Foods That Can Cause Swelling in the Legs
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Foods That Can Cause Swelling in the Legs

Foods That Can Cause Swelling in the Legs
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Updated on July 31, 2025
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Swelling in the legs, known as edema, does not always point to a serious condition. However, it's a symptom that shouldn't go ignored. While injury, inflammation, and certain diseases can cause leg swelling, there are also certain foods that cause edema.

What Is Edema?

Edema is swelling that occurs when fluid is trapped in your body's tissues. The swelling and puffiness typically occurs in your feet, ankles, and legs, but it can also involve other parts of the body, such as the face and hands.

Numerous factors can play a role in causing edema, including heart failure, lung disease, sitting for too long, or medications you may be taking for blood pressure or pain management. Ingesting too much salt or eating a food that you’re allergic to can also cause leg swelling.

Foods That Can Cause Edema

If you notice your legs swell after eating, you might be dealing with food-related edema. This sudden reaction — known as angioedema — is most often caused by one or more of the top food allergens:

  • Tree nuts
  • Seafood
  • Dairy
  • Citrus fruits
  • Berries
  • Food additives
  • Alcohol
With angioedema, you may notice that leg swelling is coupled with swelling in other areas of the body, including the eyes, lips, face, and throat. This reaction — known as anaphylaxis — can be coupled with a skin rash, vomiting, and difficult breathing. Anaphylaxis is life-threatening and requires immediate care, including the administration of epinephrine (EpiPen).

Treatments for Edema

The most important way to address edema is by treating the underlying cause. If you suspect certain foods are at the root of your edema, an allergist or immunologist can help diagnose and manage your condition.

Other steps you can take to keep fluid from building up in your body include:

  • Lie down and put a pillow under your legs to keep them elevated above the level of your heart.
  • Do not sit or stand for long periods without moving.
  • Wear compression socks, stockings, or sleeves, which put pressure on parts of your body to keep fluids from collecting there. (Specialized edema shoes are available for people who experience chronic edema and need adjustable footwear for swelling.)
  • Reduce the amount of salt in your diet.
  • Follow your doctor’s directions for taking medications. They might want you to take a diuretic (commonly called a “water pill”), which helps your body get rid of excess fluid.

The Takeaway

  • Edema is swelling that can occur in different areas of the body, though it most commonly occurs in the lower legs and ankles.
  • The swelling that is characteristic of edema can be caused by medications, excessive salt consumption, underlying health conditions, and food allergies.
  • If edema occurs suddenly and is accompanied by shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, throat swelling, or chest pain, seek emergency medical attention, as these symptoms can be a sign of anaphylaxis.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Edema. Cleveland Clinic. May 17, 2022.
  2. Foods to Avoid with Angioedema: Triggers to Watch Out for and What You Can Safely Eat. Penn Medicine.
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Kayli Anderson, RDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kayli Anderson has over a decade of experience in nutrition, culinary education, and lifestyle medicine. She believes that eating well should be simple, pleasurable, and sustainable. Anderson has worked with clients from all walks of life, but she currently specializes in nutrition therapy and lifestyle medicine for women. She’s the founder of PlantBasedMavens.com, a hub for women to get evidence-based, practical, and woman-centered guidance on nutrition and cooking, hormone health, fertility, pregnancy, movement, mental well-being, nontoxic living, and more.

Anderson is board-certified in lifestyle medicine and serves as lead faculty of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s (ACLM) "Food as Medicine" course. She is past chair of the ACLM's registered dietitian member interest group, secretary of the women's health member interest group, and nutrition faculty for many of ACLM's other course offerings. She is the coauthor of the Plant-Based Nutrition Quick Start Guide and works with many of the leading organizations in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to develop nutrition content, recipes, and educational programs.

Anderson frequently speaks on the topics of women’s health and plant-based nutrition and has coauthored two lifestyle medicine textbooks, including the first one on women’s health, Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan.

She received a master's degree in nutrition and physical performance and is certified as an exercise physiologist and intuitive eating counselor. She's a student of herbal medicine and women's integrative and functional medicine. She lives with her husband in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where you’ll find her out on a trail or in her garden.

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Caroline Shannon-Karasik

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Caroline Shannon-Karasik is a Pittsburgh-based writer, the author of The Gluten-Free Revolution, and a certified holistic health coach and Pilates instructor. She is a regular contributor to Women's Health, Well+Good, InStyle and Tonic. Her work has also been featured at The Cut, Narratively, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and Yahoo. She is a mental health advocate and currently writing a memoir. More at carolineshannon.com.

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