How To Fight Against Water Retention In The Legs?

Water retention can appear as a consequence of the accumulation of salt in our body. Also avoid alcohol and saturated fat.

We’re sure you’ve come home at night with swollen legs, cramps, and a feeling of heaviness in your ankles and feet. Water retention in the legs mainly affects women and, although it is more common during summer periods, it is often associated with classic blood circulation problems.

The tissues become inflamed due to the presence of toxins, water accumulates there and thus decreases the venous return capacity.

As a result, the legs end up swelling and causing pain.

What can we do ? In the following article, we will offer you some solutions to decrease water retention and relieve pain.

Find out what causes water retention in the legs

You should know that we do not all have the same lifestyle, or the same physical characteristics.

This is why it is important to first determine what generates this retention  :

• You may be overweight. Usually women who have a lot of cellulite suffer from water retention in the legs.
• Water retention in the legs can occur during an airplane or train trip, during which you sit for a long time.
• Check the composition of your medications. Indeed, many of them generate water retention as a side effect. 
• If you have had an injury to your knee or ankle, you may be suffering from this problem.
• Varicose veins.
• Kidney problems.
• Heart or blood circulation problems.
• Hormonal disturbances during menstruation.
• Being on your feet for a long time.
• Having too much salt intake.

If you frequently suffer from water retention in your legs,  see your doctor. 

Before putting into practice the following home remedies, it is important to know the causes.

1. Fennel infusion

This aromatic plant of Mediterranean origin can easily be found in any natural store or in the “infusions” section of your supermarket.

It is diuretic, carminative, digestible and purifying. It is adapted to fight against water retention, and you can drink between one and two cups a day, 15 minutes after your meals.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of fennel (5 g)
• Half a spoonful of anise (3 g)
• 1 glass of water (200 ml)

Preparation

• All you need to do is boil the water, and add the fennel and anise.
• Let the mixture steep for 20 minutes.
• Then let sit for 10 minutes.
• Drink this lukewarm infusion quietly.

2. Horsetail infusion

It is one of the best herbs for treating fluid retention, and you can find it in drugstores as well as in health stores.

The reasons why horsetail can help you are:

• It is haemostatic, anti-haemorrhagic and promotes coagulation.
• It contains silicon, a mineral that helps us regenerate the skin and repair connective tissue.
• It is one of the most effective natural diuretics, which makes it ideal for increasing the amount of urine, eliminating toxins and purifying the body.
• It is interesting to know that horsetail has two active compounds: saponoside and equisetonin, which stimulate blood circulation and filter out toxins.
• Drink a horsetail tea in the morning, and you will feel much better!

3. Foods you need to include in your diet

It is important that you start to regulate your salt intake  in your daily life.

Through a complex system of hormones, our organism takes care of adjusting the liquids so that they are well balanced. When salt accumulates in our body, the tissues become inflamed and edema appears, resulting in water retention.

The body can no longer eliminate this excess water through urine or sweat glands and that is why we “swell”.

Eating salt isn’t the only thing that turns us on. Saturated fats, sugary drinks, cakes and white flour are harmful foods that alter the basic functions of our body.

Avoid these foods and start consuming the following: 

• The onions
• Asparagus
• Parsley
• The celery
• Artichokes
• The endives
• The salad
• The eggplants
• Watermelons
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Bananas
• Melons

4. Drink enough water

Often times, we make mistakes in our diet. For example, we know that it is important to drink at least two liters of water per day.

We therefore impose this obligation on ourselves and we tend to drink a glass of water all at once. Then we repeat this action six times a day. However, this is not correct.

In this way, the only thing we do is “fill the stomach”, and accumulate water inappropriately.

To avoid these mistakes, we need to drink small sips of water throughout the day. This way, we don’t accumulate fluids and we stay hydrated.

5. Yes to walking for half an hour a day

Put on comfortable clothes, good shoes, and disconnect your mind.

Going out for a walk doesn’t have to be an obligation or just a physical exercise, because it is also an inner liberation, and a medicine for your body.

This gentle, regular exercise will improve your blood circulation, oxygenate your veins and arteries while keeping them elastic. After a few weeks, you will find that your legs will feel lighter and rested.

If you take care of your diet, maintain a proper weight, and avoid sedentarism, you will not suffer from water retention.