Retaining fluids in the body is sometimes the cause of you looking overweight, with these foods you can avoid fluid retention and indirectly maintain a slimmer figure.
There are many prepared foods that are usually purchased in stores, and although they make life easier, they are overloaded with concentrated salts that are very harmful for those who suffer from fluid retention. The most advisable thing will always be to prepare food at home, avoiding concentrated salts and artificial seasonings.
Main causes of fluid retention
The main causes of the accumulation of fluids in our body are a very common problem, especially in these accelerated times where the diet becomes very unbalanced, prioritizing the consumption of junk food and dehydration, which means a very poor water consumption and in the worst case, the absence of water consumption overlapped by the excess in the consumption of diet sodas and soft drinks.
Fluid retention can often be confused with the accumulation of fat, assuming that we are overweight when in reality we may have to adjust our diet and lifestyles to a balanced diet that prevents water retention in the body.
How do I identify that I have fluid retention?
The first step to finding a solution is to identify the problem, so to recognize if it is fat retention or accumulation, we can try the following:
Fluid retention is the deposit of water that occurs in the tissues of our body after not being able to be drained in the proper way. To identify it we can evaluate if our ankles or legs are more swollen than usual, then we will press with a finger on some part of our leg or ankle, if a hole occurs, and it remains for several minutes and with a whitish color, it is a clear sign that we are facing a retention problem, also known as edema.
From the moment we are aware that we suffer from this problem, we will have to modify our eating habits, in addition to increasing our physical activity.
Foods to avoid:
In addition to avoiding salt, as we mentioned before, it is necessary that we eradicate the following foods from our diet.
1. The sausages
It is known that these foods are not friendly to health at all, and that they are a very loaded source of salts and unhealthy fats. Not only is it advisable to eliminate them from the diet if we suffer from fluid retention, but it is necessary to avoid them if we want to ensure our long-term health.
This type of food, in addition to increasing the concentration of water in the body, can trigger circulatory problems and damage our arteries.
2. Snacks or snacks
These foods so attractive and within reach for everyone at a party or event, are the most harmful if you suffer from water retention problems. You should know that there are very healthy alternatives to eat instead of some potatoes, fruit or all its similarities. These are sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc.
3. Avoid alcohol consumption
These types of drinks can cause accumulation of sugar in our body, and are conducive to causing fluid retention problems. It is clear that the properties of red wine are good if consumed properly, but when taken in excess, and several times during the day, this will surely cause more serious problems to your health.
4. Sugar and refined flour
This type of food is one of the main causes of fluid retention and bloating, and the most difficult thing to eradicate its consumption is that they are part of almost all the foods available today in stores, as they are part of its ingredients.
We will always recommend that the person take the time to make their menu as healthy as possible, adding organic and healthy ingredients, in order to prepare the food, we eat by ourselves and be sure of the ingredients that we are going to integrate into our recipes.
5. Prepackaged Meals
In general, there is a large amount of salt that is used to preserve these types of foods. The meals frozen, instant meals and snacks are not at all recommended if you have problems of water accumulation in your tissues, most recommended are the vegetables to steam, seasoned and the best, the little use of sea salt, or accustom the palate to the natural flavor of the ingredients.
It is also advisable to avoid snacks and drinks with high sodium content to try to reduce inflammation of our body, and in this way also to improve our figure, after all we are investing in our health, and any effort is worth it.
6. Cheese
Cheese is a staple of many dishes. Whether we add it, melt it on top, or just drizzle some more over our pizzas, it's "the glory," just… the cheese is full of salt. You won't be able to find much cheese that doesn't contain a lot of sodium.
This is because the added salt helps keep the bacteria in the cheese in check, and it also acts as a preservative to help keep your cheese fresh for longer. For other cheese options, take a look at soft cheeses compared to hard cheeses, which generally contain less sodium; however, it is best to eat cheese in moderation.
7. Sports drinks
Who would have suspected that sports drinks are to blame for a high amount of sodium? After all, they're designed to be hydrating and good for you when you're exercising and doing high-energy sports, right? But sports drinks are actually made for intense athletes who perform high-energy runs for long periods of time.
8. Bread
Bread is one of the basic necessities of food, from sandwiches to pizza and hundreds of meals in between. Many people try to cut bread because of the carbohydrate issue, but sodium is probably a bigger culprit when it comes to bread. Store-bought bread is going to have triple the amount of salt that any homemade recipe calls for.
According to registered dietitian and health coach Jill Corleone, RDN, LD, “Carbohydrates, found in foods like bread, pasta, rice, fruits, vegetables, and milk, also cause the body to retain water. As an energy source, carbohydrates are stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. Glycogen requires water for storage. The more glycogen you have stored in your body, the more water your body contains. " If you want to continue enjoying bread but want to stop retaining water, try baking your own or shop at a bakery.
If you have type 2 and you’re overweight, finding a way to lose weight is important as it really improves diabetes management. This is because it can help to lower your blood glucose and reduce your risk of other complications. There are different ways of doing this like the low-carb, Mediterranean or very low-calorie diets. Losing weight can help you lower your blood glucose levels, and we now know that substantial weight loss can even put some people's type 2 diabetes into remission.