The Gut, the Brain & the Lymphatic System: Connection
Updated: Sep 28
The GUT
The Gut, nervous system, circulatory system, and immune system are deeply interconnected. Rather than thinking about one system as the problem, at Trillium we like to think about the fascial lines, lymph flow, and communication between systems.
And one of the most fascinating communication pathways in the body is the gut-brain connection.
The Gut & Brain Have a Superhighway
Meet the Vagus nerve.
Think of it as part of the body's information highway connecting the brain to many of our internal organs, including the digestive system.
About 80% of vagus fibers are afferent, meaning they carry sensory information toward the brain. The remaining roughly 20% are efferent, carrying signals from the brain toward the organs.
meaning:
Your brain talks to your gut and your gut talks back.
The Vagus nerve helps relay information related to system functions such as: digestion, inflammation, gut hormones, and other internal conditions. That's one reason researchers are so interested in the relationship between the gut, microbiome, nervous system, and brain.
And Here's Where Things Get Really Interesting...
A 2025 study published in Nature: npj Dementia examined research investigating gut microbial microbiomes and Alzheimer's disease.
"However, in recent years, increasing attention has been given to the role of gut microbial dysbiosis, an alteration in gut microbial communities, in contributing to cognitive impairment.(nature)"
Understanding how gut flora influences gut-brain communications has been the subject of significant research over the past decade. The broadening of the term “microbiota-gut-brain axis” from “gut-brain axis” underscores a bidirectional communication system between the gut and the brain. The microbiota-gut-brain axis involves metabolic, endocrine, neural, and immune pathways which are crucial for the maintenance of brain homeostasis. Alterations in the composition of gut microbiota are associated with multiple neuropsychiatric disorders. Although a causal relationship between gut dysbiosis and neural dysfunction remains elusive, emerging evidence indicates that gut dysbiosis may promote amyloid-beta aggregation, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Researchers found associations between changes in the gut microbiome and Alzheimer's disease and discussed several possible pathways, including inflammation, microbial metabolites, immune signaling, intestinal permeability, and the gut-brain axis. Importantly, this research does not mean that an unhealthy gut causes Alzheimer's disease. However, scientists are still trying to understand exactly what the link is and how their relationships work.
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But it gives us another fascinating example of something we talk about constantly at Trillium:
The body's systems don't live in separate zip codes. As Dr. Perry Nickelston always states, "No system gets injured alone; no system heals alone."
The gut communicates with the brain.
The nervous system influences digestion.
Blood supplies tissues.
The lymphatic system helps manage fluid and supports immune function.
And when one system isn't functioning optimally, other systems may be affected too.
Enter the Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system quietly works behind the scenes helping maintain fluid balance, transport immune cells, absorb dietary fats through the intestinal lymphatic system, and return fluid and proteins from tissues to the bloodstream. It's the Cinderella system, easily overlooked. However, when flow slows down, traffic tends to build, and people experience bloating, puffiness, or pain.
That's where our favorite subject comes in: Hydrodynamics.
Fluid needs somewhere to go. It's physics. If movement is impaired, congestion and swelling can occur. That's because the abdomen contains major lymphatic structures and major digestive pathways; circulatory, nervous-system, and lymphatic functions all exist in remarkably close quarters. Again, the body doesn't experience these systems independently. The body experiences one body, whereas the mind or our medical system has taught us to relate to our bodies in parts.
Before Adding More, Let's Review Our Flow Concept:
In the end, overwhelmed systems are like overflowing glasses of water. It's easy to continue to overwhelm it. Each therapeutic technique has the ability to overstimulate a maxed out nervous system because when white-knuckling is "normal," healing is "foreign and dangerous"
Sometimes the goal isn't always to do more.
Sometimes it's to create an environment where the body can do its job.
Trillium's Recommended Flow Routine
Our favorite place to start is ...
1. Hit Dr. Perry's Big Six daily. For most people, once or twice a day is plenty. #Monstermode would be before working out.
2. Add gentle vibration. We like approximately 10–30 seconds over each of the Big Six areas. (You could use a vibration ball)
3. Hydrate.
4. Move your body.
Walking, swimming, dancing, rebounding, gentle exercise, or a vibration plate. "Move your body more ways, more often" Dr. Perry Nickelston.
Trillium's job isn't to force the conversation. It's simply to encourage our clients to develop healthy habits and learn how to listen to their bodies when it speaks.
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