Lymphs which protect your body by removing the toxins can also harm your immune system. Do you know how? The air we breathe, the clothes we wear and the food we eat. We get infected mostly through airborne diseases and wearing tight clothes can result in exhaustion and low blood circulation. Foods which are the main reason for giving us nutrition, can also become your enemy if you are not eating the right kind of meal. There are many foods to avoid with swollen Lymph Nodes and lessen the risk of big disease. Read further to know everything in detail.
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What is Lymph Nodes
Patients of lymph nodes either get infected or it is passed on to them through generations. Lymph nodes occur where we have glands like the neck, genitals, underarms, etc. If the person doesn’t get any treatment in the meantime, it can become cancerous. People who already have a weak immune system are most likely to get infected with this disease such as old, sick, weak child, pregnant and infected with any other disease. Our Lymphatic system consists of thin narrow tubes which are expanded throughout our whole body and provide a passage which allows the body fluid to pass through them.
It is one of the most important parts of our body which carries the function of removing toxins out of our whole system. If your lymphatic system fails to carry the fluids and it stops the circulation in a certain part of our body, giving an invitation to virus and bacteria to attack your immune system, then blood clots and white blood cell fluid gets collected there and results in swollen lymph nodes. At first, you will find it to be normal swelling. But in many cases, it gets extreme and affects the body functioning. The person will feel severe pain, fatigue and bad taste. It is better to do the diagnosis earlier and avoid any big consequences. What you wear, breathe and eat matters, so be careful about which foods to avoid with swollen Lymph Nodes.
Positions of Lymph Nodes on the body
There are many lymph nodes existing in our neck, people who get infected with swollen lymph nodes are likely to get it around their jaw and neck area. Lymph nodes in the neck are the first one to get attacked by viruses due to its location near the nose and lungs from where we breathe. Nose is the main source of the respiration process. All viral diseases like flu, cold, cough, fever starts from this part of the body. Here are all lymph nodes located in our neck and jaw, if you feel extreme swelling and redness in the following parts, consult your doctor :
- Submental
- Submaxillary
- Deep cervical chain
- Superficial cervical chain
- Occipital
- Jugulodigastric
- Mastoid
- Submandibular
- Preauricular
Foods, Lymph nodes patients should avoid
There are many types of foods to avoid with swollen Lymph Nodes during your treatment and even after it’s done. In general, you have to be careful about what you eat everyday. Your taste buds get seduced by the junk food and later your stomach has to take the whole burden. So many diseases in intestines, stomach, skin, eyes and neck. Always remember to avoid these following foods if your are a patient of lymph nodes :
1. Processed Food
Eating excessive processed food damages your intestines and immunity. All these packed foods like ketchup, chips, packed meat, canned beans should be avoided.
2. Frozen Food
Frozen foods may work in an emergency but eating them during your lymph nodes treatment will cause severe problems like cold, flu and inflammation in lymph nodes affected area.
3. Non Veg food from outside
Red meat and non veg junk foods might have spoiled meat as an ingredient, try to avoid the non veg food outside. You can get an infection and ulcers.
4. Alcohol
Alcohol affects your liver and brain, already going through a severe treatment process, never even touch alcohol based drinks.
5. Caffeine
Caffeine, if taken in excess, can lead to pain in your swollen lymph.
6. Trans Fat
Trans Fat based foods have a high amount of unsaturated oils, which can get collected in affected lymphs and cause another big problem. Do not eat oily junk food.
7. High amount of Sugar
Sugar should be avoided by lymph nodes patients as it damages the already weak body tissues and high glucose level increases the inflammation.
8. Cold Drinks
Cold drinks or even cold water should be avoided, drinking these cold drinks leads to pain and more swelling. Sometimes patients can’t breathe properly. High amounts of sugar and carbonated water makes it worse.
Then, what should you eat?
Now that we have discussed foods to avoid with swollen Lymph Nodes, let’s find the best type of food you should eat during your lymph nodes treatment. Eat healthy food items and green veggies such as:
Protein based foods like eggs, legumes, yoghurt and nuts for bodybuilding and bone strength.
Foods which contain Vitamin C : Leafy green vegetables, guava, pineapple, bell peppers and broccoli to lower the lymph blockage. Potatoes, Sweet potatoes, tofu and bananas which are rich in Vitamin B6 to prevent Lymphocyte production which is responsible for producing excessive white blood cells and causing swollen lymph nodes.
Oatmeal, Cashew nuts, black eyed peas and lentils are high in Zinc which create new immune system cells and heal it.
Avoiding the foods mentioned above might prevent your body from getting infected with lymph nodes and other viral diseases. Prevention is better than cure; the immune system needs to be stronger to fight diseases. You need to schedule your diet meal intake and workout routine to avoid weak immunity.