Water Retention In The Body

Water retention in the body is becoming increasingly common. It causes weight gain and swellings in your tummy, legs or ankles, or sometimes in your face or fingers. Breast tenderness can also be a sign of water retention.

Lots of people on the internet are looking for information on how to get rid of water retention in the body - sometimes known as fluid retention. There's plenty of advice out there, but it doesn't go very far. Water retention is a sign that your metabolism is struggling, and it can't be cured with just a few words like 'drink more water' or 'eat less salt'. Also, there are several types of water retention, and what is good for one type may not be so good for another type.

Medicines for Water Retention

Some types of water retention respond very well to medicines. These medicines are known as 'water pills' or diuretics. They work by forcing your kidneys - which extract water from your blood and turn it into urine - to work faster. Several common drinks are natural diuretics, and these include tea, coffee and alcohol. Alcohol is an especially powerful diuretic.

If you are thinking of taking pills for water retention, here's some important advice. First check with your doctor to ensure that your heart, liver and kidneys are healthy. Some people have water retention because of problems with these organs. If so, then do definitely take the medicines prescribed by your doctor.

But if you are young and otherwise healthy, you will probably get the all-clear. Your doctor may say that your water retention is 'idiopathic edema' or (if it mostly affects your legs and ankles) 'chronic venous insufficiency'. He or she may suggest that you take diuretic medicines, but before you accept these medicines, do ask this important question: 'If I don't take the medicines is there any danger to my health?' If your doctor says 'No' then you would be much better off following a diet instead to control your water retention. Diuretic medicines are the wrong treatment for idiopathic edema, chronic venous insufficiency and for water retention associated with the menstrual cycle. They might appear to work for a while, but can actually make it worse.

A Case Report

Here's a letter I got from one of my readers; her story is sadly very common.

I guess 3 years ago my body started to retain water so i started to take water pills, everyday. After i started to take them my body got used to them and i couldnt stop taking them. Now they are ruining my life! I get 4 pills everyday! If i dont take them for one day, my eyes and all my body become big, really big! Especially eye puffiness is really bad. I dont have any health problem which will lead to water retention. So i have to stop taking the pills i guess. Tell me please, how long will it take for my body to get healthy again? Will i lose the pounds i gain because of my water retention? When? When will my eye puffiness be gone? Im so desperate.
Annie

Please be warned. The reason why water pills (diuretics) can be so harmful is that they can extract so much water from your blood that they dehydrate it. Yes, your blood can be dehydrated even if your body's tissues are full of water. Diuretics are not able to extract water from your tissues - the swollen parts where all the excess water is being retained.

When you take water pills you think you are losing water retention because you pee more, but this water is coming from your blood, not from the waterlogged tissues. Dehydrating your blood is dangerous, so your body learns to hold on to water in order to protect itself. That's why Annie was puffing up so much every time she tried to stop taking the pills.

Your blood only contains too much water if a heart, liver or kidney problem is diagnosed by your doctor. In all other cases the amount of water in your blood is normal, so you should not try to reduce it with water pills, not even natural ones.

What Are The Alternatives?

There is no substitute for finding out what's causing your water retention and eliminating the cause. Causes of water retention include eating the wrong foods, developing semi-allergic reactions to certain foods, not eating enough of the right foods such as dark blue and purple fruits, not getting enough of the right nutrients, not getting enough exercise, eating too much salt, not drinking enough water, and so on.

There's a lot more information about water retention in this book The Waterfall Diet.
Or if you’re in a hurry, download the E-book Low Carb Dieting and the Waterfall Diet, which also gives full instructions for the diet.

Do leave a comment letting me know how you get on :-)
Linda