Water retention is when there is a buildup of water in the tissues and spaces between cells.

Water retention results from excess pressure on the blood vessels. Water then begins to leak into the surrounding tissue.

There are many known causes of water retention. The biggest cause of it is actually from not drinking enough water. When you don't give your body adequate amounts of water, it will begin to store water in the tissues for survival. When you supply your body with regular glasses of water it will stop storing water.

Diet also plays a major role in water retention. Salt is one of the biggest food related causes. Too much processed salt in the body causes the water inside the cells to come out to dilute the excess salt. To remove access salt, you need to drink lots of fresh water so it can be flushed out your liver and kidneys.

Other foods and liquids like excess sugar, toxins in the body and alcohol cause retention by putting strain on your kidneys and slows them down.

Other than diet it is also important that you have healthy kidneys, as kidney disease and other complications all contribute to water retention. The other factor is exercise, which helps keep the lymphatic system active which is essential for removing access fluid from the bodies tissues.

How does water retention affect acne?

The pressure on the skin cells that water retention produces, causes the pores of the skin to become blocked. Inside these trapped pores, bacteria mixes with skin oil, dead skin cells, and toxins to cause acne.

If you also happen to have over-productive sebum producing glands, you could potentially have quite serious acne.

How do you combat water retention?

* As you read a little earlier, it could be as simple as drinking more water. 6-8 glasses a day would be a good rule of thumb.

* Exercising for at least 30 minutes each day to stimulate the lymph and promote healthy elimination of toxins and body waste.

* Going easy on food additives such as sugar and salt. If you do eat excessivly salty foods, be sure to drink plenty of water afterwards.

There are other methods to reducing water retention. One of them is by using diuretics. These cause excess water to be expeled from the body. There are many types of diuretics.

Cucumber juice is know to be an excellent diuretic. Herbs such as Dandelion leaf have also been known for hundreds of years as diuretic in effect.