Contents
Foods that make you lose water
DIET FOR LIQUID RETENTION OR EDEMA
Importance of food in water retention
Diet is very important to eliminate excess body fluids. In general, a healthy diet, rich in natural food, with many fruits and vegetables, helps the body to overcome fluid retention.
These foods contain high percentages of water and, moreover, many of which have diuretic properties which favors very marked stimulation of the kidneys with subsequent production of more urine.
We have to keep in mind what food we should eat to alleviate the edema and what foods we should avoid, because they are harmful because they help the body retain more fluids.
RECOMMENDED FOOD FOR WATER RETENTION
Main recommendations to prevent and treat water retention
Among most recommended food we have the following:
Foods high in potassium for water retention
Potassium is a mineral that, along with sodium and chloride, maintains water balance in the body.
These three components, called electrolytes, are needed to control blood pressure, to maintain the heart rate, to transport nutrients to cells and to prevent excess fluids to be retained in the body.
An excess of sodium in the diet, in addition to facilitating the emergence of a number of diseases such as hypertension, breaks the water balance and promotes fluid retention in the body.
It has been proven as the intake of foods rich in potassium helps counteract the levels of sodium and recovers the balance. According to experts, the ideal ratio would be 5:1, That’s to say 5 times more potassium than sodium.
In practice, this means we should eat less foods high in salt and eat more foods rich in potassium. This not only would lead to a “less swollen” body, it would prevent our blood pressure from being too high and would reduce the risk of stroke or heart attack. Unfortunately in today’s society, salt intake is usually twice of potassium intake.
Fruits and vegetables are rich in potassium. A daily intake of about 400 gr. of these foods is recommended, at least the equivalent of 5 servings a day.
* This page shows a list of food high in potassium
Low sodium foods to prevent liquid retention
Some foods have little sodium, mainly fruits and vegetables, although the following ones are recommended:
– Some fruits: apples, pears or cherries are especially recommended.
– Cereals: To satisfy the body we can make use of certain cereals such as rice or oats
– Tubers: such as potato.
– Legumes: Soybean or other legumes are vegetal protein sources with very little salt. We can also resort to milk or its derivatives.
NON-RECOMMENDED FOOD FOR LIQUID RETENTION
Cheese is not recommended for people with water retention, because it contains a lot of sodium.
Food high in salt
Foods high in sodium cause fluid retention. Among the foods which contain much salt and that must be avoided are the following:
Meats (bologna, chopped, ham, salami, Catalan sausage, etc.)
Cured ham of any kind, bacon, etc.
Salted vegetables
Salted nuts
Cheese
Salt
Etc.
* Related information: Onagra and liquid retention during pre-menstrual syndrome.
More information on liquid retention.
