Home
| Lifestyle
| Alcohol & Drinks
| Drinking Water
| How to Rid the Body of Water Retention
How to Rid the Body of Water Retention
by Chantel Alise
-
Overview
The human body may retain water due to a number of situations like perimenopause or menopause, pregnancy or pre-menstruation. It is exhibited in abdominal or extremity swelling that ranges from uncomfortable to painful. Since many of its causes are common, the condition isn't always given proper attention, which can be dangerous. It can be symptomatic of a more serious problem. For that reason, elimination of excess water may be crucial to good health.
-
-
Step 1
Scale back salt and sugar intake. Most people know that cutting back on salt will help eliminate excess water but few understand that sugar is an equally guilty culprit. It messes with the body's insulin production, which, in turn, interrupts its ability to handle salt.
-
Step 2
Eliminate junk food and anything processed or preserved. Convenience foods contain all the wrong ingredients--ingredients that will increase water retention rather than eliminate it. Turn to fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned, use fresh meat instead of anything cured or processed and avoid fried foods altogether.
-
Step 3
Balance your diet. Look for fruits and vegetables that are high in potassium like bananas and spinach to ensure proper water balance. Switching to whole grain breads and pastas and increasing fiber intake will help as well. Try consuming more fish and poultry and less fresh meat.
-
Step 4
Use juices as natural diuretics. Putting lemon in your water will encourage more frequent urination. Cranberry juice not only helps balance water, it also balances the pH of the urinary tract at the same time.
-
Step 5
Switch to herbal tea. Many of them have mild diuretic qualities that can ensure proper water balance.
-
Step 6
Avoid getting dehydrated. The human body automatically retains water when it feels it is being deprived. Therefore, although it sounds crazy, you have to drink water in order to eliminate the excess. Drinking eight to 10 glasses of water a day is recommended. Stay away from excess caffeine. A little bit of coffee or tea with caffeine can act as a diuretic but too much tricks the body into holding back water for fear of dehydration.
-
Step 7
Exercise regularly. It eliminates excess water via sweat and helps encourage urination.
-
Step 8
Take vitamin B and C. Vitamin B will help your cells properly regulate electrolytes and prevent water retention while vitamin C has natural diuretic properties.
-
Step 9
Try an herbal diuretic like horse chestnut or dandelion root. Horse chestnut has mild properties that increase urination without risking dehydration. Dandelion root contains potassium, which naturally balances water in the human body.
-
Step 10
Take diuretics only if they are prescribed by a physician. While over-the-counter and prescription diuretics can be helpful in eliminating excess water, they can also cause something known as rebound edema in patients with other health ailments. Over use of diuretics can also cause dehydration.
-
Step 11
Dive into some water. Natural water pressure helps the tissues of the body force out excess fluid, sending it to the bladder where it can be properly eliminated.
-
Step 12
Call your doctor if none of the above work for you or if you don't know what is causing the water retention. The condition can be symptomatic of something serious like edema, heart, kidney or liver disease.
