If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that our goal here is to find natural ways to reduce and control lymphedema.  That includes finding the best lymphedema diet.  Since I have (thankfully) been able to reduce my lymphedema, I am constantly trying to figure out what is working and what isn’t.  I do that because while I’ve been able to minimize it, it’s still there.  Like most who have this condition, I live in constant fear of it worsening.

In this article, I will cover something interesting I stumbled across this week.  First, a disclaimer. I am not a medical professional.  I’m just a very health-oriented person who has spent a decade trying to minimize my left leg lymphedema naturally through extensive trial and error.  Why?  I didn’t want to let this horrible condition control my life.

Part of the frustration of having lymphedema is lack of constructive help out there.  Since no one really studies or specializes on the lymphatic system in medical schools or after, we have few answers.  We are told it is chronic and progressive, offering no hope.  But is that true?  I’m not sure since mine is way less and is not progressing, thankfully.

Sorry for the digression!  Back to the topic at hand….

What is The Link Between Endothelial Cells and Lymphedema?

I just came across some fascinating material about “endothelial cells,” both on YouTube video and online.  Both were from Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the famous Cleveland Clinic.  Dr. Esselstyn is well-known for his research and studies on reversing heart disease through diet.  I watched one of his presentations on reversing cardiovascular disease, which involved a lot of discussion on endothelial cell health.

Later, I researched this a bit further and found something curious.  Along with endothelial cells playing a critical role in cardiovascular health, they are also the same stuff that lines and controls your entire lymphatic system.

Could This Be A Potential Help or Answer?

Here’s what I Found out about these unique cells.  Endothelial cells also line the lymphatic vessels and play an essential role in regulating fluid balance in the body. When these cells are damaged or dysfunctional, it can lead to lymphedema. While the exact cause of lymphedema is unknown, we know that it’s a chronic condition characterized by the abnormal accumulation of lymphatic fluid in tissue. This excess fluid causes swelling, which, as we know, can be kind of a nightmare.

There are two types of lymphedema: primary and secondary. Primary lymphedema is a congenital condition that is present at birth or develops later in life. Secondary lymphedema, on the other hand, occurs when the lymphatic system is damaged due to surgery, cancer treatment, or an injury. Regardless of your type of lymphedema, maintaining healthy endothelial cells is apparently essential for reducing swelling.  That was a new one to me!

How do you Keep your Endothelial Cells Healthy?

According to Dr. Esselstyn, it’s by eating a very healthy plant-based diet centered on green veggies and other foods that increase nitric oxide.  Nitric Oxide is responsible for opening the blood vessels so that fluid can flow easily, so it is the fuel of these endothelial cells.  At the same time, he notes that consuming animal products or oil injures these critical cells.  He even states that “each meal of oils, dairy products and meat has been shown to injure and incapacitate endothelial cells.”

An Accidental Experiment on My Part

If you’ve been reading this blog, you probably know that while I’ve had lymphedema for over 10 years, it did not progress much.  Then due to improving my diet further and doing a ton of Chinese herbs and tui na massage, it miraculously dropped about 80% over about a year and a half.  I attribute that to both Chinese medicine and a plant-based diet.

One interesting thing happened to me over the past year.  I decided to try omitting added oil from my diet.  I mean no longer cooking with it or adding it to food. I still eat tons of fat (nuts, seeds, avocados, and food like hummus that has added oil), but I stopped cooking with it.    I did it after reading How Not to Diet by Michael Greger, MD.

I tried it because I am 57 now and annoyingly have put on a few extra pounds.  And thanks to the illustrious post-50 female metabolism, the pounds would not drop.  Of course, I ‘m not one to cut out bread or pasta or wine or anything (you still have to be happy, right?).  But it was driving me crazy as I was still trying to eat a bit less but nothing was budging.  After reading Dr. Greger’s book, I learned that apparently eating straight oil is not only damaging to your body, but also the most significant source of calories.   He advised cutting it out and see what happens.

So, I decided to test it out when I had to travel for a month and knew I could do this crazy experiment and not impact others.  Turns out, it was easy and the foods I made tasted fine.  Then my husband got interested and since he’s the chef in our household, it became a bit of a fun game for us to cook without oil.  Turns out neither of us missed it at all.  It was the easiest diet change I”ve ever made.  My husband is very athletic and on the lean side and he did it voluntarily as he can’t really afford to lose weight.

But we both felt dramatically better after a couple months of this.  I dropped 10 pounds with ZERO effort after about 6 months of this.  Literally, zero effort.  He has some knee and joint issues after years of crazy sports stuff, but he noticed a big change in a chronic knee issue…it went away.

These were dramatic results from one small change.  Instead of cooking with olive oil, we cook with water instead.  But we still eat plenty of fat in the form of avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, etc.  And we are not 100% as we still eat some foods that have oil added (such as store-bought hummus, veggie burgers, etc.)  Plus we are not obsessive about it, if we are out or travelling we’ll have stuff with oil, the world won’t end.  But we just don’t cook with it anymore at home.

Could this be a Key for Lymphedema?

I just realized the other day that I haven’t even noticed the swelling or any fluid in my left leg for several weeks.  I almost FORGOT about the lymphedema.  (!)

