Natural Remedies for Edema (Swelling in the Tissues)

I love this site. I stumbled upon this site about a week and a half ago and started the apple cider vinegar remedy last week. I love the taste, in water. I put 4 tablespoons of ACV in 20 fluid oz and sip it all morning at work. My appetite has decreased as has my taste for sweet things. I am terribly overweight and have had weight problems all my llife, had 4 knee surgeries and have arthritis and edema. My pain has lessened as has my edema has I really feel healthier. This is something I would recommend to everyone! Thank you for this website. My only problem is when I get home I feel suddenly a big decrease in energy, which is not so bad since I have been feeling so sluggish the new energixed feeling I have had is very welcome. I was just wondering if I should drink a tablespoon more of ACV when I get home in order to keep the energy level up. I did not want to over do the ACV as I am new to this. Thanks for any help! Sincerely grateful, Carolyn

I've had varicose veins and pain and swelling in my lower legs on and off for years. The swelling started when I was taking aspirin and drinking coffee at work and not eating. I was also using birth control pills around the same time. The veins I still have, but I discovered after much searching that eating raw eggs or eating curry powder with food makes my lower legs and feet feel nice and warm. Coffee, chocolate, green and black tea make my legs hurt if I have too much. I also get swelling in my left leg and anxiety that seems diet related, I'm thinking from MSG, but I haven't figured that out yet. I found a tea at the grocery store that is a Chinese formula for lowering blood pressure and it works quite well. A juice from artichokes, lemons, and ginger I like. I blend it all in a blender and strain it through a clean wash cloth because the artichokes have thorns. Also cherries are so good. Also Jesus is so good :)

My GF's father (62 yrs old) suffers from swollen legs (Peripheral Edema). He has serious heart issue's with mini-heart attacks everyday. Strong smells also set him off and makes his chest hurt. He eat's nitro-pills like M&M's. He says hot weather causes his legs to swell.“He works outside in construction”.

The family has been rubbing Rosemary essential oil undiluted on his legs. It brings the swelling down in a few hours and the smell does not aggravate his heart.

Hope this helps someone...

I started using beets and Alpha Lipoic Acidd (ALA) and within 2 days had reduced my edema by 95%. I just peel the fresh beets with an apple for flavor in the blender. It's kind of like red applesauce. For over 10 years I've suffered with severe edema. This is the miracle I have been looking for. I can wear real shoes again and walk without pain and throbbing in my feet and legs. I eat the fresh beets and apples and take the ALA every and I will never stop.

For edema, it's not just sugar that needs avoiding, but all carbohydrates, in fact anything requiring Insulin to digest. What happens is that Insulin causes the kidneys to re-absorb salt and thus increases the water contents of the body. Historically humans were hunters and gatherers, they hunted the fattest animal they could find and they ate all of it, with very little else, ... And most importantly were able to live very healthy and energetic lives on that diet. Insulin was only needed for the little bit of fruits and vegetables they ate. Today's diet is the opposite from their's and some of us don't tolerate a mainly carbohydrate diet it all that well and end up diabetic and waterlogged, if not fat as well.

The upshot is, it takes only a few days on a NO-Carb diet and your waterlogged legs and feet will go back to normal. It's amazing to say the least.

GARY,,,,,,,,, using my shot gun method, so I really don't have a straight answer for what solved my problem. My PT guy said I must re-train my lymph system to flow. He taught me how to use my hands to pressure my system under my arm pits and down to my groan and inside my knee. I no longer have to wrap my legs, nor use extreme stretch socks. He was a bright young man. I think that sleeping with my legs raised on a cheap Walmart wedge was a God Send.

Suggest you also learn how to bristle brush your bod. Your lymph has no heart as your blood system, so it needs exercise or skin stimulation to make it flow. Chemicals won't do it. Lots of video's on u tube on how to do this. I wish you well. No simple short cut solution.

