5 Healthy and Delicious Foods That Fight Water Retention

5 Healthy and Delicious Foods That Fight Water Retention

Feeling sluggish, stiff and bloated? It could be water retention. Normally, people don’t associate such symptoms with something such as water, but water retention can be the make or break in your mood and overall well-being.

Water retention takes place when fluid is not removed from the body’s tissues, including the skin. Symptoms include swelling of parts of the body (hands, ankles and feet), bloated tummy, puffy face and eyes, stiffness and aching and weight fluctuations. Water retention is caused by many things, including the birth control pill, high salt intake, certain medications, pregnancy, hormone imbalances, standing for long periods of time or a reaction by the body to hot weather.

To beat the bloat and the uncomfortably feeling associated with water retention, try and incorporate the following 5 foods into your diet to further accelerate healing.

1. Water

Seems counterintuitive to fight water retention with even more water, but the more water you drink, the less your body will hold onto the water it does have. Water helps to flush fluid retention from your body and is the first step and most effective tool to reversing water retention.

2. Melons

Potassium-rich foods help to reduce the salt levels in the body. Melons are high in potassium – one cup diced melon contains 417 milligrams of potassium – and are thus a potent (and deliciously light) way to combat water retention.

3. Watercress

Watercress is extraordinarily dense with nutrition and is loaded with potassium, which acts as a diuretic to draw excess water weight from the body. One cup of watercress contains 112 milligrams of potassium.

4. Salmon

Salmon is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, making it wonderful for the heart, brain and joints due to its anti-inflammatory properties. These qualities decrease inflammation and water retention in tissues and promote the removal of water unnecessarily held in other parts of the body.

5. Whole grains

Whole grains are rich in vitamin B6, which is known to help fight water retention in mild cases, especially due to premenstrual syndrome. Vitamin B6 is often lacking in people’s diets. Experts estimate that some 30-50% of people have a vitamin B6 deficiency.

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Water glass image via Shutterstock

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