An unbalanced diet, accompanied by stress, little physical exercise and a sedentary lifestyle can cause various consequences for the body, including, more frequently, fluid stagnation, which in turn causes water retention, swelling of the legs and abdomen, cellulite and blemishes due to poor circulation, which affect many people, especially women. Often the main cause of water retention is a wrong lifestyle, but this problem can also be associated with serious pathologies such as heart or kidney dysfunction, inflammation or allergic reactions. In addition to these causes, there are predisposing risk factors such as: overweight, excessive sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol abuse, pregnancy or hormonal alterations due to the menstrual cycle, too tight clothing.
But if the diet can cause this damage, with the diet it is also possible to take action: to solve the problems due to the stagnation of liquids and the difficulty in purifying the body it is important to take care of it, undertaking not one of the many strange diets slimming and detox, but taking care of the ingredients used in the preparation of your meals and integrating herbs, draining plants and foods that contribute to the functionality of the lymphatic system.
Taking care of your diet to combat water retention and cellulite is fundamental, but it must be done with criteria, in order to resolve upstream the poor functioning of the lymphatic system which in the long run could lead to much more serious problems, and purify the organism, allowing to resume its natural detoxifying function. A draining diet is therefore a diet that helps eliminate excess fluids and toxins from body tissues, that helps to dispose of fats or prevent them from accumulating in the tissues, causing inflammation of the cells which then leads to cellulite, and above all which also stimulates and protects the excretory organs.
It is therefore important with the draining diet to make sure you include and prefer foods that promote drainage, diuresis, and that improve the functionality of the microcirculation, give tone to the muscles responsible for lymphatic circulation, and are beneficial for the liver, kidneys and skin health. All the nutrients must therefore be inside the meals: it is good to start the meal by eating raw vegetables, and continuing with a complete dish, which includes proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables, both for lunch and dinner.
One of the most offending foods is salt, an ingredient that is often used inappropriately and which increases water retention. However, it is important not to completely eradicate salt from your diet, as must happen for all classes of ingredients. Sodium is in fact a very important element for the body, but it is found in many foods, therefore reducing consumption is essential to promote drainage. Alternatively, it can be replaced with spices, for example dried savory, a savory herb rich in phosphorus, potassium, calcium and vitamin A. It is also important to avoid processed foods that are too rich in sugar, to reduce the consumption of ca is that it promotes vasoconstriction and cellulite, as well as smoking, dairy products and cured meats and sausages, as well as canned foods, which are often rich in salt.
It is also essential to eliminate alcohol, carbonated and energizing drinks, which in addition to giving a strong intake of calories are often rich in ca ein, which stimulates the elimination of potassium, an important element for drainage.
In a draining diet, however, draining foods such as fruit and vegetables should not be missing, which promote diuresis, mineralization, liver purification and drainage thanks to the contents of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. In particular, among the fruit and vegetables with greater draining power we find fennel, celery, pineapple, cherries, melon and cucumbers, blueberries.
It is also important to integrate anti-inflammatory foods such as turmeric, pineapple and ginger, as cellulite is caused by inflammation of the adipose tissue cells.
Another very important element is potassium, a mineral that counteracts water retention. Potassium is very present in the intracellular fluid, and controls the exchange of liquids between the inside and outside of the cell. Potassium counteracts the action of sodium, which instead creates water retention, disposing of excess liquids. Foods rich in potassium are: spinach, potatoes, carrots, legumes, bananas and fennel.
(Dr. Cristina Giusto – nutritional biologist)