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Licorice root (one of Ted's remedies for edema) increases my edma dramatically along with Bacardi and coke. Flying also has the same effect, so I tried the apple juice and olive oil programme. drinkin pure apple juice for five mornings straight. On the evening before retiring to bed I mixed 1/2 glass of apple juice and 1/2 glass of olive oil mixing them until the mixture was complete. The swelling stayed away for about 5 months. From this I learned it was my liver the culprit..

Update to my post re ALA: While ALA works I did further research regarding swelling in ankles and feet. I scoured this website and took the advice of one of the contributors here and stopped eating anything with Nitrates. WOW...now I don't take any pills to reduce the swelling because there is none. That means no processed meats, i.e. deli meats, cold cuts, ham, bacon, hotdogs, read the labels folks, if there are any Potassium Nitrates or Sodium Nitrates, DON'T EAT IT. Google Nitrates for further information. And thank you again for this site Earthclinic, it is awesome.

Butcher's Broom for ankle/feet swelling:

I've been suffering off and on with swollen feet/ankles for many years. Most of the time it has passed within a short amount of time with little effort (such as drinking more water and elevating my legs/feet on pillows). Recently the swelling came on after being laid off from work for a couple months - spending too much time at my computer! I tried the pillows several times to no avail. Every time I put on shoes and took a walk to help circulation, the swelling in my feet would simply move up worse into my ankles. I researched online and in the many books I have for herbal remedies and came to the conclusion that Butcher's Broom was the most recommended of anything. I went and got some at my local natural food store and took the regular dose (two 500 mg) and within just a couple of hours I realized I could once again see the veins on the tops of my feet and the swelling had reduced by at least half. I could feel a huge difference and the relief -both physical and mental- was immense.

It's not the sugar that is a concern. Blackstrap molasses has a very low glycemic index and has many minerals needed by the body. Without proper minerals the body is unable to properly assimilate vitamins. it's Also a good source of calcium, potassium, iron, and vitamin b6. It's an excellent alternative for use as a natural sweetener.

ALPHA LIPOIC ACID, 600mg daily with food, works wonders on painful & swelling feet....... I found myself limping & not being able to wear any of my new shoes & I was furious until I tried this..... WORKS in 2-3 days, slowly made my swelling go away & I'm actually walking good again...... Try it you'll love it!

Treating edema by increasing energy-production pathways:

The most common underlying cause of edema is hypometabolism, or low basal metabolic rate. The reason that it plagues young women more than young men is that young men have a higher metabolic rate. Women have a higher estrogen influence earlier in life, which down-regulates metabolic rate (and raises maximum lifespan). But when men get old, they often have higher estrogen than their post-menopausal wives--and develop edema.

Most of the treatments for edema mentioned here raise metabolic rate, and most things that raise metabolic rate ease edema. Lipoic acid is a mitochondrial nutrient that stimulates metabolic rate inside your body's power plants. So can coQ10, carnitine, B1, B2, B3, NADH, coconut oil, MCT oil, ketosis (fat-burning metabolism), exercise (aerobic only), breathing, and negative ions (from a shower, waterfall or surf). These are bottom-up effects, enhancing metabolism from the ground up.

Your body's metabolic rate is also influenced by top-down mechanisms. Thinking positive thoughts, cultivating happiness, sleeping soundly, having a great sex life, relaxing, escaping traps (toxic jobs or relationships), and looking forward to waking up each morning can also raise metabolic rate. And the specific mechanisms of neuroendocrine regulation include steroids (progesterone and testosterone are up-regulators, and estradiol and estrone are down-regulators), corticosteroids (low cortisol is an edema trigger), and thyroid hormone. Most people with edema will read the symptoms of hypothyroidism and go, "yep, yep, maybe, yep, OMG yes, yep, maybe, yep" as they read them. See the thyroid one-pager on the Steve page at Project Wellbeing (dot com) if you don't want to track them down on one of a hundred pages on the internet.

