Are your feet and ankles swollen, puffy, or deformed? Do you see a finger depression when you press down on the area and release? If so, do not ignore your swollen feet and ankles. It could be a red flag signaling problems with your circulation, joints, heart health, or other underlying health conditions. In today’s article, we’ll look at the root causes of swollen legs, ankles and feet, and the top 5 nutrients to reduce the swelling, so let’s get into it.
To understand the swelling in your feet and legs, known as edema, we need to look at where that excess fluid is coming from.
There are two primary sources – plasma from your circulatory system, and lymph fluid from your lymphatic system.
Plasma is the liquid part of your blood, and in some cases which we’ll mention later, it can leak through your blood vessel walls, and get trapped in the lower extremities due to gravity.
Lymph is a fluid containing white blood cells, and it can build up in the feet and legs when your lymph nodes are damaged or obstructed.
The lymphatic system helps your body fight off infections, and lymph nodes play a vital role by filtering lymph fluid, and trapping harmful bacteria, and abnormal cells like cancer cells.
When your lymph nodes are damaged, waste and bacteria cannot be filtered out of the lymph fluid, so they accumulate and enter the bloodstream.
This places an extra burden on the liver and kidneys to remove these unwanted materials from the blood.
Now, let’s look at what causes edema in the feet and legs. Some common lifestyle factors can be major culprits.
Standing, or sitting for too long, increases pressure on your veins, making it harder for blood to flow back up to your heart.
Your diet also plays a major role – eating a lot of highly processed foods can promote inflammation, weight gain, excess sugar, salt and vegetable oil intake, and nutrient deficiencies that contribute to swelling.
Being overweight or obese puts extra pressure on your veins, leading to built-up fluid.
During pregnancy, hormonal changes and increased blood volume can cause fluid retention, making your legs, ankles, and feet swell.
As you get older, the valves in your leg veins can weaken, allowing blood and fluid to collect in the legs, instead of flowing back up towards the heart.
Next, let’s look at 5 health conditions that can cause your legs and feet to swell.
Number 1. Lymphedema.
Lymphedema is the chronic swelling in the arms or legs caused by the buildup of protein-rich lymph fluid. Lymphedema can develop if lymph nodes are removed or damaged during cancer treatment, radiation, or infections, or when obesity blocks the flow of fluid.
Number 2. High Blood Pressure.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure over a long time, can damage the one-way valves in the veins of your legs, causing venous insufficiency, or leaky veins. The damaged valves allow blood to leak backwards and pool in the legs, instead of returning to the heart. In addition, hypertension also causes the body to retain too much sodium and fluid.
For Complete Cooking STEPS Please Head On Over To Next Page Or Open button (>) and don’t forget to SHARE with your Facebook friends.
