Myths and facts you need to know.

Even today there is much confusion and controversy surrounding the term «cellulite». Let’s shed some light on this context and dot the i’s.

To begin with, let’s clarify: cellulite is a fairly well-known problem and an obvious biological process.

This term is used when bumps and bumps form on the skin. Due to its consistency, cellulite is also known as orange peel. Very often, women suffer from cellulite on the thighs and legs.

From a medical point of view, cellulite is a local growth of fat cells and a disruption of microcirculation in adipose tissue.

Cellulite Symptoms:

• Swelling and bumps appear on the skin of the legs, arms, or abdomen.
• The skin becomes rough and loses elasticity.
• Decreases the healing rate of hematomas, bruises and wounds.
• Areas of inflammation appear.

The structure of adipose tissue

Why does cellulite appear and how to fight it? To understand this we need to better understand the structure of our subcutaneous tissue.

Beneath the skin layer are fat cells (adipocytes). When adipocytes are filled with lipids, they begin to increase in size, which leads to disruption of tissue nutrition. Dysregulation occurs due to increased pressure in the capillaries and lymphatics.

Our lymphatic system, unlike the circulatory system, does not have a heart, which forcibly pumps liquids into the circuit. The lymphatic system works by contracting muscles.

Why do we need the lymphatic system? To remove waste from cells. If these products are poorly eliminated, edema occurs. That is, it is what appears in the first stage of cellulite.

As you understand, edema occurs due to mechanical pressure on the lymphatic channels. Lymphatic fluid does not have the ability to circulate normally in the volumes in which it is needed. The result is edema.

Increase in areas affected by cellulite

If you visit the beach, you will see that cellulite appears even on young and very thin girls. They may have cellulite on their legs, stomach or arms. The reason is a sedentary lifestyle, excess calories and poor nutrition.

All this, as well as the disruption of the normal functioning of the lymphatic system, leads to the appearance of cellulite even in thin women.

What happens if you continue to eat unhealthy and exercise little?

Fat cells will increase significantly. Until now it was believed that the amount of adipose tissue in the human body remains the same throughout life. It is not true. When someone eats too much, they will wake up with new fat cells 🙂

Fat cells are encased in a network of collagen fibers. Fat bulges begin to appear through the collagen fibers and become visible even to the naked eye.

If you press on the places where there is cellulite, you may notice dimples that do not disappear easily. When you touch the surface, you can feel nodules and tubercles. This is already quite serious edema.

Aggravation of cellulite

What happens if we continue not to exercise, eat fast food, drink sugary carbonated drinks, and eat fruit with a high percentage of fructose? The result is very sad.

The edema will become so severe that it blocks the capillary blood supply, causing bruises or hematomas to form. They begin to form absolutely spontaneously and it takes a long time to heal them…

The last phase occurs when the cellulite is already clearly visible, the tubercles are visible even on a relaxed muscle.

The skin does not need to be tight in the crease to see cellulite. It is already visible and upon palpation the formations of clear nodules of the fibrous tissue are perfectly felt. In this case, painful sensations appear.

Ways to get rid of cellulite

Out of curiosity I looked at several photos taken 20-30 years ago, during seaside holidays. Then there were practically no girls with cellulite, you could meet them, but very rarely.

But nowadays, walking on the beach, you can see many girls with cellulite. And regardless of whether we want it or not, so that excess adipose tissue and edema do not appear, we must change our diet.

The wrong foods, in fact, cause retention of lymphatic fluid and edema.

And this is already the first stage of cellulite. No matter how trivial it may seem, it is the correct diet the main way to get rid of cellulite and unfortunately no massage or anti-cellulite cream can replace it.

As I said, the human lymphatic system works only on the basis of contractions of muscle fibers, so it is necessary to move more and do sports. This will improve the circulation of lymphatic fluid in the body.

The lymphatic system, unlike the circulatory system, does not have a heart. If you don’t move, lymphatic stagnation and toxin poisoning will occur. So playing sports is the second way to fight cellulite.

Considering that there is stagnation in the lymphatic system due to mechanical narrowing, you will obviously need different types of massage brushes, anti-cellulite creams and mechanical action on subcutaneous fat. Vacuum massages and saunas help better to cleanse the lymphatic system at least for a period of time.

But I repeat again: if you do not feed yourself correctly, all these will be just useless actions. The problems will soon return and get worse.

An important detail: massages only work if done regularly. Solving the problem of the appearance of edema, the process of burning adipose tissue and elimination, are not all quick processes.

That’s why massages, which act on the fatty tissue under the skin, can help you get rid of cellulite, but they can’t help you lose weight. These will release the pressure on the capillary lymphatic system and the edema will gradually begin to disappear.

A few words about men

That’s all well and good, but you might be wondering, «Okay, why do men drink alcohol, have beer bellies, move around a little, lay on the couch, and have no cellulite at all?»

Let’s now look at another reason for the formation of cellulite: hormonal. Let’s remember that we have hormones and in the specific case among these hormones the main role will be played by estradiol. There are three types of these hormones, but we’ll just call them estrogen.

Let’s consider the property of collagen. Its elasticity depends on the level of female hormones, namely estrogen. When there are many of them, collagen stretches; when there are few it becomes hard.

And lo and behold, women have ten times more estradiol than men. This is the main reason why cellulite appears on the legs, thighs, stomach and arms. This is why the collagen fiber network is very elastic. In men, this mesh is harder, it does not let fat bulges through.

If we analyze the structure of collagen fibrous tissue in men and women, we will notice the difference.

In women, collagen fibers run perpendicular to the surface of the skin, while in men they run obliquely and even intersect.

This means that men have a harder structure. If the fat cells still increase in size, this practically does not change the relief of the male skin.

The reason for this difference is fertility.

A woman needs her skin to stretch during pregnancy.

This is why it is necessary for these fabrics to be more elastic.

This is facilitated by estradiol, which softens collagen. That is why in women the structure of the connective tissue is formed just like that.

But the appearance of cellulite, which almost never occurs in men, is the downside of the coin.

In the end

The more muscles a woman has, the more likely she is not to suffer from cellulite. You need to move more for the lymphatic system to function and cleanse itself. Now you know what cellulite is and how to fight it.

I advise you to do sports, fitness and simply be physically active. Athletes and fitness models almost never have cellulite.

The presence of muscle mass, a constantly high metabolic rate and a normal state of the hormonal sphere are the guarantee that you will not have cellulite.