What are the diuretic foods?
Sep 15, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Cao Zhiqiang
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, consuming foods such as wax gourd (winter melon), cucumber, watermelon, red beans, and mung beans may help promote the elimination of excess water from the body and have a certain diuretic effect. If needed, these foods can be reasonably incorporated into your daily diet. In daily life, in addition to using these foods to assist with diuresis, it is also important to ensure adequate water intake and avoid dehydration, which may affect metabolism.
Generally speaking, consuming foods such as wax gourd (winter melon), cucumber, watermelon, red beans, and mung beans may help promote the excretion of excess water from the body and have a certain diuretic effect. If needed, these foods can reasonably be incorporated into daily meals. Detailed analysis is as follows:
1. Wax gourd (Winter melon): Wax gourd is cool in nature and has a bland, sweet taste. It has functions of clearing heat, promoting diuresis, reducing swelling, and detoxifying. Wax gourd contains a high amount of water and propylene glycol substances, which can help inhibit the conversion of carbohydrates into fat and simultaneously promote urine production and excretion, making it suitable for individuals needing diuretic effects.
2. Cucumber: Cucumber is cool in nature with a sweet taste. It has functions of clearing heat, promoting diuresis, detoxifying, and reducing swelling. Cucumbers are rich in water content, and the cucumber enzyme it contains can promote metabolism, helping accelerate water circulation in the body, thereby assisting diuresis and relieving mild bodily edema.
3. Watermelon: Watermelon is cold in nature with a sweet taste. It helps clear heat, relieve summer heat, stimulate saliva production to quench thirst, and promote diuresis while relieving irritability. Watermelon is rich in moisture and citrulline. Citrulline helps relax blood vessels and enhance kidney metabolism, thus increasing urine output and aiding in the removal of excess water from the body.
4. Red beans: Red beans are neutral in nature with a sweet and sour taste. They have functions of strengthening the spleen, eliminating dampness, reducing swelling, and promoting diuresis. Red beans are rich in potassium, which helps balance sodium levels in the body, reduce water retention, and their dietary fiber also aids in promoting intestinal motility and bodily metabolism, supporting diuresis.
5. Mung beans: Mung beans are cold in nature with a sweet taste. They have functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, as well as promoting diuresis and relieving summer heat. Mung beans are rich in protein, B vitamins, and various minerals. When boiled into soup, they not only replenish fluids but also enhance kidney filtration function, helping increase urine output to achieve a diuretic effect.
In daily life, besides consuming these foods to assist diuresis, one should also ensure adequate hydration to avoid dehydration affecting metabolism. Additionally, engaging in mild exercises such as walking or jogging can help improve blood circulation and water metabolism, better enabling the body to expel excess water.
