More than two-thirds of the body’s immune system is located in the intestines. And since it takes care of both physical and mental toxins, it acts as our physical and mental healing system. Obesity, including lumpy cellulite, is one of the many conditions that results from a congested lymphatic system,which forms a large part of the body’s natural immunological defenses. Other diseases include multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and cancer, the ultimate defense against toxins.

The lymphatic system and how it works

But what exactly is the lymphatic system? Imagine a network of drains flowing through your internal organs, taking away toxins from your tissues, blood and cells. The drainage system is filled with fluid containing cells that transport, attack and destroy poisons such as metabolic waste, undigested food particles, animal proteins, chemicals from drugs and processed food, cellular debris, and excess fluid from the extracellular spaces or the spaces between cells.

Parts of this drainage network are located in different parts of the body including the bone marrow, thymus gland, spleen, appendix, tonsils and adenoids. The lymph tissue in different parts of the body is connected by a network of vessels called lymph vessels. These vessels pass through purifying centers called lymph nodes that are located in the underarms, neck, chest and abdomen.

The lymph – 6 to 10 liters of lymph vis-à-vis 3.5 to 5 liters of blood – moves through the lymph nodes, which act as active purification centers. However, when the lymph fluid and immune systemare overwhelmed by poisons and decomposing material from the small intestine and liver, the body loses its ability to purify itself.

Intestinal problems due to eating harmful foods

Most intestinal problems occur because of eating harmful foods. The following foods or cooking processes have strongly irritating effects on the protective mucus lining present throughout the alimentary canal, from the mouth to the anus: devitalized, processed, radiated, refined, deep-fried, microwave-cooked and canned foods.

Highly acid-forming foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, refined sugar, table salt, chocolate, candy, commercial fruit juices, coffee, alcohol, carbonated beverages and oral hallucinogenic and pharmaceutical drugs also irritate the intestinal lining.

Since the body cannot digest and utilize anything that is potentially harmful, these products undergo biochemical transformations, known as fermentation and putrefaction.

Studies have indicated that processed and refined foods along with alcohol and red and processed meats are a lethal combination. Not only does a diet rich in these foods promote lymph congestion and obesity over a period of time, it is also associated with an increased risk for many types of cancer- including breast, colon and pancreatic cancer.

These foods are highly acidic and have an excess of ‘fire energy’. Conventional Western nutritionists call these foods ‘heaty’, while Chinese and other forms of natural medicine, believe they produce an excess of ‘fire’ energy.

Think for a moment about the metabolism of an overweight individual. Excess weight raises the body’s temperature, not because the extra fat traps heat but because body’s organs needs to work harder to adjust to the weight. Even at rest, an overweight individual generates more heat than a body of normal weight. If you have a tendency towards being overweight, eating foods that are high in ‘fire energy’ could be a recipe for obesity and digestive problems.

Even in individuals who are not overweight, regular exposure of the intestinal lining or our ‘internal skin’ to acidifying and irritating components as the phosphoric acid and other chemical additives contained in colas, for example, can lead to suppurating wounds and the perforation of the intestinal walls.

What happens to undigested food?

Did you know that waste products from undigested food can linger in the intestinal tract for weeks, months and even years? Food that is eaten either too quickly, in between meals, late at night, or wrongly combined, lowers Agni, the digestive fire. Anger and fear also lower Agni. In an unhealthy intestinal tract, mucus, toxins and fecal matter combine to create what Ayurveda calls Ama or mucoid fecal matter. The intestines begin to lose their natural shape as they try to accommodate the extra waste. Left with no other choice, they create protrusions that are filled with layers of obstructive Ama which is a breeding ground for parasites and microbes, as well as for cancer cells. Eventually, the intestinal immune system succumbs to the overload of toxins.

Deadly microbes or harmful bacteria that are normally kept in check by the probiotic or ‘good’ bacteria begin to take over the digestive tract. These microbes quite literally turn everything they find into poison.

Not surprisingly, a badly congested lymphatic system leads to swelling of the abdomen and congestion in other parts of the body. In a desperate attempt to prevent the blood from being poisoned, the body begins to harden the afflicted tissue. This is the first stage of ulcerative processes. Later, layers of hardened mucus are added, forming a thick crust around the afflicted areas. This creates further rigidity of the intestinal tract, which in turn begins to obstruct blood circulation in the intestinal wall slows down intestinal motion.

Eventually, when the immune system is completely overwhelmed, the body suffers from a toxicity crisis. Obesity is nothing but a toxicity crisis. Any attempt to reverse these destructive processes that have virtually taken over requires the body to undergo a process of detoxification.

The obesity-cancer link

Obesity and cancer are both linked to severe lymph congestion,and over the years, more and more studies have been cropping up strengthening the correlation between the two diseases.

One such study, by scientists of the University of Geneva, found a connection between obesity and tumors in the breast. The sample consisted of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in Geneva between 2003 and 2005. The scientists found that the women who were obese were more likely to suffer from Stage III and Stage IV tumors with an odds ratio of 1.8. In other words, they were 180 percent more likely to develop serious breast cancer than the women who were not overweight.

Also, the obese women in the sample were 510 percent more likely to have cancerous lymph nodes, suggesting that the cancer may have spread to other parts of their bodies.

Other researchers suspect that the hormone leptin could be a ‘missing link’ between obesity and cancer. Leptin, produced in fat cells in adipose tissue, is also known as the satiety hormone, which tells an individual when to stop eating. But this is not all that leptin does. This hormone is also involved in many other biological processes in the breast, from reproduction and lactation to cell differentiation and cell proliferation. When leptin or its receptors malfunction, they are likely to promote the development of breast tumors, some scientists say.

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This is an excerpt from my book FEEL GREAT, LOSE WEIGHT