Body

In this section we will examine a few different systems and organs that are important for breast health. Now, everything is important but these systems, in my opinion, are even more closely linked to the breasts.

  • Lymphatic System

  • Liver

  • Oral Health

  • Thyroid

  • Digestive System (Coming Soon)

 

 

 

Lymphatic System

 

“The health of our lymphatic system is intimately connected to our breast health.”

Nadine Artemis

 

Understanding the importance of the lymphatic system will be an important part in your healing journey. If we don’t understand how our bodies function, then it’s hard to give it what it needs. The breasts and lymphatic system have an incredibly important relationship.

  • Have you ever wondered what that clear fluid is that comes out of a cut? That’s your lymph. It’s also one of the main components of our immune system and an extension of our circulatory system.

  • The lymphatic system is comprised of the thymus, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes and fluid called lymph. It not only removes waste but also carries oxygen and nutrients to the whole body.

  • Our lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump like our circulatory system (heart = pump), it relies on muscle contractions to keep it moving which is why staying active is so important.

  • Most of our lymphatic vessels run just below the skin’s surface, which is how dry brushing can positively impact our lymph flow. The same muscles that make our hairs stand up when we’re cold are stimulated by the brush bristles and strokes and contract to help the lymph flow. This is why dry brushing can be so beneficial.

  • Drinking lots of water is incredibly important for the lymphatic system. It keeps the lymph flowing smoothly and keeps it hydrated. Leafy greens, berries, beets, adaptogens, ginger, turmeric and flaxseeds are also incredibly supportive of healthy lymph.

  • Many herbs help support and cleanse the lymphatic system: astragalus, cleavers, chickweed, dandelion, burdock and manjistha just to name a few. Since the liver produces most of the lymph it’s also important not to neglect its health. Eating the foods mentioned earlier will also help support your liver.

  • On a psycho spiritual level, our immune system, which is connected to our lymphatic system, responds to our thoughts and emotions, whether positive or negative. Anger, hate, bitterness or resentment all tend to weaken the immune and lymphatic system. It’s incredibly important to look after our spiritual and emotional health as it greatly impacts our physical body.

 

Breast And Lymph Health

  • Our breasts contain an abundance of lymph vessels which are responsible for draining toxins from the breast tissue.

  • Important lymph nodes reside under the armpits, in between the breasts and upper chest area. They’re responsible for filtering harmful substances and contain important immune cells which fight off the bad guys.

  • Tight clothing and bras with underwire or elastics, prevent lymphatic drainage from the breasts which over time can lead to an accumulation of toxins. Red marks after removing the bra will tell you if you if it’s too tight. Not only can tight bras restrict the flow of lymph, but so can lack of exercise, poor posture, tight shoulder, chest and neck muscles.

  • Breasts contain no muscle tissue, which restricts the flow of lymph. When lymph becomes stagnant, toxins are retained and proper nutrition of the breasts is inhibited.

  • In Ayurveda, many of the PMS symptoms women experience such as breast pain and tenderness are associated with a congested lymphatic system. So ditch those bras as often as you can. There’s no need to throw them all in the bond fire tonight, simply wear them less often or find ones that don’t leave red marks. Many bras and tops can suffocate your breasts. Your breasts will thank you.

  • Wearing bras will not keep your breasts perky, contrary to popular belief.

 

Lymphatic Breast Massage Video

Head over here for an incredibly informative and quick (less than 5 min) video on how to do a lymphatic breast massage.

 

 

Liver

  • The health of your liver is inextricably linked to the health of your breasts.

  • It’s an incredibly important processing center and filter. It processes, toxins, hormones, neurotransmitters and blood continuously.

  • It plays a large role in estrogen dominance.

  • When the liver is congested toxins recirculate in the body creating inflammation and affecting hormone levels.

  • The liver needs to be clear and  flowing so that your breasts don’t accumulate all the xenoestrogens (foreign estrogens) and toxins which then leads to estrogen dominance symptoms such as breast pain, fibroadenomas, etc.

  • Exercises that involve twisting, like the seated yoga twists, are great for keeping the liver healthy. They give the liver a good squeeze.

  • Herbs for liver health include dandelion, schizandra, burdock, milk thistle and rosemary. These are wonderful as a daily  tonic instead of doing a big cleanse. The goal is to keep the liver toned on a daily basis.

