Do you understand what herbal diuretics are? Take a look at this article to understand better and discover a few examples of herbal diuretics as well
The word ‘diuretics’ means the increased production of urine by the kidneys, or the production and elimination of urine by the kidneys. Urine consists mostly water (91-95%) plus and a variety of salts and organic compounds.
Herbal diuretics, or any diuretic, whether it’s herbal or pharmaceutical, is designed to help stimulate the kidneys to form and produce urine and to help excrete and thereby lessen the water volume in our body, whether it’s contained in tissues or in interstitial areas (which would be edema), or in lessening blood volume.
There are pharmaceutical diuretics, of course, and they work through different pathways, but we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about herbal diuretics.
Know about irritating and non-irritating herbal diuretics
Two categories of herbal diuretics are irritating and non-irritating diuretics. Irritating herbal diuretics stimulate the kidneys to produce more urine. These herbal diuretics act as an irritant to the kidneys, which respond by increasing urine output. For that reason we do not want to utilize these particular herbs for a prolonged period of time. Irritating herbal diuretics are useful when trying to get ahead of or resolve an acute, short-term condition. Herbs that are considered irritating diuretics usually contain high levels of essential oils, particularly those found in cedar (thuja) and juniper, and as such should not be used long-term. These herbs, however, can be used very efficiently and effectively when trying to resolve an infection.
Now let’s consider the category of non-irritating herbal diuretics, and the sub-category of non-irritating, potassium-enriching diuretics. These herbs are more essential in that they can be used long term, and include nettle leaf, parsley, celery, dandelion root and leaf. Not only do these herbs help to stimulate the kidney to produce more urine, but they do not irritate the kidney in doing so. In fact, some of these herbs are renal protective, and some, like dandelion leaf and parsley are so rich in potassium that they actually do not deplete the body of potassium like pharmaceutical diuretics like Furosemide.
Many herbs fall into the category of herbal diuretics, and they’re used frequently to help balance water metabolism, resolve edema and lower blood pressure due to too much blood volume.
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