Contributed by Evrrdy!
Water Retention
Water retention, medically termed edema, is not just a cosmetic issue affecting our looks. Water retention is a fluid imbalance that affects every aspect of our body, even every individual cell function. The amount of water, inside and outside the cells, is regulated by hormones, sodium and the kidneys. When there is too much sodium in your body your blood becomes saltier and water is drawn from your cells to dilute it, therefore, causing an imbalance. Our bodies are designed with various physiological functions to keep water balance. Sometimes these delicate functions get thrown off and tendencies to retain water begin.
These imbalances can cause slow metabolism and cause fat gain, chronic fatigue, mood and emotional problems, cardiovascular problems, circulatory problems, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, headaches, hormone imbalances, joint problems, sleep problems, immune problems, digestive disorders, sinus, skin problems, eye problems, and even sexual problems.
Our bodies are constantly adjusting fluid levels based on what we drink and eat. This accumulation of fluid in body tissue most often occurs in the feet and ankles, but can occur in any part of the body. If socks leave an indented ring around the calf, this is a good indicator of edema.
Edema may be very slight, causing rings on fingers to feel tight or the face to feel puffy. It may even be severe enough to cause stretching and shininess of the skin along with a stinging pain and overall weight gain.
Fluid retention can also be caused by allergies. It is important to identify substances that provoke allergic reactions. Some of the most common foods, which cause allergic reactions, are chocolate, dairy products, eggs, shellfish, strawberries and wheat. Some reactions occur as soon as one starts chewing. Delayed reactions are harder to detect.
Many women develop some degree of edema during pregnancy. The rise in estrogen in the body during pregnancy increases the tendency to retain fluids. .
Some people's bodies seem to retain water with no apparent explanations. Puffiness may come and go in cycles and may be related to hormone fluctuations. It can affect both men and women. In women it usually occurs in the week before menstruation and among women past menopause who take estrogen replacement hormones. In some cases, water retention signals something more serious. If your finger leaves an indentation when you poke your skin, you may want to check with your health care provider to rule out any problem with your heart, kidneys, liver or thyroid.
Discuss any medications you're taking with your health care provider (HCP). If taking steroids, be sure to let your HCP know about your water retention problem. Diuretics have potent side effects. Diuretics set up the potential for something called rebound edema. If you're taking them steadily for minor fluid retention, the diuretics turn on a lot of salt and water retaining hormones. When you stop taking them, the high levels of hormones cause a lot more sodium and water retention and you get into a vicious cycle. Diuretics force the elimination of water from the body without correcting the underlying dysfunctions that have caused the problem.
The common side effects of diuretics are dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and excess potassium loss in the urine causing a potassium deficiency, low blood pressure caused by the loss of too much fluid. If you are a diabetic, the diuretic may increase your blood sugar. Dehydration can cause faintness, dizziness or lightheadedness, headaches, nausea, loss of coordination and balance, cramps, kidney and heart failure.
Lifestyle Management
Healthy lifestyle management will help you have abundant life. Almost everyone has experienced some form of water retention at one point or another. Activity and diet play a major role in keeping water retention to a minimum. The following steps incorporated into your daily life can assist you in optimal health and help you live a higher level of life
Drink plenty of water.
Press the tip of your finger into the inside of your shin-bone. Can your finger make a dent?
Water retention can collect in the legs and ankles. Do you get any swelling there?
Does your shoe size seem to increase as you get older?
Do your rings sometimes seem not to fit you any more?
Is your tummy often tight and swollen?
If you are a woman, do you often suffer from breast tenderness?
Does your weight ever fluctuate by several pounds within the space of only 24 hours?
What Causes Water Retention?
The direct cause is abnormal changes in
The pressure inside the smallest blood vessels in your body (known as your capillaries)
The permeability (leakiness) of the capillary walls.
These changes cause fluid to leak into the surrounding tissues, where it can accumulate in the tissue spaces around and between your body's cells. The reason why this problem can be so hard to diagnose is that almost all your body's tissues have plenty of capacity to hold a little more fluid without looking abnormal. In fact, this fluid just makes you look fat.
Fluid seeps from your capillaries and collects in the spaces between your cells (see diagram).
Drinking less liquid will not stop you retaining fluid, and could aggravate the problem. Blood vessel changes can have many different causes, and are often linked to eating habits. But it is not as simple as eating a "bad diet" or a "good diet". Some people can react abnormally to certain foods - for instance by producing a lot of histamine. Histamine makes small blood vessels leaky, and can be a major cause of water retention.
Some foods can impair your kidneys' ability to excrete fluid, while others can enhance it.
Other causes of retaining fluid include anaemia (anemia), protein deficiency and an abnormally high need for one or more vitamins or minerals. These nutritional problems can arise if you have water retention but go on a very low-calorie diet because you believe your overweight is due to fat. Many people eat 1,000 calories per day or less for months or years, which puts them at risk of developing a whole range of nutritional deficiencies. The recommended diet for people with water retention is the Waterfall Diet. This diet encourages your body to release excess fluid by addressing the reasons why you are retaining it.
For women, hormonal changes prior to menstrual periods can also make you retain fluid. Producing extra hormones requires more nutrients, so mild premenstrual nutritional deficiencies are especially likely to occur at this time, and these can account for various unpleasant symptoms, including breast tenderness and tummy swelling.
Heart or kidney disease can also cause water retention. If you have gross swelling (oedema or edema) of the legs and ankles you should consult a doctor immediately.
