Natural Diuretics, Are they Effective?

Yes. Regular black tea is a safe, natural diuretic that will work for you if you are not a regular user of caffeine. Two other herbal diuretics are corn silk tea and freeze-dried dandelion leaf. Both are mild and nontoxic. You can get cornsilk tea in health-food stores or make it yourself if you have access to fresh corn by steeping the silks in boiling water for ten minutes. Drink one cup two to four times a day. The dose for freeze-dried dandelion is one or two capsules two to four times a day. Hawthorn berries are a stronger diuretic. Take these remedies only when symptoms of fluid retention are present. You may also want to try boiling a ¼ lemon and drinking the hot lemon water to obtain a mild diuretic effect.

Please do not take pharmaceutical diuretics unless you have a real medical need for them (such as hypertension or heart failure). You can minimize the problem of fluid retention by eating sensibly, restricting sodium intake during your premenstrual phase, and by exercising regularly.