Water Retention and Body Weight !!!
A hidden source of being overweight is Water weight. There are many people who get startled to know, that most of their body weight is basically water weight, and they are not fat.
A big question arises here, how come the body has stored so much water…???
The answer is in our diet. There are many food product which act as a fluid retainer. If our diet consists of these products, the body initiates a reaction, which leads to retention of fluid.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the big culprit in causing water retention, and it can be hidden under a variety of names: modified food starch, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, carrageenan, glutamic acid and yeast extract. MSG is also present in most protein isolates (soy isolates, whey isolates, etc.). Many Chinese restaurants will tell you they don’t add MSG, yet it’s in their sauces under other names.
Many boxed foods, canned foods, gravies, sauces, mixes, TV dinners, lunch foods etc have either MSG or lots of chemicals or preservatives that cause water retention. Eating at restaurants gives you a good dose of MSG.
It’s a difficult substance to avoid. When dining out, keep away from breaded foods and foods with creamy sauces. Eat whole foods with just a few spices. If it is unavoidable, counter the sodium with lots of leafy greens or vegetables, which are high in potassium.
When shopping, make sure you read the labels, especially for the sodium amounts, as you will find that most packaged and processed foods contain mega sodium.
An additional note on MSG: In animal studies, MSG has been shown to triple the output of insulin. Insulin is not only the major fat-making hormone, it is the main preventer of fat burning. In the presence of insulin, your body can NOT burn fat.
Artificial sweeteners, which are in thousands of foods, cause water retention, especially the cold drinks that so many people drink. These include aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame K. Sugar alcohols, such as erythritol, xylitol or mannitol, are another type of artificial sweetener.
Excess sodium causes increased water retention and decreases potassium. The adrenal hormones are affected indirectly when this mineral imbalance is created.
A major hidden source of potassium-depleting, sodium-retaining foods is refined sugars and carbohydrates. In order to digest sugar, potassium is required. And because potassium is not normally present in white sugar or white flour, you end up using your potassium reserves. Since the cell is where most of the potassium is located, a depletion of this mineral will cause dehydration in the cell with fluid retention outside the cell. This is why you feel puffy and have ankle swelling after eating something sweet, and why consuming sweets makes you thirsty.
Alcohol causes water retention as well.
It would be a good idea to take a look at how many water retainers you are exposed to on a weekly basis and compare this to how many high-potassium foods you eat.