 

 

Oral Health

The state of our oral health is  connected to the health of our whole body, including our breasts.  Nadine Artemis, founder of Living Libations, has some great oral health advice for women. If you thought your dental fillings weren’t impacting your health, think again.

Here’s an excerpt from our Healing Women Series interview.

What’s the impact of oral health on breast health?

I think oral health has a significant impact on breast health and probably more than we even know to this day. What we do know is that oral health affects every area of the body. And again what’s your achilles heel? Where will an imbalance in your mouth show up in the rest of your body? For someone it could be arterial plaque shows up and causes a heart imbalance. For another, issues with the mouth microbiome could lead to infertility or an early birth, not a full term pregnancy. For some it could lead to breast imbalances or thyroid imbalances that could then trigger breast imbalances. It can go on and on like that.

One thing that we do know is that 90% of women with a root canal have a tumor in the breast on the same side as the root canal. It doesn’t mean that a root canal will cause a tumor but all women that have a root canal have it on the same side as the tumor. Through testing with thermography, which looks at inflammation heat patterns in the body, we can see a direct correlation with the signature heat lines showing inflammation leading from the mouth right down to the breast where the root canal is. That shows a correlation. There’s also Dr. Joseph Issels, who practiced in Europe for decades, working with people who had cancer and he made sure everyone cleared up their root canal before they began their healing journey.

 

Why should women consider getting their mercury amalgams removed?

It’s one of the most toxic metals. The thing with metals like mercury, nickel, cadmium, and aluminum is they’re very toxic and are metalloestrogens. We need them removed because they mimic estrogen. It’s hard to get ahead of the game if you have a constant supply of mercury vapours shedding into your body 24/7. No matter how old the mercury filling that’s what it does, 24 hours a day. It releases toxins and what that does is fills up breast receptor sites that want estrogen with metalloestrogens.  Hal Huggins, who was a master at educating us about the hazards of mercury since 1963 and onwards,  spoke about the marriage of metals and microbes. Mercury loves fungus and yeast and eats it for breakfast.

When my mother was dying, it was about six months process, I had to prepare for a lecture and I thought, I know what I want to do. I’m going to do it on breast health, even though it was too late for my mom. When I write and work and research and meditate, it all starts combining.  When I was working on the lecture I was really deep in the research. I understood the xenoestrogens, which I feel all of us are probably aware of at this point in time. They are foreign, xeno being foreign, estrogens from synthetic compounds like plastic, BPA in general . We have had so much of that from our food supply. Plastic is everywhere, it’s in our oceans and it’s in our products. There’s endocrine disruptors not only in the plastic bottle but also in the ingredients of the shampoo and some of those could be xenoestrogen types. So we’re getting it from all places.

All these metals like cadmium, aluminium, and mercury mimic estrogen. So once again our receptors that are looking for estrogen can accept metalloestrogens and xenoestrogens thinking it is estrogen. And not only are they from metals like the nickel in braces, the mercury fillings, and the aluminium in deodorants. It’s also in pesticides like atrazine, pesticides  that can evolve a male frog into a gender neutral frog. I did some more research and there are mycoestrogens which are fungal estrogens, myco being fungal. These come from the food supply where you have the sillage, which is all that waste on the floor from harvesting wheat and corn and it’s all moldy. There’s even synthetic mycoestrogens which are pharmaceuticals that are added to our livestock food supply. There’s also aflatoxins which is the mold that you may be aware of from peanuts.

 

 

 

Thyroid

  • A healthy thyroid is another critical component of breast health. The thyroid hormone and iodine act like a surveillance team against abnormal cells by inducing cell death (apoptosis). It also keep the genome stable and allows hormones to function optimally.

  • When the thyroid is unable to performance it’s duties, abnormal cells go unchecked and may start to multiply causing fibroadenomas, cysts, tumors, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, cancer etc.

  • The thyroid, ovaries and breasts are linked. When the thyroid is out of balance, the ovaries and breasts are also out of balance.  They are all iodine dependent and when there’s an iodine deficiency these three glands will compete for what’s available. They’ll also enlarge to compensate. Swollen breasts, ovaries, and thyroid are often due to iodine deficiency.

  • Iodine is first used by the thyroid followed by the ovaries/uterus and then the breasts.