AYURVEDA PERSPECTIVE ON WATER RETENTION

Water retention, also known as fluid retention or edema, happens when excess fluid builds up in the body's tissues, often in the hands, feet, ankles, legs, or even the face.

You might notice swelling or puffiness in these areas, a feeling of tightness in your skin, or that your clothes, shoes, or rings feel unusually snug. If you often feel swollen, puffy, or unusually full—especially at the end of the day or after sitting or standing for a long time—you might be experiencing water retention.

Pressing gently on the swollen area might leave a temporary indentation, known as "pitting."

You may also feel bloated or heavier than usual, and your weight might fluctuate noticeably over a short period.

What does it mean?

Water retention could imply poor circulation or low kidney function. Poor circulation may be due to thick, sweet Kapha blood, a heart condition, low metabolism, or other factors.

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COMPUTE MY DIET FOR WATER RETENTION
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Augment your diet with these specially chosen ingredients below which may be useful for 'Water Retention'. Individual results vary depending the cause of your imbalance and by constitution. Please research the ingredients below to find which are most helpful for you, and check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.

These ingredients are contraindicated / may aggravate 'Water Retention'.

Please check with your medical doctor before making any changes to your health & wellness routine, and for the proper use of these products.

WATER REGULATION TIPS

DISCLAIMER: The pathogenesis of each person's condition is unique, and so the diet must be fit to the individual and the unique root causes of the condition in your body. The information on this page is for educational purposes only and should not be used to treat a medical condition. It is not a substitute for medical care. Please check with your doctor before making any changes to your health and wellness routine.

Everything you eat has an effect on your body, which Ayurveda categorizes in a simple and easy way, using biocharacteristics (gunas). Biocharacteristics are qualities (like cold and hot) that describe the effect a food or herb has on your body. Cooling foods like cucumber, decrease metabolism. Heating foods like chili pepper, stimulate your body and increase metabolism. For 'Water Retention', you should select foods with the following biocharacteristics. Individual results will vary, based on your body type and the root cause of your imbalance.

Cleanse & Detox:

Internal Detoxicant

INTERNAL-DETOXICANT

Liquefies, dissolves, decongests or dislodges internal stagnant toxins. Decongests the lymphatic system.

SEE ALL 'INTERNAL-DETOXICANT' FOODS / HERBS

Skin Care & Beauty:

Diaphoretic

DIAPHORETIC

An herb that induces sweating, often by dilating blood vessels close to the skin.

SEE ALL 'DIAPHORETIC' FOODS / HERBS

Heart & Circulation:

Cardiac Stimulant

CARDIAC-STIMULANT

Herbs that increase the heart rate. Useful in cardiovascular health, blood stagnation, and subjective feeling of heaviness in the chest area.

SEE ALL 'CARDIAC-STIMULANT' FOODS / HERBS

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Cardiac Tonic

CARDIAC-TONIC

Strengthens and tones the heart (heart-tonic). Cardiac tonics are used to treat a wide range of heart issues from arrhythmia, to cardiac insufficiency.

SEE ALL 'CARDIAC-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS

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Vasodilator

VASODILATOR

A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.

SEE ALL 'VASODILATOR' FOODS / HERBS

Kidney & Urinary:

Diuretic

DIURETIC

Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure.

SEE ALL 'DIURETIC' FOODS / HERBS

Joyful Belly is a recognized college of biocharacteristics medicine.

HOW TO ADDRESS ISSUES IN STAGE OF DISEASE #2

WATER RETENTION IS IN STAGE OF DISEASE #2 - AFFECTING BLOOD & EMOTIONS

Affecting Blood: Initially, imbalances are localized, often in the digestive tract. As an imbalance grows, it starts to affect your body systemically, via the blood. If you have symptoms in this category it means that your imbalances are starting to spread, have entered the bloodstream, and are now systemic. Pay particular attention to the biocharacteristics, tastes, and doshas out of balance systemically, so you know how to strengthen your body as a whole, and reduce physical stress on your organs. At this stage of imbalance you will begin to experience generalized discomfort, imbalanced emotions, and may develop sensitivities to temperature. It may take several weeks of strict adherence to a specific remedial diet to clear blood level imbalances. Blood cleansing herbs may reduce symptoms. A several day cleanse may shorten the recovery time. (See all disease stages on JB)

GET MY FREE AYURVEDA BODY MAP According to Ayurveda, one or more of the following doshas and biocharacteristics may aggravate 'Water Retention'. If you have an excess of one of these doshas or biocharacteristics below, Ayurveda recommends reducing foods and lifestyle habits that aggravate them. Click on the biocharacteristic to learn what foods and lifestyle habits should be reduced.

Are you prone to a problem with 'Water Retention'? Find your imbalances and create a diet for your Blood and Circulation by taking the free blood and circulation quiz:

TAKE THE BLOOD AND CIRCULATION QUIZ

The following symptoms & habits may be related to 'Water Retention'. See your quiz results for a computerized assessment of your body type. Please click on the symptoms below to learn more about them. On average the biocharacteristics of people reporting Water Retention were more aggravated than 54% of other symptoms. From the 10,907 people who reported Water Retention average deviation in biocharacteristic levels were the following:

Risk Factors of Water Retention

Complications of Those Reporting Water Retention

WHAT'S NEXT?

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