Since insulin resistance is so common in our society and since it causes low metabolism when eating a carb-replete diet, ketosis can relieve edema in a sustained way. After being in ketosis for many days, the insulin-resistance threshold begins to lower and carb-based energy pathways begin to increase.

Two last things to mention in this brief intro: one is body temperature as a sign of hypometabolism and the other is nutritional deficiencies related to hypometabolism. Most people with hypometabolism have a low body temperature and low pulse rate. This is something you can monitor, and track over time, to see if the remedies that work (and do not work) are associated with subtle increases (or not) in body temperature. Lastly, some of the most prevalent nutritional deficiencies in modern society are directly associated with hypometabolism. Magnesium deficiency, vitamin D deficiency and B-complex vitamin deficiencies are three that first come to mind.

To reliably track your body temperature requires a good thermometer (electronic ones are unreliable), and the right timing. Early morning body temperature just before getting out of bed is the best indicator of basal metabolic rate, because it minimizes muscle contributions, digestive contributions and adrenal contributions. If you are not fortunate enough to still have a mercury thermometer in your possession now that they are illegal to sell retail, use a gallium thermometer or import a mercury thermometer to act as your temperature reference standards. Electronic thermometers can work OK if you know how to interpret their results by periodic comparison to a mercury or gallium thermometer--or a fertility thermometer.

If you do not want to be bothered with verifying the connection between your metabolic rate and your edema, you can simply correlate the easing of your edema symptoms with your subjective feelings of your energy levels, strength, stamina and mental clarity.

Cream of Tarter for Edema: Cream of Tarter is rich in potassium. Often edema is caused from not enough water intake (dehydration) or too much sodium and not enough potassium. Cream of Tarter, 1/4 t in a glass of water, sipped, will provide a hefty dose of potassium. For me I start to pee out the fluid within an hour.

I accidentally discovered a huge benefit of taking ACV. I suffered Covid back in March 2020. Since then I have had swollen puffy feet, can't see my ankle bones and big puffy areas around my knees. Ok, I made a simple vegetable soup yesterday: broth (unsalted), tomatoes, onion, carrots, celery and yellow squash. The recipe suggested a cup and a half of natural ACV!! Never heard of this!! I figured that the small amount of soup I made needed about a half cup. It was delicious but next time I'll put in a quarter cup. I am sensitive to ACV and it is a laxative for me. I was cleaned out!

The next day, I was AMAZED that I saw my ankles 1st time since Covid!! My knees were back down and no puffy feet!! Making my two quart total volume vegetable soup with just a quarter cup ACV in the morning!!! I found ACV by accident!!

My husband has been suffering from edema on his legs since before I knew him. We tried lots of things, with no relief. He started taking 600mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) and 940mg of Butcher's Broom once a day (both easily found, purchased from Amazon).

Within hours, he felt the fluid begin to pull from the edema in tingly, not painful way. A week later, one of his legs is visibly smaller and the other is much more pliable; he feels great relief!

Edema, Poor Circulation:

I recently was told by my Naturopath to begin 1Tbsp of ACV before every meal. One of my health complaints has been very swollen ankles ( even legs sometimes) and cold pale feet. It has been a week and among other things, my ankles are very skinny, my feet now have color again and my overall circulation has improved. I also have dropped 5 pounds- but I'm also following the Elmination Diet to identify allergies so I can't completely credit that to the ACV. My whole body seems to have been de-bloated. I notice that after drinking the ACV my appetite wanes, so I do eat less and can definitely feel my food digesting.

One way to know if you are digesting food properly or not is to check your stools. Do you recognize your meals? If you can identify what's there- you are not digesting your food.

I'm thrilled with the results so far and am anxious to see what else happens from my new dosing.

Concentrated Trace Mineral Supplements. Direct cause and effect for me.

Was seeing an increase in left leg edema. I Increased water intake. Starting feeling migraine symptoms and recalled reading an article regarding trace minerals and migraines so started increasing my trace mineral intake. No more edema. No more migraines.

Everyone can stand to increase their trace minerals.