Dimples on your derrière? You’re not alone. In fact, an estimated 85% of women who are 21 years and older have cellulite somewhere on their body. Wanna hear another statistic? 100% of women don’t want it! In this guest post by author and health guru Oz Garcia, he shares the various causes of cellulite and how you can banish it for good. For many of us, staying home for months on end and missing our group workouts has only intensified the need to address our rears!
Before you read on to to learn about the causes and treatment for cellulite, lets get real for a moment. I wouldn’t trade my cellulite for one of my beautiful children, would you? Treating areas that bother us should always be about self love, not self loathing. If weeks of quarantine have left you bloated, or years of unhealthy habits have left you with cellulite then doing something about it because you love your body and want to be your best is a worthy goal. But chill out. You are perfect. You don’t have to fix yourself. Its only about improvement and taking the best care of the temple you’ve been given. Enjoy the read!
A Note From Dr. Oz Garcia
There are many reasons why females develop cellulite and it’s not necessarily because they’re overweight or lack discipline. In fact, I had a conversation with Dr. Lionel Bissoon, a leading expert in Manhattan that treats this condition, and was surprised to learn that cellulite is more prominent in thin women. It seems thicker women have larger bone structures that seem to provide more “room for growth” if you will. Even as their fat cells grow larger, these women seem to “wear” the extra weight well. If you have a smaller build, the cellulite appears more obvious.
Dr. Bissoon explained that most people think cellulite develops as a result of either poor nutrition or lack of exercise. While a healthier lifestyle can reduce the appearance of cellulite, it’s not always the reason it showed up in the first place. Yet, he was clear to communicate that a sedentary lifestyle and eating an unhealthy diet obviously won’t improve the situation.
There are mainstream foods women should steer clear of for a number of health reasons besides a dimply bottom. Foods that specifically can worsen cellulite formation are those that are processed and/or contain a lot of sugar, chemicals, and artificial sweeteners. In addition to offering little or no nutritional value, they can become toxic to the system. Having a toxic buildup can subsequently slow down circulation and reduce skin elasticity, thus making cellulite more visible.
A Look Into The Cause
The best nutritional habits to take on are to stay hydrated with purified water (fresh lemon optional) along with foods that work as natural diuretics. Organic vegetables such as asparagus, cucumbers, celery, and leafy greens do exactly that and are helpful for detoxing. You can also improve blood vessel health and circulation with high-quality foods high in omega-3 and 6 fatty acids such as wild salmon, sardines, olive oil, raw nuts, and avocados. There have been studies to suggest that Vitamin C can help to build collagen and reduce the appearance of cellulite. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant that is good for the skin and that’s why it is used in so many topical skincare creams. Oranges, berries, and pineapple are some of the best sources. They should be eaten whole rather than juiced because of the high sugar content. The extra calories of the juices will cause weight gain and cancel out any of the positive effects of their nutrients.
Hormones
One key reason for cellulite formation, Dr. Bisson explained, is declining estrogen levels as women age. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be middle-aged to see your estrogen levels drop. It can happen as early as your 20’s. He brought up a great point about “primitive” women living in rural countries. They tend to eat more organic foods than their U.S. counterparts, they consume larger quantities of plants and naturally occurring soy foods which contain phyto-estrogens. These plant estrogens mimic the effects of naturally occurring estrogens in the body. Accordingly, these women don’t suffer many of the symptoms that they do here in American culture.
What Are You Wearing?
Dr. Bissoon also remarked that in addition to walking, working the fields, clearly living a less sedentary lifestyle, and not eating the highly refined and processed Standard American Diet, these primitive women don’t wear restrictive clothing. Many don’t even wear underwear. He went on to make the argument why keeping your bottom panty-free or in a thong is a great habit to get into. Wearing “grandma underwear” at a young age can be damaging in that it contains an elastic that stretches across the buttocks and upper thighs, constricts the flow of blood and compresses the lymphatic vessels which all bring on the cellulite. Sometimes the cellulite dimples are even oriented to the contour of the panty lines. While women often believe tight underwear supports a tight butt, it ends up applying too much compression and works like a tourniquet that completely stops circulation.
“I Got It From My Momma”
Cellulite may also be due to genetics. If you are already predisposed to cellulite, the practice of being calorie conscious, eating mostly organic foods, and doing exercises such as walking, cycling, squats, lunges, and yoga may help firm your butt and thighs. It’s not a cure, however. Nor is it insurance if you take to wearing teeny tiny underwear. These can only be preventative measures to stop the problem from getting worse.
Saying Bye-Bye To Cellulite
Once cellulite arrives, it will most likely require additional outside support to really nip it in the bud. Even if you’ve become successful with a weight loss program, cellulite is one of those annoying things like stretch marks. It may stay with you eternally unless you are open to taking cosmetic measures. I’ve never known anyone to have real success with topical creams or potions, but there is hope without having to go under the knife. Non-surgical treatments that Dr. Bissoon has found to be most helpful are Mesotherapy and Subcision.
Mesotherapy, discovered in 1952 by French physician Dr. Michael Pistor, is the practice of delivering microinjections of conventional or homeopathic medications (and/or vitamins) under the skin to directly treat the areas where the condition exists. When treating cellulite, multiple injections are given in rows over the affected area. While the treatments may initially produce some bruising, it’s only temporary and worth the eventual outcome.
Subcision is an outpatient procedure that targets the connective tissues under the skin, using a special hypodermic needle. It sounds scarier than it is but it’s relatively pain-free. Subcision can be the most effective when performed in conjunction with Mesotherapy.
One piece of advice from Dr. Bissoon – “Don’t wait until the summer to do any of these procedures. They all require a number of visits and you want to give yourself time to heal before you make that beachfront appearance. Plan ahead and get moving on it now (during the winter) when you can hide out with no pressure on timing.”
