Is water retention something to worry about?
Excess fluid retention is a serious symptom and should be addressed by your healthcare professional immediately. You must treat water retention early before it damages your heart.
Check for these symptoms of water retention (as listed in The Waterfall Diet)
1- Are you having trouble losing weight, no matter how long you try?
2- Firmly press a fingernail on the thumb pad. Does it stay deeply dented for more than a second or two?
3- Press the tip of your finger on the inside of your shin. Can your finger make a dent?
4- Do your ankles ever swell?
5- Does your shoe size seem to increase as you age?
6- Does it sometimes seem that your rings no longer fit?
7- Is your belly often tight and swollen?
8- If you are a woman, do you often suffer from breast tenderness?
9- Does your weight ever fluctuate within several pounds in the space of just 24 hours?
Your problem may very well be water retention.
There are many causes of water retention:
1- Dehydration is the most common cause of water retention. Your body is responding to the emergency of a water shortage. Believe it or not, the best thing to do up front for water retention is to drink more water. Drink sips of water throughout the day to ensure that you have enough water available for all your bodily functions throughout the day. Stop around 5pm so you can sleep.
2- Hormonal problems can also cause water retention. This can be easily ruled out IF your doctor does a test on you. If you suspect fluid retention, INSIST on having your hormones tested.
3- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a very common cause of chronic illness and discomfort. Even if you eat a wide variety of whole foods, you can still suffer from malabsorption. You may have a deficiency and may not realize it. The seemingly “magic” cure for many chronic ailments through the use of specific nutritional supplements has been well documented.
4- Food allergies can be the problem. Seek the advice of a professional for proper testing of problem foods. This cannot be done with blood tests, only by eliminating all possible allergens in your diet and then reintroducing foods one by one, you can find YOUR problem.
5- Many sensitive people cannot tolerate chemical foods. Also, eating the same foods all the time is likely to cause an intolerance. When your body cannot tolerate a food you eat, the result is very uncomfortable gastric disturbance and eventually inflammation and fluid retention. If your “gut” is not healthy, it cannot absorb any of the life that gives it the nutrients it chews and swallows. Refined sugar is one of the biggest culprits for bad bacteria growth in the gut. You do well to avoid it altogether. Good gut bacteria in the form of probiotics can be helpful, as well as enzymes to help with digestion and restore balance to your body. You take in the most chemicals and stimulants that overload your liver and adrenal glands through your mouth.
6- When you are exposed to chemicals in your living, school or work environment, you can become increasingly irritated and eventually cause inflammation and water retention. Cleaners, and even floors, upholstery, etc., can build up and cause real fluid problems for some people.
7- If you do not eat a sufficient amount of calories; your body will retain fluid.
8- If you have lung disease and / or heart disease and do not treat your low oxygen levels, you will see fluid in your ankles when your heart has weakened and without oxygen. Treating your low oxygen levels will actually remove the water from your ankles. Many times I have seen supplemental oxygen resolve fluid build-up around the ankles.
IF YOU RETAIN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF LIQUID, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ABSORB OXYGEN, WHICH WILL CAUSE DAMAGE TO ALL YOUR ORGANS AND WEAKEN YOUR HEART MUSCLE!
Let swollen ankles be a RED FLAG!
If you have water in your ankles, chances are you have water in your lungs.
In fact, water retention needs to be addressed BEFORE it starts to accumulate in the ankles.
YOU CAN’T BREATHE THROUGH WATER!
Every time your body experiences an unmet need for oxygen, your body damages itself. You will soon notice problems with your eyesight, short-term memory, and heart muscle strength.
You may have an oxygen deficit that you don’t know about, but you know that you are always tired.
Ask your doctor to monitor your blood oxygen level with a pulse oximeter if you experience any of the following symptoms:
* water retention (especially feet / ankles)
* extreme fatigue
* shortness of breath / shortness of breath / dyspnea
* chest tightness
* mental confusion / short-term memory loss
* tingling in the fingers
* chronic cough
* blue coloration around the lips
(If you wake up at night out of breath, TELL YOUR DOCTOR!)
Remember that any blood oxygen saturation level below 92% warrants supplemental oxygen treatment, although insurance companies will not pay until the readings drop to 88%.
Your body needs more oxygen with physical activity!
You should monitor your oxygen levels DURING normal daily activity.