytokines that promote bone breakdown
- Slower healing from fractures or injuries
- Weaker immune defense, which can impact bone marrow health
Kelly explained that the lymphatic system is also closely linked to your immune system, and because 70% of the immune system is in your gut, supporting lymph flow is also indirectly supporting your gut-bone connection.
Signs Your Lymphatic System Needs Support
Kelly shared some common signs of lymph stagnation:
- Chronic swelling or puffiness
- Stiffness in the morning
- Frequent colds or infections
- Fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest
- Skin issues like acne or rashes
If you’re experiencing bone loss along with any of these symptoms, your lymph system might be part of the puzzle.
How to Support Lymph Flow Naturally
The good news is, you can do a lot at home to support lymphatic health. Kelly offered some practical tips:
- Move daily — Walking, rebounding, and stretching all help lymph flow.
- Breathe deeply — Diaphragmatic breathing acts like a pump for lymph fluid.
- Hydrate well — Lymph fluid is mostly water; dehydration thickens it.
- Dry brush — Gentle brushing toward the heart stimulates lymph vessels.
- Alternate hot and cold showers — This pumps lymph through thermal contraction and expansion.
- Lymphatic bodywork or Flowpresso™ — Professional therapies can provide deep stimulation.
Why This Matters for Bone Health
If you’re already eating well, exercising, and taking your supplements but still struggle with bone density or inflammation, it may be because your body isn’t clearing waste efficiently. A backed-up lymph system can keep inflammation levels high, which disrupts bone remodeling.
By adding lymphatic support to your bone health plan, you’re not just helping your skeleton — you’re improving circulation, immunity, detoxification, and energy levels.
Your lymph system is always working for you — now it’s time to work with it. When you support your body’s natural detox pathways, you make it easier for your bones to stay strong, your joints to stay mobile, and your whole body to stay resilient.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Oxalates, also known as oxalic acid, are naturally occurring compounds found in many plants, vegetables, and fruits. They are part of a plant’s defense mechanism against predators and can be found in high concentrations in foods like spinach, rhubarb, beets, nuts, chocolate, tea, and certain beans.
Regarding bone health, oxalates can bind to minerals such as calcium in the gut, forming calcium oxalate. This compound is not easily absorbed by the body, meaning the calcium that could have been utilized for bone strengthening is instead excreted. This process can potentially lead to lower calcium availability for bone health, which can be particularly concerning for individuals at risk of osteoporosis or other bone-related issues.
However, for most women, dietary oxalates do not pose a significant threat to bone health, especially if their diet is balanced with enough calcium and they do not have a history of kidney stones.
Your gut is crucial for stronger bones for several reasons:
- Nutrient Absorption: The gut is where most nutrient absorption occurs. For bones to be healthy and strong, they need a variety of nutrients, particularly calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin D. A healthy gut efficiently absorbs these essential nutrients from your diet and facilitates their transportation to the bones.
- Gut Microbiome and Bone Health: Research has shown that the gut microbiome (the community of bacteria living in your intestines) can influence bone density. Certain gut bacteria help in producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which have been shown to promote bone health. SCFAs can enhance the absorption of minerals necessary for bone strength and play a role in reducing inflammation, which can negatively affect bone health.
- Hormone Regulation: The gut helps regulate hormones that are involved in bone metabolism, including insulin, thyroid hormones, and sex hormones like estrogen. For example, estrogen is vital for bone density, and gut health can influence estrogen levels through the enterohepatic circulation, where estrogens are processed in the liver and intestines.
- Reducing Inflammation: Chronic inflammation, which can stem from poor gut health, is linked to many conditions that compromise bone strength, such as osteoporosis. A healthy gut helps to reduce systemic inflammation, protecting bones from inflammatory damage.
- Immune System Modulation: The majority of the immune system is located in the gut. An imbalance in the immune system can lead to autoimmune conditions, some of which affect the bones. Maintaining gut health helps to ensure the immune system works correctly, protecting against autoimmune reactions that could impact bone health.
In essence, maintaining a healthy gut contributes significantly to stronger bones by ensuring the effective absorption of vital nutrients, regulating hormones, reducing inflammation, and supporting a healthy immune system. Therefore, a diet rich in bone-healthy nutrients, prebiotics, and probiotics, along with lifestyle factors that promote gut health, is key to maintaining strong bones.