6 Things That Cause Fluid Retention in Your Body and How to Avoid

Fluid retention, or edema, is caused by many things including 6 major factors. Not drinking enough water to flush out your system can cause retention – if you do not drink water, your body will then hold on to it (or retain it) to survive and keep organs functioning. Deficiencies of magnesium also cause water retention. Magnesium is a very important nutrient in our body and we need to intake at least 200 milligrams daily. Not doing so may lead to swelling. Not getting enough potassium may cause our organs to not function correctly and cause our bodies to hold on to water, since those very organs are what keep our water storage functioning.

While vitamin B6 may also cause water retention, reasoning as to why was not supplied in the article. Regardless, this can be avoided by eating certain foods rich in B6 vitamins.

Consuming too much salt also causes edema. If you eat too much without drinking water to flush it out of your system, you may hold on to that water weight. With that said, processed foods are often flavored with excessive salt and sugars, which our bodies aren’t meant to process. By consuming these things, your body is again getting too much of what it doesn’t need and in turn will retain water.

Finally, drinking water, or not enough, will also impact your body! The more water you drink, the less your body will hold on to. Drinking water flushes out your system and helps your body not retain, so everything runs smoother and theoretically functions correctly.

If retaining water, movement or exercise helps let go of those fluids. Also, elevating legs, eating more naturally occurring foods like fruits and vegetables, not wearing constricting clothes and avoiding hot showers all help in ridding ourselves of edema.