"Lymphatic Health: The Key to Gut Wellness, Immunity, and Radiant Skin" an interview with Dr. Meera Dossa, ND
When you think about health and radiant skin, your mind might immediately jump to nutrition, exercise, or even skincare. But have you ever considered the power of your lymphatic system? Often overshadowed by more well-known bodily functions, your lymphatic system plays a critical role in detoxification, immune defense, gut health, and even that radiant glow everyone desires. By understanding and supporting this crucial network, you can unlock a cascade of benefits, from a stronger immune system to better digestion and visibly healthier skin. Let's dive into how nurturing your lymphatic health can transform your overall well-being, thanks to our conversation with Dr. Meera Dossa, Naturopathic Doctor.
Dr. Meera Dossa, ND, what would you say to introduce yourself?
In practice now for almost 20 years and owing to my own history of IBD (Crohn's and Colitis), my passion was and continues to be gut health. Over the years and with more learning, I've learned that gut health is an extension of lymphatic health and the state of the nervous system. Piecing all of this together, I have truly learned to practice in what I consider to be a holistic approach, addressing all things from diet to lifestyle to environmental toxin exposure to emotional stressors.
Helping people to achieve their wellness goals and empowering them with the knowledge with which to do so is my true passion.
Which quote drives you in your life?
"The best thing for your nervous system is another human. The worst thing for your nervous system is also another human." Lisa Feldman Barrett
Is there a connection between lymphatics, gut health and skin health?
Yes! Here is the comprehensive perspective.
Lymphatics and gut health are intimately connected with skin health. That’s quite the statement, coming right out of the gates! Allow me to zoom out a little bit and explain the dance…
You see, your body is quite smart, never doing anything by accident. This includes its layout. It’s a well known fact that anywhere between 70-80% of your immune system resides in your gut. How interesting is it then, that the majority of your lymph also resides in the same place? And even more strategic, is the placement of the body’s largest lymph node, cisterna chyli, in the abdomen. You can already start to see how the gut and lymphatics are so interrelated.
Can you explain the specifics?
Now that we understand strategic placement, let’s wrap our heads around one more concept. There is a link between blood flow and lymph flow: they work together.
If you have a compromise in one, you can be certain that the other is taking a hit. Lack of movement is the greatest contributor to stagnation of lymphatic fluid. And as our lymphatic system is our so-called “sewage system” scavenging debris for us to remove from our bodies, stagnation results in a build up of toxins and inflammation. Layer on the inevitable decrease in blood flow and you’ve set the perfect stage for pain owing to a decrease in oxygenation. The end result of stagnation of blood and lymph: pain and inflammation.
After piecing this all together, it becomes easy to understand the correlations between stagnation of the lymphatic system and decreased blood flow and corresponding decreases in immune function, fatigue (decreased oxygenation), swelling (pooling and stagnation), dullness (decreased oxygenation) and puffiness (pooling and stagnation).
What does it mean for the skin?
Let’s connect the dots to the beginning of my piece and how lymphatic and gut health is so intimately connected to skin health. There are a variety of dermatological ailments that can be bothersome for many, ranging from acne, to puffiness, to sagging, to dullness, to cellulite, and the list goes on! What is key to remember here is that stagnation is the primary driver. Why? Because without good flow (of blood and lymph) to and from an area, that area is more prone to becoming full of debris that should be clearing out. And when we have a build up of toxins internally, they love to show through our skin. Stagnation affects skin health.
What can be done to prevent it?
There are practical steps to support lymphatic and circulatory health. What’s key to incorporate to ensure better flow is adequate hydration. No, not straight water. Water with minerals and electrolytes that force hydration on a cellular level. Lymphatic fluid is over 90% water. Blood is approximately 80% water. Dehydration is a great way to increase the viscosity of both fluids and a decrease in overall flow.
Movement is crucial. Move whenever you can, however you can. Try to take walking calls. Park farther away from your destination to get some extra steps in. Take the stairs instead of the escalator. Roll your shoulders at your desk. You get the idea…just move! Lymph flows with the contraction of your muscles.
Adding these little tweaks into your daily routine to encourage whole body lymph and blood flow is a beautiful way to keep the system “flushing” as optimally as possible, thereby decreasing internal toxin load and increasing blood flow as a result of better lymph flow. All of this can lead to firmer, fuller, clearer and more vibrant looking skin. Because you know, it’s an inside out kind of thing!
Why do you recommend Elastique?
In an ideal world, we would be dedicating an allotted time to movement, putting our legs up the wall, pumping our calves, etc. But on the days that you know you are going to be tied to your desk, or on your feet all day (putting a 20% greater strain on your circulatory system and on your legs and feet), it’s nice to know that there’s an accessible tool that you can implement by simply wearing, to enhance your lymphatic and circulatory health. That’s why my leggings have become my go to self-care tool for my longer clinic days where I know I will be on my feet for hours on end. I know that without actively doing the work on those days, I’m still supporting my lymphatic and blood flow.
This is why I love the concept of Elastique’s medical compression grade garments. It makes big picture sense because when you have a change in pressure in one area, it can directly influence the other parts of the body. So even though your issue is sagging and dimply skin on your thighs, the issue may be stemming from a flow issue higher up, like the abdomen, which is resulting in a change lower down.
What is your favorite Elastique product?
Hands down, the leggings! Post op and healing after breaking my ankle, I am even more diligent about taking care of my lymphatics as I dealt with swelling and soreness for so long during my recovery. I love that I'm able to encourage flow on the days where I can't dedicate the time to self-care that I otherwise would, by simply wearing my compression leggings.
