Healthy Eating, Happy You!

Healthy eating

Being overweight is not only detrimental to your general health, but more specifically it may directly affect your lymphoedema. It is thought that being overweight exacerbates lymphoedema and makes treatment less affective. Due to the position of the lymph nodes and the complex network of lymphatic vessels directly under the skin surface, pressure from an expanded waistline is exerted upon the groin resulting in impaired lymphatic drainage. Lymphatic drainage is the arm may be impaired by additional fat around the axilla (armpit).

This can ultimately lead to your swelling getting worse and other complications arising e.g. skin changes, increased heaviness of the limb and fewer choices of treatment for your therapist to select in order to reduce your swelling. If you are able to lose weight, this could have a beneficial effect on your response to treatment. Weight reduction may help reduce the volume of your limb and enable your therapist to treat more effectively. It will also have additional long-term health benefits e.g. lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, increased energy, mobility and morale.