Water retention: 9 remedies and diet to drain liquids

Are your tummy, thighs and legs swollen? It can be water retention caused, mainly by a poor diet that increases fluid retention. Let's see together what are the remedies and the diet to follow to eliminate excess fluids.

Water retention indicates a phenomenon whereby the body tends to retain fluids in the body, causing abnormal swelling (also called edema) in certain areas of the body: stomach, thighs, legs, buttocks and ankles. Liquids are not absorbed well due to impaired functioning of the circulatory system. It is a widespread phenomenon that affects more women and it is often accompanied by the appearance of cellulite. Behind water retention there are several factors, first of all nutrition. But let's see what are the remedies, the foods to avoid and the right diet to follow.

What to do to combat water retention? Here are some natural remedies!

When water retention is not caused by particular pathologies, the only way to defeat it is to follow an adequate diet, drink plenty of water, reduce salt consumption and carry out adequate physical activity. Let's look at them specifically.

1. Healthy eating: eating lots of fruit and vegetables, especially fruit that contains vitamin C and potassium, which helps eliminate liquids, and among vegetables, choose those rich in water and antioxidants such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Eat also whole grains, nuts, seeds without exceeding in quantities. The foods to avoid are those rich in salt (sausages, aged cheeses, toasted and salted nuts, pretzels) and among the drinks reduce the use of coffee and alcoholic beverages or that contain added sugars.

2. Drink lots of water: You must drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to remove excess fluids. This especially in summer, when perspiration causes the loss of so many mineral salts. Our body, in fact, when it does not receive the right hydration tends to retain liquids that then stagnate and create swelling.

3. Remove the salt: or at least reduce it a lot by replacing it with spices, lemon or vinegar.

4. Foods to avoid: limit the intake of foods high in salt such as cold cuts, sausages, ready-to-eat and canned foods (which contain glutamate), aged cheeses, spirits and sugary drinks rich in carbon dioxide.

5. Physical activity: it is the best weapon to fight water retention, just a walk of at least 30 minutes is enough every day to reactivate the microcirculation. If instead we want to practice a sport, the recommended ones are: swimming and cycling and stretching exercises are also very useful. Instead, avoid sports like aerobics, spinning, running, weight lifting.

6. Lymphatic drainage massage: this type of massage stimulates the lymphatic system with pressure on the areas involved helping to reactivate the circulation and drain excess fluids.

7. Natural remedies to drain liquids: among these we find pure cranberry juice very useful especially when retention is linked to circulation problems; infusions and herbal teas based on birch leaves that we can prepare by pouring 2 tablespoons of dried birch leaves into a container of boiling water to be filtered afterwards; pineapple stalk is used to prepare food supplements, powdered extracts or mother tinctures and it is good because of its anti-edematous properties that facilitate the drainage of liquids.

8. Homeopathic remedies: to counteract the stagnation of liquids we can also resort to homeopathic remedies, specifically to Bach flowers, which act on the emotional state that leads to the manifestation of a certain disorder. A series of personalized mixtures can help change negative attitudes or emotions in order to eliminate excess fluids.

9. Diet against water retention

In a diet against water retention it is necessary to choose the right foods that help us eliminate the waste that causes the stagnation of liquids, in addition to purifying the liver and fighting cellulite. Here is an example of a diet to follow against fluid retention.

Breakfast: Fruit salad and 1 yogurt or barley coffee and 4 rice biscuits.

Snack: a banana or a slice of pineapple.

Lunch: pasta or brown rice to combine with a portion of protein like chicken breast or fish seasoned with lemon and vinegar and accompanied by a portion of vegetables.

Snack: a birch tea or a fruit.

Dinner: a portion of protein (meat or fish), with plenty of vegetables and a fruit to finish.