The human body is mostly made of water, and we need to keep this balance of water in our body by drinking water regularly to replace the water lost due to normal day to day bodily functions such as urinating, sweating, crying, sneezing, and more.
Gaining weight due to excess water is not normal; if this is happening, it is due to an imbalance in water, but more importantly in electrolytes and minerals like sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, etc. that the human body requires to function optimally.
5 Reasons You May Be Retaining Water
If you are retaining water, it could be a wake-up call from your body that there is a serious medical problem for which you should seek medical advice.
Water retention could be caused by:
1. Diet
The main culprit in water retention is sodium which is contained in most processed foods, fast food and things like cereals, salad dressing, and canned soups. Try to prepare most of your meals yourself using low sodium recipes.
Deficiencies in vitamins B1, B6, and B5, and protein can also cause water retention. A low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet could also cause you to retain water as detoxifying and eliminating unusually high quantities of protein could cause a strain on your kidneys.
2. Too Little Exercise
Lack of exercise is a major cause of water retention – sitting or standing for long periods of time, being bed-bound due to illness, or simply having a sedentary lifestyle will result in water retention. Exercise aids in the cleansing of the blood and the secretion of excess fluids from the body.
3. Medications
Various medications, including contraceptives containing oestrogen, steroids, antidepressants, and medications for high blood pressure among others can interfere with the natural processes of fluid removal from the body, causing water retention.
4. Medical Conditions
Various medical conditions such as hypertension, cirrhosis of the liver, congestive heart failure, chronic venous insufficiency, malignant lymph oedema, or hypothyroidism can cause water retention.
5. Hormonal Imbalance
Hormonal imbalances, more common in women than in men, are a common source of water retention, especially in pregnant, premenstrual or menopausal women, and especially in women who are receiving hormonal replacement therapy.
One of the methods of relieving water retention is, strangely enough, to drink more water, thereby ensuring that the kidneys are doing their job of cleansing all toxins from the body in the form of urine.
If you do not like drinking tap water, then invest in a water cooler that can supply you with fresh, filtered chilled water virtually 24/7 so that you will be encouraged to drink more.
Get water coolers in London or water cooler rental from Living-Water. Buy bottled water coolers and mains fed water coolers for your house or office.
