Beware of sushi face

Picture this: You had sushi for dinner at night and woke up with a puffy face the next morning or perhaps, had sushi for lunch and ended up looking like a puffer fish at night. And so you’re left wondering what the hell happened? This is also known as ‘sushi face’. We asked experts to shed light on the matter...

What is it?

Though it’s a metaphor, sushi face is real. “‘Sushi face’ is a real thing. Eating a high sodium meal like sushi rolls, where not only does the soy sauce contain high amounts of sodium but also the rice and fish, can cause a puffy face in the morning due to resultant water retention,” informs Dr Amit Karkhanis, medical cosmetologist and director, Dr Tvacha Clinic, who has dealt with such kind of cases occasionally adding that it can be appropriately managed with antihistamines. 

Why does it happen?

“Sodium is anhydrous in nature. To balance itself as a molecule, it needs to hold on to several water molecules, leading to retention of fluids within the interstitial spaces. It takes only one meal at a restaurant to over exceed our daily salt intake limit and end up feeling bloated, puffy, heavy, lethargic the next day,” explains Luke Coutinho, Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine — Holistic Nutrition.

Avoid salty foods

Sodium is a very important mineral for our body and metabolic processes like electrolyte balance, maintaining blood volume, muscle contractions, kidney function and electrical conductivity. It takes the wrong quality and quantity of salt to cause sodium sensitivity. Refined salt, table salt, processed salt, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), hydrolysed vegetable protein are the worst types of salt that is a burden for our body to break down. To make matters worse, there are anti-caking agents and chemicals lurking in them, says Coutinho. He further adds that refined salts are found in high amounts not only in sushi but all processed, packaged and canned foods. Most sauces and condiments like soya sauce also contain sodium in high concentrations.

Other culprits

“Sushi face is mostly lifestyle driven unless it is a side-effect of some medication. We see and hear people complaining of water retention because of a variety of reasons which are not only limited to salty foods,” says Coutinho. Water retention can occur because of:

• Overuse of medicines like chemotherapy drugs, beta blockers, anti-anxiety pills and NSAIDS can cause water retention as a side-effect.
   
• Lack of sleep leading to hormonal imbalance.
   
• Chronic stress, emotional imbalance and emotional internalisation.
   
• Processed carbs spike up sugar levels that our pancreas works hard toward bringing it down by producing more insulin. High insulin levels is directly co-related with retaining more sodium and thus, more water retention.
   
• Medical conditions like a sluggish liver (alcoholic as well as non-alcoholic fatty liver), poor kidney health, weak heart health are all linked to water retention too. 

What should you do?

“In general, keeping yourself well-hydrated can prevent this from happening. Cold compress to reduce the swelling. Additionally, having some natural diuretics like ginger, green or black tea and parsley might bring down the bloating/puffiness and help reduce the ‘water weight’ too,” advises Dr Karkhanis.

Hollywood actress Julianne Moore has revealed about getting a ‘sushi face’ too. When asked if sushi face is real or a beauty urban myth, the acting powerhouse said, “Heck yea. It’s because of the  sodium,” Moore explained. “My husband loves to have sushi in LA because it’s so good out there. But if I’m there for an awards show or something, I’m like, ‘No, I’m not doing it the night before the Golden Globes.’ My face will be puffy,” she says.

GUIDELINES

Nutritionist Karishma Chawla of Eat Rite 24x7 lists the following tips to avoid sushi face...

• Hydrate yourself with about three to four litres of water a day.
   
• Go low on salt: Avoid packaged foods, table salt and go off salt in cooking. You can rather sprinkle spices and herbs to flavour.
   
• Avoid starchy carbohydrates like white rice, breads and sugar.
   
• Go low on eggs and lean meats.
   
• Give your system a day or two of fresh high fibre fruits (first half of the day) and vegetables (steamed) + salads + vegetable juices (second half of the day) to detox the body.
   
• Natural diuretics like asparagus can be consumed.
   
• Eat yogurt: It’s probiotic, healthy for the gut and reduces bloating.
   
• Workout regularly.
   
• Catch up on good sleep.
   
• Supplement yourself with omega 3: Fish oil capsules + flaxseed powder.