Natural Remedies To Help Relieve Water Retention

Have you ever felt that your legs feel or look thicker than they should? Does your belly feel like it has suddenly swelled, or have you ever felt that your bust size magically swelled overnight?

Swollen legs and tender breasts are all symptoms of water retention. Water retention, also called edema, occurs when fluids that would normally flow through your body begin to pool into tiny spaces between your body’s cells.

Water retention is much more common in women than in men, and women are more likely to experience water retention during pregnancy and during their menstruation period. During pregnancy, water retention is one of nature’s ways of allowing for the body’s expansion.

Of course, most women are very familiar with water retention during the course of their menstrual cycle. During this time, it is natural for extra fluid to accumulate. However, there are some times when you may notice that you are retaining what feels like way too much water. Or perhaps you find that fluid retention is happening all the time.

Fluid retention can sometimes be a symptom of a larger problem. If you notice that you have been retaining fluid for more than one week, you should seek out a medical professional to receive a full diagnosis and treatment.

If you seek out help from conventional doctors, you will find that most doctors will try to control water retention through the use of diuretics. Diuretics are a special class of drugs that help flush water out of the body. However, the problem with relying on diuretics is that they also flush out magnesium, potassium, and other important minerals out of the body.

These are important minerals that help keep the muscles in your body contracting, your nerve cells communicating with one another, and which help your heart to keep beating. Clearly, diuretics should not be relied upon for controlling fluid retention problems.

Also, diuretics can also have other unpleasant side effects, including a lower sex drive and raised blood sugar levels. It is no wonder then that so many traditional herbalists and naturopathic doctors are busy recommending more natural ways to help relieve the problem of fluid retention. 

An Interesting Herb Fact

Another promising and natural way to control fluid retention is through the use of the herb dandelion. Some traditional herbalists have described dandelion as nature’s best medicine. In particular, the leaf of the dandelion is believed to be one of nature’s best natural diuretics. But unlike conventional prescription diuretics, the leaf of the dandelion is a natural diuretic that is perfectly safe and does not cause serious side effects. Most herbalists recommend that patients take 250 milligrams of dandelion leaf extract three times a day.

Menstrual pains and premenstrual headaches can be greatly reduced with a sage, lavender and geranium mix of essential oils in a sweet almond carrier oil.

If you find this difficult or distasteful, there is another way to consume the dandelion leaf extract. Simply take 30 to 60 drops of tincture in half a cup of juice or water three times a day. You can keep taking dandelion indefinitely as long as you need the natural diuretic. However, if you are taking dandelion leaf extract to reduce fluid retention during pregnancy, only take the dandelion leaf extract until the symptoms are under control.