Maybe you already take a defensive stand this time of year with a more diligent use of vitamins and herbal supplements, heightened precautions with hand-washing, or an extra glass of orange juice or serving of broccoli. But have you ever considered a lymph massage to help your body stave off the blues of winter illness?

“At the start of the flu season, have one or two lymph massage sessions to really charge the immune system,” says Ramona Moody French, author of Milady’s Guide to Lymph Drainage Massage, and founder of the Desert Resorts School of Somatherapy in Palm Springs, Calif. “There’s a lot of scientific evidence for how effective it is,” she says, both in its ability to increase the production of white blood cells and to stimulate the immune system.

Lymph massage, also known in variations as Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) or Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT), is a gentle, relaxing form of massage that helps the body’s lymphatic system get moving again while reinforcing immune function. To fully understand the benefits of lymph massage, let’s first take a quick look at how this lesser-known system works.