That’s why when I saw this information about endothelial cells, this all clicked in my brain, since according to Esselstyn, eating oils and animal products basically handicaps your endothelial cells, making them ineffective.  So I think maybe my diet change improved my endothelial cell functioning, since I did have added olive oil pretty much every day.

Could Improving Your Endothelial Cell Health Improve your Lymphatic System?

The good news is that we can all apparently rehab our endothelial cells.   According to these MDs, it is done with diet.

Along with removing oil and not eating meat or dairy, another key is to eat a lot of green veggies.  This is something I already do out of habit.  But I’m wondering if I increase the amount and types of foods that help, and do this this longer, will the results get even better?  That’s the million dollar question, of course, but so far I am very optimistic. Because I”m also finding many other ways to strengthen your endothelial cells like drinking tea, taking vinegar, and more.  (I’ll be blogging more about these findings soon as I keep researching.)

Regardless, this continues to make me feel confident that I’m on the right track as far as eating the best diet for lymphedema.

So what is the Best Lymphedema Diet?

To recap, I believe the best diet for lymphedema is a whole foods plant-based diet.  But given this, it appears we should also follow some of Dr. Esselstyn’s and other’s advice about foods that increase nitric oxide, which supports the endothelial cells.

Here’s a quick summary:

    1. Your diet should primarily be composed on whole foods, with an emphasis on fresh veggies and fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
    2. According to Esselstyn you need to eat green foods that are high in nitric oxide daily. That means you should eat green veggies several times per day.  Those include kale, spinach, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc.   We put chopped greens into pretty much everything we cook.
    3. Other foods that are high in nitric oxide should be emphasized as well which include beets and green tea.
    4. If possible, get in the habit of drinking plain, unsweetened green tea regularly. Don’t like hot tea?  Just throw a green tea teabag into water and keep it in the refrigerator.  According to nutrtionfacts this cold steeping increases antioxidants and it barely has any taste, you can use it as a repaclement for water.
    5. Avoid adding oil to anything you eat. You can cook almost any recipe with out oil, it just takes lowering the heat a bit and using more water or veggie broth.
    6. It’s usually easiest to find a meat substitute you like so you can make your favorite foods, just veganized versions.  Butler Soy Curls are amazing, give them a try….I’d be shocked if you don’t love them!  They are the best and contain no added oil (or anything bad).  If you aren’t in a country that offers Soy Curls, look around, there are some meat replacements we’ve tried in Greece and Australia that are good too, you just need to find the ones that don’t contain oil.


    Be sure to eat enough.  Potatoes, sweet potatoes, brown rice and whole grain pastas can help you get and stay full.  Don’t get hungry.  I think that is the key to how my husband voluntarily changed from a normal carnivore to a plant based vegan.  He just noticed how much better he felt after these meals.  If you don’t try to cut back, I think you’ll find that you’ll notice a huge difference and begin to want to eat this way.

    One critical factor:  you have to learn how to cook this way!  That is a key, otherwise you could be miserable.  Fortunately there are many resources for that on the internet and YouTube.

    Common Questions

    I’ve been vegan for awhile and vegetarian for decades before that.  I’ve heard every question, so here’s a few you might be asking.

    Where will I get my protein?

    This one is my favorite. Somehow we all were brainwashed in our youth about the need for protein.  Let me ask—how many people do you know that have been diagnosed as being protein deficient?  Did you know that evidence suggests that instead, excess protein is killing us?    Our need for protein is easily met by everday foods and the science shows that less is more.  Instead of worrying about protein, it appears it is far more important to worry about the amount of fiber or veggies you eat in a day.

    How will I survive without cheese?

    Cheese is a big one.  I used to eat cheese in my 20s…every day.  It thought I would die if I gave it up.  You know what? I didn’t miss it.  I replace cheese with hummus. On veggie burgers we replace cheese with slices of microwaved sweet potatoes.  You can even make fake quesadillas with those and they taste great.  What about pizza?  We make homemade pizza and put thinly sliced cooked potatoes on top and they are delish, almost like mashed potatoes.  We do not miss the cheese.

    Plus….the world won’t end if you have a bit of cheese once a week. In fact, Colin Campbell in the China study said by keeping animal food less than 10% of your diet, you can turn off the cancer and heart disease issues.   I’m not sure what the threshold is for these endothelial cells, but I’m sure just eating more good stuff and less bad stuff will at least start to help.  There’s also many vegan cheeses that are getting better, but are high in fat.

    Is This a Cure for Lymphedema? 

    Now of course that is the million dollar question.  As of now, no one knows of any type of cure or fix.  But, this is actually something I am very excited about.  Bottom line, I have been able to reverse my lymphedema, maybe not permanently, but it has reduced far more than I ever imagined, and I believe it is a combination of this plant based diet and Chinese herbs.  But what if all that was just related to this endothelial cell and the Chinese herbs and diets just supported those?

    If you are curious, here is an interesting, highly technical medical article about endothelial cells and lymphedema.  I’m going to be digging more into this and will update you on anything I find, too.

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    What do you think? Please share your comments and experiences on this too….we are all after the same goal of minimizing lymphedema!