Do Food Intolerances Cause Water Retention and Weight Gain?

Water retention is a common and frustrating complaint by many of our clients. This can be cyclical around the menstrual cycle or occasionally relate to thyroid issues - but one of the more common one we see in our clinic, is in response to a food sensitivity. Now this is not a scientific scenario and you’re not going to see research on this subject, but one that we observe clinically nevertheless.

The most frustrating thing our clients complain of, is the feeling of gaining weight, often despite being really good with the diet.

IS IT WATER OR TRUE WEIGHT GAIN?

4 Signs it’s water retention:

• Your rings feel too tight suddenly, and this seems to fluctuate irrespective of over eating

• Your scales are showing weight gain of several pounds or even kilo/s - just over night!

• You may have certain parts of the body that feel extra ‘wobbly’, such as tummy or upper arms

• Deep indentation marks on your skin from seems on your clothes or even your pillow after sleep

Other potential reasons for water retention

Potential causes that to exclude and consider::

• Hypothyroidism (with other symptoms)

• Insulin resistance

• PMS or hormone imbalances

• Constipation

What Can you Do?

Food intolerances can be tricky to navigate for a number of reasons.

a) Food intolerances may be more of a gut microbiome problem as oppose to the food per se

b) More than one food may cause the problem - or more than one food group, such as dairy or nightshade vegetables

First thing to do is to establish whether the problem may relate to ‘carbohydrate intolerance’ - which tends the more of a blood sugar issue. If this can be excluded, then attention can be directed to the gut in the second instance.

Try This:

• Do a short fast: Eat your last meal at 4pm then eat nothing until the next morning. Notice whether there is a sudden need to urinate a lot. Perhaps you’ll wake to go to the loo at night for example, or you feel that you need to go for a wee more than you have been drinking. This COULD be indicative that your blood sugar balance may need a little attention. With the fasting, you’ll start to break down stored (in the body) glucose (blood sugar). This can lead to increased water which needs to be eliminated. What does this have to do with water retention: Insulin resistance could be related to water retention.

• An elimination diet (if you feel that your health concerns are significant to warrant a trial), where you cut out gluten and dairy for 2 weeks. Re-introduce one of them at a time, by consuming just a little on the first day. Then if no uncomfortable symptoms the next day, have a small binge on that food group (gluten or dairy) - then note any symptoms the next day. Get help from a professional if you need a bit of support with the process. Note, try not to exclude any food groups long term without considering other nutritional sources (e.g calcium etc).

If this does not work:

Health issues can be complex, and you might have several imbalances at all one’s, which means that trying just one thing may not enough to reduce symptoms.

Need Help?

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