Discover the Truth About Cellulite & How to Treat It

Discover the Truth About Cellulite & How to Treat It
Johnny Lavot


Have you been cursed with those lumpy, cottage cheese like areas
of fat on your thighs, hips, buttocks, and other parts of your
body? There's a good chance; 85% of women are already afflicted
with these same cellulite woes. The term "cellulite" is not a
common term around the medical community - it was actually first
created in European spas. Then, in the early 1970's a man by the
name of Nicole Ronsard published the book Cellulite: Those Lumps,
Bumps, and Bulges You Couldn't Lose Before. The term "cellulite"
then spread throughout America.

If you're like most women, you are probably wondering what causes
cellulite and how you can get rid of it. Well, there are several
factors that contribute to the cause of cellulite. Some of these
factors are age, genetics, your body fat percentage, your level
of hydration, and possibly whether or not you smoke or ingest
caffeine.

One of the most prominent and widely accepted causes of cellulite
has to due with how the skin is constructed and how the fat
around it is situated. In the skin, there are tough strands of
fibrous tissue that connect the skin to the rest of the body
called the "septa". The septa anchors at certain points -
similar to a net. This net of fibrous - the septa - tissue
exists above the layer of fat in your body. However, sometimes
fat makes its way through the holes in this net of fibrous tissue
and therefore plumps the fat outward. This plumping of fat
causes the "cottage cheese" resemblance of cellulite. Many
times, even if a woman has a very low body fat percentage, if the
skin around that area is pinched, then some cellulite can still
remain visible; however, most women probably only care about
cellulite when it is only visible without pinching.

Other reasons/theories exist as to the cause of cellulite, but
the actual cause is probably a combination of more than one
thing. Carole Walderman, aesthetician and president of Von Lee
International School of Aesthetics, in Baltimore, states,
"Cellulite is a combination of fat globules, waste matter, and
water imprisoned in connective tissue." Another theory is that
the makeup of the strands of fibrous tissue in men and women are
different - for instance, a man's net of fibrous tissue forms a
net that is perpendicular, where as a woman's net of fibrous
tissue is formed by X's. Also, the fibrous tissue may be tighter
in women, which would cause a much more pronounced plumping
effect in women in comparison to men.


Treatments for Cellulite

Just Lose the Fat

Since an excessive body fat percentage is probably the most
prominent reason for the cause of cellulite, the best, most
permanent, and most effective course of action is to simply lose
fat. Obviously, there are many options in this area due to the
fact that there are hundreds of diet programs, pills,
supplements, etc. A very effective and recommended (by the
author of this article) program to accomplish this is entitled
"Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle," by Tom Venuto. More information
on "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" can be found at
http://www.weight-loss-resources.com.


Mechanical Massage

Another popular, and somewhat pricey, treatment for cellulite is
called endermology, or mechanical massage. In this treatment,
layers of cellulite are rolled between rollers and sucked on with
a vacuum with low pressures to "stretch" the septa. The
appearance of cellulite is supposed to become smoother - similar
to if you were to roll cottage cheese between two rollers.
Obviously, the cottage cheese would no longer be as lumpy. There
are many studies going on to determine the effectiveness of these
treatments, but their effectiveness remains questioned.


Water

This is a simple treatment. Drink more water. Carole Walderman,
mentioned above in this article, states, "I have found that a lot
of people who have cellulite don't drink enough water." Even if
water doesn't reduce your appearance of cellulite, it does too
many other important things to be passed up anyway.


Topical Treatments

In the world of health and fitness, there are many marketers
trying to take advantage of consumers who are ready to spend
anything to treat their problems. Many times, products like
these will make vague claims like "improve circulation", "reduce
the appear of cellulite", or "stimulate the release of fat".
These claims sound scientific to the unknowledgeable consumer; I
mean, what is bad about improving circulation? 90% of the time
these marketers will exaggerate claims from poorly designed
studies, claim that a certain ingredient does something special,
but rarely to what degree they accomplish it. Another common
generalization of these products is to "stimulate the release of
fat". There may be one or two studies that verify this, but even
if these products accomplish this, the effect of them is
extremely minimal compared to what intelligent dieting and
exercise can do.

Then again, there is a possibility that some of the ingredients
in topical creams may benefit in reducing cellulite. However,
many times there are several ingredients mixed into one cream.
This makes it extremely hard to find out which ingredient is
actually producing results. If you decide to go this route
(please incorporate diet and exercise too), then ask your
dermatologist before purchasing anything.
(One cream recommended by Revitrol. take a look here.

Nicotine and Caffeine

Another theory that holds investigation is the use of caffeine
and nicotine. You can help aid in your fight against cellulite
by halting the use of these, since they constrict blood vessels.
This theory may need more investigation.

All in all, cellulite is a tough foe. There are several
treatments for it; many of them are a waste of money or have a
very minimal effect. The most effective way to reduce cellulite
is to treat it at the root of its cause - where fat makes it way
through the net of fibrous tissue that makes up your skin to
cause several small pits or domes. The best way to accomplish
this is through intelligent dieting and exercise. You can find
more information on how to diet and exercise intelligently at
http://www.weight-loss-resources.com as well as NutriFitness