More About Water Retention
Many average healthy adults experience some water retention and the accompanying weight gain that occurs. The day to day body weight fluctuations are commonly caused by the loss and gain in body fluid.
Its possible to retain up to five pounds of water weight retention and can easily be hidden within the natural fluid that surrounds cells ( extra-cellular fluid ). Heavier people may experience more water retention especially if their intake of processed, convenient food is high. For some it can be as much as eight to ten pounds of fluid retention if weight gain is quick say over the Christmas season.
There are a few causes of water retention but for many an increase in sodium through the diet ( mainly salt intake ) is a common cause and research suggests it may contribute to high blood pressure and other health complications. Sodium is present in virtually all food products so when a person consumes more food its inevitable they also consume more sodium. Weight gains are very often a combination of fat stores and water retention.
Water Retention And Weight Loss
People who lose weight quickly usually experience some weight regain within a few weeks and very often this is due to some water replenishment.
When we restrict energy intake too much too soon in order to lose weight quickly the body is forced to use up stores of carbohydrates and breakdown protein in the muscles. As both carbohydrates and protein hold water in the cells a loss of these macronutrients also results in a net loss of water. As a result rapid weight loss can often be made up of 75% water loss. After the energy systems stabilize water is regained because some of the protein and carbohydrate stores initially lost are replenished. The water is drawn back into the cells thus gaining back a little weight.
It can be very confusing when one week you lose 4 pounds, the next week nothing. However remember that gaining protein in muscles increases lean body weight. More lean body weight increases our metabolism and help burn fat faster!
Losing water weight
When losing weight its inevitable that water will make up some of the weight loss. No matter how we lose weight or how long the weight loss takes everyone will lose water. Many factors determine the amount of water we lose in comparison to fat loss, they include:
Which exercise is selected
The diet chosen - for example, a low carb diet may increase water loss
Calorie intake - lowering calorie intake too much will cause more water loss
The physical state of the person - the amount of protein and carb stores before new diet
The water weight loss comes from a net loss of protein and carbohydrates especially during the first few weeks of a reduction in calories. On reducing calories the body needs to rely more on energy within the body and thus breaks down protein and carbohydrate for metabolism. When these nutrients are metabolised water is released. Fat stores do supply a little of the energy but at first a good proportion comes from protein and the limited stores of carbohydrates within the cells.
For weight loss the trick is to reduce losing water weight as much as possible so the body is forced to burn more body fat stores. To limit losing water weight many people will:
Consume small portions of high quality protein at each meal
Reduce food intake gradually and count calories
Anaerobic exercise can slow protein lost from muscle cells
Do not crash diet or starve
Train for strength so to increase muscle
Lose weight slowly no more than 2 pounds per week
Still More About Water Weight
Have you worked hard to lose weight using conventional methods, and found that you cannot get below a certain weight even if you persevere for months or years?
Little understood by doctors, water (fluid) retention can cause breast tenderness, painful, swollen joints, bloating, overweight and many other problems. If you can answer yes to two or more of the following symptoms, you may be retaining excess water
Press your fingernail into your thumbpad. does it stay indented for more than a second or two?
Press the tip of your finger into the inside of your shin-bone. Can your finger make a dent?
Water retention can collect in the legs and ankles. Do you get any swelling there?
Does your shoe size seem to increase as you get older?
Do your rings sometimes seem not to fit you any more?
Is your tummy often tight and swollen?
If you are a woman, do you often suffer from breast tenderness?
Does your weight ever fluctuate by several pounds within the space of only 24 hours?
What Causes Water Retention?
The direct cause is abnormal changes in
The pressure inside the smallest blood vessels in your body (known as your capillaries)
The permeability (leakiness) of the capillary walls.
These changes cause fluid to leak into the surrounding tissues, where it can accumulate in the tissue spaces around and between your body's cells. The reason why this problem can be so hard to diagnose is that almost all your body's tissues have plenty of capacity to hold a little more fluid without looking abnormal. In fact, this fluid just makes you look fat.
Fluid seeps from your capillaries and collects in the spaces between your cells.
Drinking less liquid will not stop you retaining fluid, and could aggravate the problem. Blood vessel changes can have many different causes, and are often linked to eating habits. But it is not as simple as eating a "bad diet" or a "good diet". Some people can react abnormally to certain foods - for instance by producing a lot of histamine. Histamine makes small blood vessels leaky, and can be a major cause of water retention.
Some foods can impair your kidneys' ability to excrete fluid, while others can enhance it. Other causes of retaining fluid include anaemia (anemia), protein deficiency and an abnormally high need for one or more vitamins or minerals. These nutritional problems can arise if you have water retention but go on a very low-calorie diet because you believe your overweight is due to fat. Many people eat 1,000 calories per day or less for months or years, which puts them at risk of developing a whole range of nutritional deficiencies. The recommended diet for people with water retention is the Waterfall Diet. This diet encourages your body to release excess fluid by addressing the reasons why you are retaining it.
For women, hormonal changes prior to menstrual periods can also make you retain fluid. Producing extra hormones requires more nutrients, so mild premenstrual nutritional deficiencies are especially likely to occur at this time, and these can account for various unpleasant symptoms, including breast tenderness and tummy swelling.
Heart or kidney disease can also cause water retention. If you have gross swelling (oedema or edema) of the legs and ankles you should consult a doctor immediately.
