BODY WATER RETENTION AND
WATER WEIGHT

Does your weight ever go up and down by several pounds within the course of a single day?
Have you followed endless diets, and cannot get below a certain weight even after several months?
Water retention can collect around your middle. Is your tummy bloated and swollen?
Press the tip of a blunt pencil firmly into your thumb-pad. Does the dent remain deep for more than a second or two?
Can you make a dent if you press the tip of your finger into the inside of your shin-bone?
Water retention can cause swelling of legs and ankles. Are yours bigger than they used to be?
Is your shoe size increasing?
Have your fingers swollen so much that your rings will no longer fit?
Water retention in women can cause breast tenderness. Do you get this regularly?

There Are Two Types Of Water Retention In The Body

With Type 1 water retention, such as caused by anemia (anaemia) or heart or kidney problems, or from consuming too much salt, there is too much water in the blood. With Type 2 water retention, there is too much water in the body tissues and sometimes not enough in the blood.

Type 2 water retention may start with eating the wrong foods. Your body's tiny blood vessels (capillaries) become too leaky and allow fluid to leak into your body's tissues, where it accumulates, causing swelling.

Changes to the pressure in your capillaries can make it difficult for water to return from your tissues back into your blood.

Type 2 Water Retention

This type is very hard to diagnose because almost all your body's tissues still look normal even if they are retaining up to 20 pounds of water weight. This fluid just makes you look fat. People with Type 2 water retention in the body cannot work out why they do not lose weight with a normal fat loss diet. They try one diet after the next but nothing seems to work for very long. There is always a "plateau" where your weight stays and will not budge.

plateau occurring when you try to treat water retention with a fat-loss diet

Causes of Water Retention In The Body

Eating habits can result in water retention, but it is not as simple as eating a good or a bad diet. Some people produce too much histamine when they eat certain foods. Histamine causes symptoms like bloating and fluid retention by making tiny blood vessels too leaky.

Some foods (such as salt and foods high in sodium) can slow down your kidneys and their ability to excrete water, while other foods can actually help your kidneys. Anaemia (anemia), protein deficiency and vitamin or mineral deficiencies are known causes of water retention. People who have been on a very low-calorie diet for a long time are at risk of water retention because they don't get enough protein, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. If you think you have body water retention, it is best to follow the Waterfall Diet. This diet is designed to help your body release water or fluid retention by addressing the reasons why you have it.

Water Retention in Women

Women's premenstrual hormonal changes can also cause water retention. At this time of your cycle you are making extra hormones. As your body's nutrition needs are higher at this time, mild premenstrual deficiencies are more likely. This can lead to water retention with various unpleasant symptoms such as breast tenderness and tummy bloating and swelling.

Can You Cure Or Get Rid Of Water Retention?

The Waterfall Diet is a natural treatment which removes most of the known foods and other factors which can trigger water retention in the tissues. (It also helps you pinpoint which foods are safe for you to eat.) The water loss is released as urine - hence the term "Waterfall Diet". Be prepared for a full bladder and lots of trips to the bathroom for a week or two. But isn't it worth it if your clothes start to hang loose?

The Waterfall Diet can also serve as a test to help you pinpoint whether or not you have water retention. If you follow the instructions carefully but find that you are not losing any water weight, then (provided your doctor also agrees with this) you can rest assured that you probably do not have water or fluid retention.

What About Diuretics?

Diuretics are tablets which stimulate your kidneys to work harder. They should only be used for Type 1 water retention, where there is too much water in your blood as well as too much in your body tissues. If used for Type 2 water retention, diuretics will still try to extract water from your blood even if your blood is already dehydrated. This is harmful, so your body will hold on to water. The result is to aggravate your water retention problem. This caution applies to both pharmaceutical and natural herbal diuretics. It is better to use a natural dietary approach whenever possible.

Waterfall Diet for Weight Loss

Waterfall Diet for High Blood Pressure, PMS, Arthritis and other health problems

More about Body Water Retention

Water Retention In The Body

is a major health problem today. Its distressing symptoms include overweight, puffiness, bloating, breast tenderness in women, painful, swollen knees or other joints. It is hard to tell whether you have water retention. Your body can hold a lot of excess water, which just makes you look overweight. If you can answer 'yes' to two or more of the questions listed opposite then there is a strong chance that you have symptoms of water retention. You can confirm this with a diet that can help you pinpoint more clearly whether you have water / fluid retention, and can also help you get rid of it.

tissue spaces where water retention accumulates

This diagram shows the spaces between the cells in your body's tissues. When fluid leaks from your capillaries and cannot return, these spaces gradually expand as they fill with water. This makes your skin feel puffy, whereas fat without water retention just hangs in folds from your body, creating "love handles".

Cautions

Drinking less liquid can aggravate water retention. Do not reduce your fluid intake except on your doctor's advice.
If you have severe swelling in your ankles or legs, you may have a heart or kidney problem, and should consult your doctor before changing your current diet.

The Author

Linda Lazarides is author of six titles including "The Waterfall Diet", "Principles of Nutritional Therapy" and "Treat Yourself with Nutritional Therapy". She is founder of the British Association for Nutritional Therapy and has successfully treated hundreds of people referred to her by doctors.

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BODY WATER RETENTION ANDWATER WEIGHT