Swollen face/water retention/edema

[Kasper]

Besides fluctuating, hormone levels differ per person.
Also the permeabiility of the intestinal mucosa is individually different,
as is the capacity to get rid of 'dirty' protein and deport excess salts.
So, all aspects involved in water retention are individually different.

How are hormones involved in water retention ?

[RRM]

In different ways.
There are hormones specifically designed to regulate water retention (Vasopressine, ADH)
and there are hormones designed for other purposes that also affect water retention (testosterone, progesterone).

[Kasper]

Okay,
so concluding, there are some lucky guys, who are better prepared to salt and dirty protein in our food, and therefore have less water retention eating a western diet.

An other question,
I have far more water retention in my face then in other parts eating a western diet, why is that?

[RRM]

Okay,
so concluding, there are some lucky guys, who are better prepared to salt and dirty protein in our food, and therefore have less water retention eating a western diet.

Well, acne is about the combination of water retention and high sebum production.
One is unlucky when both occur.

I have far more water retention in my face then in other parts eating a western diet, why is that?

The skin is different all over your body. Some regions have much more tiny blood vessels than others,
whereas in some regions there may be more lymph vessels,
and in some regions there is much more subcutaneous fat.
Also, it may be much harder to notice water retention in the skin on your upper thighs than on your face, for example.
Its the face that you see in the mirror every day.

[Kasper]

I read that protein deficiency is also associated with water retention.
Does this also cause acne ?

[RRM]

Yes, thats why its something we specifically warn against in the acne sample diet;
always make sure to eat enough.

[Kasper]

Okay, is the low-protein water retention as bad as high-protein water retention ?

[RRM]

It absolutely may, indeed, as its potentially equally powerful.

[Kasper]

Nine men participated in an 85 day zinc depletion/repletion study divided into 3 metabolic periods: 18 day baseline, a 44 day depletion, and a 23 day repletion. 12 mg of zinc per day was fed to the men during baseline and were held constant after adjustments during the baseline period. Plasma zinc declined from 77.1 +/- 0.03 mcg/dl at baseline to 28.1 +/- 0.07 mcg/dl at depletion; concentrations returned to 77.9 +/- 0.03 mcg/dl at repletion. Total body weight, fat, fat-free mass (FFM), and bone mineral did not change during depletion, but total body water increased 5.3% +/- 1.9%, or about 2 kg or 4.4 lbs (P <0.05) by the end of the depletion and returned to baseline values at the end of repletion. The percent water in FFM increased from 71% +/- 1 to 75% +/- (P <0.05) at the end of depletion and was associated with a small decrease in body protein. The data suggest that zinc depletion impairs water balance.

Sutherland B, et al, Effect of experimental zinc depletion on body composition and basal metabolism in men. The FASEB Journal, Mar. 10, 1995, Volume 9, Number 4.

[RRM]

Interesting.
Many ernzymes contain zinc, so that without sufficient zinc, many reactions cannot take place,
so that a lack of zinc could result in water retention through (the lack of) one of these enzymes.
Zinc is essential in enzymes required for protein digestion, for example, so that a lack of zinc might result in a lack
of avalaible amino acids for reconstruction, which might result in a decrease of muscle mass.
And we already know that a state of catabolism of proteins may cause severe water retention.
Another potential 'winner' are the 'zinc fingers', which are essential for the replication and transcription of DNA
(formation of new cells).