Cellulite Infos

Cellulite is a common condition where fat and toxins collect into pockets just under the surface of the skin. This gives the skin a dimpled effect and can normally be seen behind the thighs and on the buttocks. Although men can get cellulite too, it mainly affects post-pubescent women.

Cellulite isn’t the least bit painful and, besides looking unsightly, is seen to be more of a nuisance than a medical condition. However, it’s actually an indication that something isn’t quite right within your body.

I’ve suffered with cellulite from time to time but I’ve always paid attention to it because it reveals that toxins and fatty deposits aren’t being flushed out of my system properly. I don’t know about you, but I’d really rather not have toxins and fat lazing around in my body!

According to Thelma Thomas of Essential Massage Therapy, the following factors cause cellulite:

• Sedentary lifestyle Lack of exercise, poor circulation and muscle tone, can cause cellulite development. Without exercise, the connective tissue hardens in the skin and can lead to dimpling. This is exacerbated the older you become as you naturally lose muscle tone and tend to exercise less.

• Iinsufficient water intake Drinking lots of water will help flush toxins out your body. Since cellulite is a mixture of fat, water, and toxic wastes that the body has failed to eliminate, drinking plenty of water can help diminish cellulite.

• Poor diet A poor diet consisting of alcohol, processed foods, and caffeine contributes to cellulite since the toxins they produce get trapped in fatty tissue.

• Smoking Smoking promotes cellulite by damaging the connective tissue in your body. This lack of connective tissue causes the dimpled effect in cellulite.

• Medication Diet pills, sleeping pills and diuretics all lead to cellulite. Birth control also increases cellulite formation because of its tendency to produce high levels of estrogen. It also leads to water retention which inhibits the body from flushing the system of toxins, leading to the formation of cellulite.

• Crash diets When the body thinks it’s starving it attempts to hold on to saturated fats which help build cellulite. Unfortunately, these fats block the arteries and get trapped in tissues as well, preventing sufficient waste and toxin elimination.

• A genetic predisposition Genes highly determine your chance of developing cellulite.

So armed with this information it’s best to address your cellulite as something more than a superficial issue. Do you need to exercise more? Do you need to drink more water? Do you need to massage the affected areas to increase circulation? Do you need to check the medication you’re on or address why you’re taking that medication in the first place?

Don’t ignore when your body is telling you something; work with your body, not against it.

Preventing cellulite can be viewed as a wonderful exercise in self care, it needn’t be difficult nor should it be seen as a chore.

Follow these pointers:

• eat more raw fruit and vegetables - this will flood your body with anti-oxidants and nutrients and make it more difficult for excess fats and toxins to remain the body
• drink more water - this will flush your system. You don’t like drinking water? Try drinking plenty of tasty herbal teas with a little honey instead
• reduce your intake of saturated fat - this will reduce the supply of fat to your cellulite hot spots
• increase your exercise - the additional circulation will allow the blood to carry away the toxins
• give up smoking - there are a multitude of reasons why quitting smoking is a good idea, this is just one of them. In the UK, free help can be received at chemists and from your GP
• address the issue for taking any medication you’re on - Perhaps you’re taking diet pills? Is there a way you could increase your exercise and intake of raw fruit & vegetables instead? Perhaps you’re taking sleeping pills? Perhaps an increase in exercise as well as addressing any health related issues could negate the need for the sleeping pills? It’s a good idea to discuss alternatives to pill taking with your GP

To treat cellulite that you already have, follow all of the above and also do the following:

• body brushing each morning - this increases circulation to the affected areas
• massage - again, this is a fantastic way to increase circulation and it feels absolutely wonderful! You can either have this done by a professional, or you can invest in some top quality lotions or oils and do this for yourself on a frequent basis, eg, when you’re watching your favourite soap!

If you’re looking for a cure for your cellulite, you will find that there are no miracles involved at all. In fact the holistic way to banish cellulite is to follow all of the above steps whilst remembering that the preventative measures will have a long lasting and positive effect on your over all health.