Salt And Water Retention
Consuming too much salty food or drink may cause some water retention, but not necessarily a lot.
You may be eating more salt than you realise. Lots of convenience foods, and even common foods like bread, contain salt without even tasting salty.
The active ingredient in salt which causes water retention is sodium. Sodium is not just found in salt, it is also in baking powder (used to make cakes) and in flavour-enhancing additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG). It’s quite hard to avoid consuming excessive salt or excessive sodium if you regularly eat convenience foods.
If you have water retention and are really determined to reduce salt and sodium, then eating unprocessed foods and making as many of your own foods as possible will help. That way you know exactly how much salt is in your food, because you have to add it yourself.
Salt is one of the causes of water retention, but is not the only one. For most people the maximum amount of water retention which they could expect to lose by changing to a low salt / low sodium diet is probably about 2 lbs. However some people are more salt-sensitive than others and may notice that their water retention gets significantly worse if they eat salty food.
If you have any experience of this we’d like to hear from you – do leave us a comment.
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Comments
Comment from Jaana
Time August 20, 2011 at 12:36 pm
A couple of months ago I suddenly became very sensitive to sodium (caused excessive thirst). I am now on a no salt diet and restrict sodium to 120mg/100mg. In the first week I lost 2kg. I still have a level of fluid retention so sodium isn’t my only problem.
Comment from rent
Time December 10, 2011 at 10:00 am
hi, thanks for the info. I have a question… whenever I drink anything I go to the toilet straight afterward and pee it out. Should I be looking to eat more salty foods and protien to retain water?
Comment from Dana Linn Cottman
Time January 9, 2012 at 3:05 am
Good Day to you Linda and anyone who has the same problem that I have, My name is Dana, I am a 41 year old African American with 4+ pitting edema mainly in my left leg. I was very athletic in highschool and never had this problem until my early 20′s. I was told that the valves in my lower legs work to get fluid down through my body but they don’t close and open properly on the return thus fluid pools in my lower extremeties. I do not eat SALT of any kind I am very cautious of foods and items that contain heavy sodium contents, I too take 160+ mg of Lasix per day along with Klor-con to replenish my potassium. I find the Klor-con interesting because I think it is a natural salt! I have had over 5 doppler studies that have shown that my venous functions are working properly. I’ve had TSH, T4 and other Thyroid related tests to check my levels, All were normal. I think I have ICE or idiopathic edema. I wear full length compression hose 40-50mmhg. Going to the bathroom is a chore and you better hope you make it in time!i am now experiencing small amounts of fluid in my upper extremeties. I am hoping to get some relief from your book. I will post my progress if permitted, in an effor to help others. Thank you for allowing me to share my story.
Comment from Jessica
Time May 14, 2011 at 2:47 am
I would like to understand why my body swells 5-8 pounds overnight. I am a 38Y F and a healthy eater (most of the time). My water intake is about the norm or more on heavy training days. Like any other, there are times when I fall off track especially about 1 week before my cycle. I tend to eat foods higher in fats, sugars, sodium, calories. I never thought sensitivity to salt was a possible explanation for the excessive weight gain, let alone sugar or “insulin”. I consume a lot of skim milk.