SPORTS
Massage Matters By Lynsey Riach
Can a massage really help us detox..naturally? If, like me, you enjoy a relaxing rub-down every now and then, you’ll be delighted to hear the benefits of that pampering spa day may run deeper than just your deep tissue…
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fter a recent trip to my favourite spa in town, Bliss at the W Doha where I was tightly wrapped up like a burrito (not for the claustrophobic!) my therapist tried to calm me down by telling me of all the benefits of being baked in foil and the word ‘detox’ was somewhat, overused. I understood the sweating aspect sure – but that’s only my body cooling down, although many people believe when they sweat, they detox. You don’t, you just cool down – but what she then told me was nothing short of fascinating… But before I get to that, let’s take care of that overused word that’s being thrown around a lot right now – ‘detox’. Unfortunately, the fact is that detoxing isn’t a ‘thing’ but actually it’s a complex process your body does for you naturally without
any effort on your part thanks to your wonderful and astounding liver which, after the skin, is the body's largest organ. Your liver has evolved to put up with a great deal of biological abuse, and the way it works is nothing short of incredible! As your liver is the body’s largest gland used for detoxification, it’s responsible for purifying blood and creating bile, which helps your body to digest fats. Without a properly functioning liver, you can become over-encumbered with toxins and pesticide residues that cannot find an exit, only to re-circulate into your blood leaving you looking and feeling ‘toxic’. So then, with the word ‘detox’ thrown around so much and with a vital organ that actually does this for us with no effort or cost on our part, how can we keep this detox machine running without a hitch? Quite simply: sleep, drink water, exercise and eat a healthy diet full of vitamins and minerals. Oh but there is one more little thing…massage. That’s right! You now have a guilt-free pass to enjoy regular massages as a crucial part of your detox program to keep your system working efficiently and that’s because there is an important system in your body that works in conjunction with your liver to keep the detox process moving– your lymphatic system. And if you don’t know what your lymphatic
system is then here goes…Ever felt one leg puff up more than the other? Perhaps you’ve been on a long flight and your ankles have swollen? Or survived the Qatar summer but felt your fingers puff up so much your rings become tight? Well that is your lymphatic system kicking into action and without it we’d be in some serious trouble…
The Lymph System Most people are familiar with the body’s vessel system that carries blood to and from the tissues, but few understand there’s another, equally vital system of vessels that removes cell wastes, proteins, excess fluid, viruses and bacteria. The lymph system picks up fluids and waste products from the spaces between the cells and then filters and cleans them. Like the roots of a tree, the lymph system starts as tiny vessels—only a single-cell wide— that eventually branch into larger and larger tubes that carry these fluids back to the bloodstream. This network of delicate vessels and lymph nodes is the primary structure of the immune system. The lymph nodes act as check-points along the pathways of the vessels. They filter the fluid (called lymph) and serve as the home for lymphocytes— little Pac Man-like cells that attack and destroy foreign bacteria, viruses and even abnormal cells, like cancer cells.
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