Common causes and remedies for water retention

Water retention does not mean you’ve drunk too much water. The World Health Organization recommends adult men drink 3.7 liters or 15.6 8-ounce cups of water per day and adult women drink 2.7 liters or 11.4 8-ounce cups of water per day. Yet, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 30 percent of people do not drink enough water, reports LiveStrong.

If you are suffering from water retention, you are more likely to have too much sodium in your bloodstream or to move too little, says water-retention.net. Water retention may also be caused by various medications, hormone changes or heart and kidney problems. For these reasons, drinking less water is not a viable solution to water retention. In fact, this can be a dangerous move toward dehydration. Instead, try these home remedies to treat water retention. If your symptoms persist, see a doctor.

1. Raise your feet. WebMD recommends lying down with your feet raised above the heart. This helps move fluid out of the feet and ankles. Be sure, however, to counter this treatment with exercise to keep the fluid flowing.

2. Replace salt with herbs. A major cause of water retention is excess sodium. To treat water retention and prevent it from returning in the future, OL Women recommends developing the habit of replacing all salt with tasty, nutrient-rich herbs like oregano, rosemary, thyme and chives.

3. Cut out sweets. Diabetics are at a higher risk for water retention. This is because water retention is partly caused by insulin’s inability to flush the body of sodium. OL Women, therefore, urges people to cut out all sugars from their diets while they are treating themselves for water retention and to reduce sugar intake in their everyday diets.

4. Bananas, dates and spinach. This is a recipe for a delicious potassium-packed smoothie. Throw in some strawberries, apples, raspberries or bell peppers for an even bigger potassium punch. OL Women says potassium deficiency is yet another common cause of water retention. Potassium is also important for its role in reducing blood pressure.