The feeling of heavy legs, sudden weight gain … When fluid elimination is no longer happening as a matter of course, your body might be in need of a boost. What’s the best supplement for helping to combat water retention?
Water retention refers to an abnormal build-up of fluid in the body’s tissues: instead of being reabsorbed by capillaries, excess fluid accumulates and stagnates in the extracellular milieu surrounding cells.
This results in swelling or oedema, which tends to mainly affect the lower limbs (ankles, feet …), but sometimes the stomach and face (1). Skin discolouration, numbness, a feeling of localised heat, and even sudden weight gain (several kilos within 24 hours) may also occur.
Water retention can have both contextual causes (prolonged standing or sitting, hot weather, pregnancy, menopause, a high-salt diet, taking the contraceptive pill or certain medications…) and pathological ones (primarily heart, kidney, lung or thyroid disorders) (2-4).
In the first instance, a number of simple lifestyle measures can help to prevent and alleviate water retention :
Let’s now take a look at the most effective plants for reducing water retention before we reveal the n°1 supplement for combatting this problem.
Also known as prickly pear, Barbary fig (Opuntia ficus indica) is a cactus native to central and tropical America.
Rich in phenols, flavonoids, betaxanthins and betacyanins, its fleshy fruit supports weight control through a diuretic action, whilst maintaining electrolyte balance by providing calcium, potassium and magnesium (7).
A plant from the Rosaceae family, meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) has earned a reputation as a ‘natural aspirin’ since salicylic acid derivatives were isolated from its flowering tops.
What’s less well-known is that it was traditionally used to facilitate the body’s elimination and draining functions - properties almost certainly attributable to its range of phenolic compounds, flavonoids (heterosides of quercitol and kaempferol) and tannins (gallotannins, rugosin D) (8).
While its edible flower buds are packed with vitamins and minerals, it’s the artichoke’s leaves which are used in herbal medicine to support weight loss (9).
They contain inulin and potassium with draining properties, which explains why they often feature in programmes to reduce water retention. At the same time, they support the health of the liver, a key emunctory organ of the lymphatic system (the supplement Liver Support Formula, aimed specifically at liver health, combines artichoke with milk thistle, chlorella and other exceptional natural extracts) (10).
Part of the same family as pilosella, with which it shares the same yellow flowerheads, dandelion (or more specifically its leaves) helps to drain the body of excess fluid by supporting the kidneys’ excretory function and renal elimination of water (11).
This effect is due to the plant’s combination of flavonoids and potassium salts.
Popular for its invigorating properties and ability to support mental performance, guarana (Paullinia cupana) also promotes weight loss (12).
Native to northern Brazil, this slimming plant bears fruit seeds that contain up to 7% caffeine (compared with just 3% for coffee), the main reason for its effects on diuresis (urine excretion). With a wide range of catechin tannins, it also acts as a natural antioxidant.
Known mainly for its digestive properties which come from its high content of anethole, fennel seed (Foeniculum vulgare) stimulates renal and urinary elimination (14).
It’s therefore of interest for combatting excess fluid in tissues. Fennel root also has powerful draining qualities.
And for lighter-feeling legs, red vine (Vitis vinifera var. tinctoria), with its combination of anthocyanosides, polyphenols and flavonoids, supports healthy circulation by making blood capillaries less permeable, reducing cellulite and aiding weight control (15).
It is particularly suitable when water retention is accompanied by poorly-functioning veins and the feeling of heavy legs (its qualities are used to full effect in the protective supplement Triple Vino Circulation).
An effective anti-water retention supplement would logically contain all the above-mentioned plant extracts.
Which is precisely the case with the synergistic formulation Water Retention Formula which, in a single capsule, combines two patented ingredients: Cacti-Nea®, a Barbary fig extract standardised in betalains and indicaxanthins, and Elim’real®, a specific, natural ‘elimination’ complex made from meadowsweet, caraway, guarana, goldenrod, fennel and dandelion (16).
Just what you need to feel lighter on your feet!
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