Causes of water retention in the body
If you think you have fluid retention (also known as fluid retention or sometimes edema or oedema), you probably have a swollen belly or swollen hands, feet, or face. Water retention causes swelling anywhere in the body. Excess water leaks out of the smaller blood vessels and collects in the spaces between them and the cells that make up your body’s tissues (muscle, brain, skin tissue, etc.). These spaces can store excess water, and in doing so they expand, causing swelling.
Some of the causes of water retention are quite simple, such as eating too much salty food or not drinking enough water. Salt contains a chemical called sodium, which slows down the excretion of water. Not drinking enough water dehydrates you, which teaches your body to retain water. Drinking too much tea, coffee, and alcohol also dehydrates you by speeding up water excretion.
heart and kidneys
If your water retention is more severe and your feet, legs, or ankles are very swollen, you should see a doctor to check that your heart and kidneys are okay. Another cause of severe fluid retention, in this case in the stomach, is alcoholism. Liver damage from alcohol abuse can cause so much fluid to build up in your belly that you can actually feel it churning.
If your doctor gives these organs the go-ahead, you can be very grateful. It means that your fluid retention probably has causes that are much easier to treat.
Histamine is one of the causes of water retention
Histamine is a chemical that your body produces when you are inflamed. Have you heard of taking medicines called ‘antihistamines’ for hay fever? Hay fever is a type of inflammation that occurs when someone who is sensitive to pollen breathes it in. The eyes and nose runny as the body releases water from its tiny blood vessels in an attempt to flush out pollen. But in the case of water retention, the water is not released from the body through the eyes and nose. Instead, it accumulates in the tissues.
The inflammation usually stops when the body is no longer exposed to the harmful substance(s). But if the harmful substances continue to affect the body, the inflammation and swelling can become permanent. One of the causes of long-term water retention is eating foods that cause inflammation. I’m not talking here about serious food allergies like peanuts or shellfish. I speak of a milder form caused by not properly digesting some foods. If your intestines are slightly inflamed, small particles of partially undigested food can escape into your blood and cause your body to produce histamine almost anywhere. This situation can start suddenly and last for a long time. The more time passes, the worse your water retention tends to be. People who have followed the waterfall diet (a diet that treats most causes of water retention) for about a week have lost ten pounds or more of retained water in just a few days.
Fighting other causes of water retention
Many people suffer from water retention caused by nutritional deficiencies. Quite simply, if you eat and drink too many sugary or fried foods, and don’t get enough fresh fruits and vegetables, you won’t get enough of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to make the hormones that help prevent fluid retention. .
If you want to get rid of this problem, the first thing you should do is eat dark blue and purple fruits as well as dark green vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, or lettuce every day. Cut back on fried foods, hamburgers, red meat, and fatty sauces like mayonnaise to no more than twice a week. Cut back on sweets, candy, soft drinks, and chocolate to once a week. And don’t forget to minimize salt and salty foods and drink two liters of water a day.
These are just the basics of healthy eating. If you are eating a poor diet right now, this tip will help reduce your problem a lot in just a couple of months.
If you don’t start losing your water retention by following this advice, you may need to test yourself to find out if any particular food is creating too much histamine within your body. The Cascade Diet book (see below) includes a proven procedure and has helped many people.