Is water retention a concern?
Excessive fluid retention is a serious symptom and should be addressed immediately by your healthcare professional. You must treat water retention before it damages your heart.
Check these water retention symptoms (as listed in The Waterfall Diet)
1- Do you have trouble losing weight, no matter how hard you try?
2- Press a fingernail firmly into the pad of the thumb. Does it stay deeply indented for more than a second or two?
3- Press the tip of your finger inside your pimple. Can your finger make a tooth?
4- Do you ever get swollen ankles?
5- Does your shoe size seem to increase as you get older?
6- Do your rings sometimes seem not to fit you well?
7- Is your belly often tight and swollen?
8- If you are a woman, do you often suffer from tender breasts?
9- Does your weight ever fluctuate between 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 water scarcity. Believe it or not, the best thing you can do early on for water retention is to drink more water. Drink 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 fluid retention. This can be easily ruled out IF you are examined by your doctor. If you suspect fluid retention, INSIST on having your hormones tested.
3- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a very common cause of discomfort and chronic diseases. Even if you eat a wide variety of whole foods, you can still suffer from malabsorption. You may have a deficiency and not be aware of it. The seemingly “magical” cure of many chronic foods using specific nutritional supplements has been well documented.
4- Food allergies can be the problem. Seek the advice of a professional for proper testing for 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 do not tolerate chemical foods. Also, eating the same foods all the time is likely to lead to intolerance. When your body cannot tolerate a food you eat, the result is a very uncomfortable gastric disturbance and eventually bloating and fluid retention. If your “gut” is not healthy, it cannot absorb any of the vital nutrients that chewing and swallowing provide. Refined sugar is one of the biggest culprits for the growth of bad bacteria 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 bring the body back into balance. You ingest most of the chemicals and stimulants that overload the liver and adrenal glands through your mouth.
6- When you are exposed to chemicals in your living, school or work environment, you can become more and more irritated, which eventually causes inflammation and fluid retention. Cleaners, and even floors, upholstery, etc., can build up and cause real fluid problems for some people.
7- If you do not eat enough calories; your body will retain fluid.
8- If you have lung and/or heart disease and you don’t treat your low oxygen levels, you will see fluid in your ankles when your heart has weakened and you lack oxygen. Treating your low oxygen levels will actually remove the water from your ankles. I have seen many times that supplemental oxygen resolves the fluid buildup around the ankles.
IF YOU RETAIN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FLUID, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ABSORB THE OXYGEN WHICH WILL CAUSE DAMAGE TO ALL OF YOUR ORGANS AND WEAKEN YOUR HEART MUSCLE!
Please let swollen ankles be a RED FLAG!
If you have water in your ankles, you most likely have water in your lungs.
In fact, water retention needs to be addressed BEFORE it starts to build up in your ankles.
YOU CAN’T BREATHE THROUGH THE WATER!
Every time your body suffers from an unmet need for oxygen, your body is damaged. You will soon notice problems with your vision, 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 check your blood oxygen level with a pulse oximeter if you experience any of the following symptoms:
*water retention (especially feet/ankles)
*extremely tired
*shortness of breath/shortness of breath/dyspnea
*chest tightness
*mental confusion/short-term memory loss
*tingling in fingers
*chronic cough
*blue tint around the lips
(If you wake up at night gasping for breath, TELL YOUR DOCTOR!)
Remember that any blood oxygen saturation level below 92% warrants supplemental oxygen treatment, although insurance companies won’t pay until readings drop to 88%.
Your body requires more oxygen with physical activity!
You should check your oxygen levels DURING normal daily activity.