Eliminating Water Retention in the Legs and Abdomen
Water retention is a very common problem. While it’s sometimes confused with weight gain, it’s actually the product of other factors. In this article, we’ll teach you about eliminating water retention in the legs and abdomen. Water retention is not considered a disease, but rather a clinical sign of other illnesses.
Water accounts for 50 percent of the body weight in women, and 60 percent in men. It’s also vital to the proper functioning of the body. The body has different organs working together as systems, responsible for regulating and balancing the body’s water levels. If these systems are not working properly, the body will retain water. However, eliminating water retention is well within your grasp.
Causes
Before learning the keys to eliminating water retention, it’s important to learn about its causes. This will also give you a greater understanding of how to avoid dropsy. The causes of water retention are as follows:
- A sedentary lifestyle: physical activity facilitates blood flow, especially that in the veins connecting the legs to the heart. If proper circulation is lacking, it’s likely that all the pressure will accumulate in the legs, which makes the transit of water more difficult. Click here to learn more about escaping from a sedentary lifestyle.
- Poor nutrition: excessive salt consumption.
- Cardiac or renal problems.
- Hormonal changes: for women, this can be due to pregnancy or menstruation.
- Pharmaceutical consumption: some medications cause water retention as a side effect.
- Standing or sitting for long periods of time.
Eliminating water retention
Water retention occurs primarily in the feet. However, it also appears in other parts of the body, including the legs and the abdomen. These areas are somewhat complicated to deal with but don’t be discouraged. All you have to do is follow this simple advice to have a healthy abdomen and legs:
Do cardio
Cardiovascular exercise, or cardio, consists of exercises that promote proper blood flow. In addition to helping you lose weight, cardio will prevent liquids from accumulating excessively in the abdomen and legs.
This is a highly effective way to eliminate water retention, which is why you should make it a priority. There are different options for incorporating cardio into your routines, such as LISS training, HIIT, or Zumba fitness.
Avoid tight clothing
Remember, the body has to enjoy free and fluid circulation. Even if you have a healthy circulation, there are other factors that can affect it, such as tight clothing. Be it pants, belts, socks, underwear, or something else, anything that exerts excessive pressure on the body will hinder blood flow and cause water retention.
Maintain a healthy diet
Make sure to maintain a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Avoid processed foods and foods that are high in sodium. Meanwhile, try to use as little salt as possible when cooking. The more salt you consume, the more water you’ll retain. Also, you can occasionally add pineapple and cucumber to your meals. These foods have anti-inflammatory properties, which will help to diminish water retention.
Keep your legs elevated
Elevating your legs, about twice a day helps circulation and the fluidity of the body’s liquids. You can accompany this with light massages. However, it’s important to note that massages should only be performed if they do not cause pain. If they do, it’s best to wait until the circulation has improved and the swelling goes down.
Always keep in mind that water retention is not a disease, but rather a sign of other illnesses. This doesn’t mean that you may be suffering from a serious condition, but water retention can serve as a warning sign that you might be susceptible to an illness if you don’t improve your habits.
For this reason, you should follow these tips even if you’re experiencing minimal water retention, or even if you’re not showing any signs at all. They are useful as preventative measures. A healthy body is synonymous with a long life!