Our bodies are made up of at least 60% water but if you have an excessive build-up of water in the circulatory system or in the body tissues, this is known as oedema or water retention.
Symptoms of water retention include swollen legs, ankles or knees, swollen breasts and/or breast tenderness, swollen fingers, bloating and often puffiness of the eyes. The main cause of water retention is the leaking of fluids from blood vessels into spaces between cells within the skin tissues. Although ageing may be one of the reasons for capillary leakage, other factors may also make the capillaries enlarge causing water retention such as stress and heat.
Other causes of fluid retention include lack of protein, low levels of B vitamins and heart or kidney problems.
There are many herbal remedies for water retention including Dandelion & Burdock alongside vitamins for water retention such as vitamin C to help you lose water weight.
Dandelion is available as a supplement for water retention and works to eliminate excess fluids and replenish the lost minerals due to its highly nutrient rich content.
Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen. Capillaries are made up of collagen which prevents leakage from them into the surrounding tissues so vitamin C is a vitamin that benefits water retention.
Horse Chestnut supplements have been the subject of numerous studies for varicose veins. Aescin, the active compound found in Horse Chestnut is thought to repair leakages in capillaries by stimulating glucosamine-type compounds.
