Cellulite doesn’t just plague those who carry around a few extra pounds. Women and men, fat or thin, young or old, can all suffer from the condition. Although heredity plays a significant role in whether or not you’ll ever develop cellulite, you can treat cellulite with a variety of simple and natural remedies that will leave your skin healthier and reduce the dimpled appearance of fat deposits on your hips, thighs and buttocks.
Drinking Water Helps Eliminate Cellulite
You’ve probably heard that drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day is necessary for optimal health. While drinking water, as opposed to sugar and caffeine-laden beverages, can help you maintain your weight and reduce the likelihood of fat building up in problem areas, its also a free natural remedy that can help combat cellulite that has already formed.
While nearly everyone carries some fat in their hips and thighs, the thickness of your skin determines how noticeable those fat deposits are. The thicker your skin, the more noticeable cellulite will become. Water helps keep your skin healthy and supple. This, in turn, reduces the appearance of dimpled fat deposits.
Water also helps combat dehydration – which thins the surface of your skin. Unfortunately, some people can be mildly dehydrated and not even realize it. Caffeine dehydrates the body. Thus, its imperative that you turn to water to quench your thirst rather than sodas or tea to help your body fight unsightly cellulite.
Vitamin C Helps Fight Cellulite
You can treat cellulite at home without the aid of cellulite creams and other expensive, over-the-counter skin care products simply by increasing the amount of vitamin C in your diet. Vitamin C is a natural remedy for a variety of conditions, one of which is skin problems. Vitamin C improves the health of your skin cells – effectively thickening the skin all over your body. This reduces the appearance of dimpled skin and cellulite. Foods rich in vitamin C include:
- strawberries
- kale
- collard greens
- mustard greens
- oranges
- spinach
- lemons
Losing Weight May Reduce Cellulite
While individuals of every size and shape can suffer from cellulite, losing weight can help those who are overweight reduce the size of the fat cells present in their hips, thighs and buttocks. The natural result of smaller fat cells is less dimpling in problem areas and a reduction in the overall appearance of cellulite.
Exercise is a good way to jump-start weight loss and burn additional calories. It also serves to build muscle and tone the skin. This too, treats cellulite, helping you exchange the “cottage cheese” look for a more svelte beach-worthy body.
Reduce Estrogen to Treat Cellulite
Both men and women’s bodies contain estrogen. Estrogen, while necessary, contributes to your fat cells’ ability to stick together in clumps. This creates cellulite’s dimpled appearance. While taking action to drastically reduce your body’s estrogen levels may be hazardous to your health, moderate reduction of estrogen is one way many individuals treat cellulite at home for free.
One way of reducing the estrogen in your body is to exercise for one hour each day. Exercise moderately reduces estrogen – allowing your fat cells to “declump” and improving the overall appearance of cellulite.
If you’re a fan of grapefruit – or are considering the grapefruit diet to jump start another weight loss program, you should know that chemical compounds within grapefruit inhibit your body’s ability to dispose of excess estrogen. Not only can this exacerbate your cellulite problem, it can pose a significant health risk for those taking supplemental estrogen, such as that found in some hormonal contraceptives.
Natural Remedies Don’t Eliminate Cellulite Altogether
While you can use natural remedies to effectively treat cellulite at home and reduce the appearance of those unsightly dimples and bumps, no treatment is proven 100% effective at eliminating cellulite altogether. Even surgeries, such as liposuction, can’t always promise results and occasionally make cellulite appear worse.
Although eliminating cellulite altogether may not be an option, a healthy diet coupled with plenty of exercise increases your overall health. This, in turn, reduces your body’s fat content and strengthens your skin and muscles. Not only will you look and feel better, treating cellulite at home for free saves you from wasting money on expensive creams, surgeries and treatment programs that are, by and large, ineffective at reducing the appearance of cellulite.
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Sources:
The Cellulite Solution: A Doctor’s Program for Losing Lumps, Bumps, Dimples and Stretch Marks; Howard Murad; 2007
The Early Show: Help to Erase the Cellulite
Candice Edwards - Candice Gillingwater is a credit specialist and consumer advocate currently living in Georgia. Her goal is to educate the public about ...
