Last Updated on December 21, 2016 by Marc Seward
Cottage cheese thighs. Orange peel skin. Hail damage. Whatever you choose to call it, cellulite is every women’s nightmare. And there’s good reason for that: a vast majority of women have it, and those that don’t fear it.
Cellulite is lumpy deposits of fat just below the surface of the skin, giving the skin a dimpled appearance. There are a number of factors that may contribute to the development of cellulite such as a breakdown of elasticity in skin, stress, hormones, toxins, lifestyle choices, and poor diet.
Cellulite can appear on any spot of the body but is most frequently found on the derriere, thighs, and legs. While there is currently no cure for cellulite, there are ways you can minimize the appearance of them by adjusting and fine-tuning your diet.
Losing weight will always help but you also want to make sure you are maximizing the cellulite to weight loss. You want to eat healthy of course—but what is the best way to target the right nutrition.
Foods to Include in your Cellulite Banishing Diet
Eating smart will not only help reduce the look of cellulite, but it will also help with weight loss, removing toxins from your body, and boosting your overall health. Consider adding the following foods to your diet to get your body and health in tip top shape.
What To Eat?
Water
First and foremost, I want you to ask yourself a very important question: “Am I drinking enough water?” If you are drinking less than 6-8 glasses a day, you need to be more vigilant in your method of hydration.
Other than genetics, the primary culprit for developing cellulite are toxins building up in the body. By drinking water, you not only keep your body healthy and hydrated, but you flush out harmful toxins as well. If you need a little bit more excitement in your beverage, add a slice of lemon.
Citrus Fruits
Oranges, lemons, and pink grapefruit; these sunny fruits can do your body a world of good and greatly help in your war against cellulite. Oranges are full of vitamin C, which helps promote blood circulation and corrects any cellular imbalances that may cause cellulite.
Rich in vitamin C, pink grapefruit, pink grapefruit not only has the same advantages of oranges, but also helps boost your metabolism as well. Lemon, meanwhile, is no slouch either.
Cellulite can form due to an imbalance of insulin levels, fortunately adding a spray of lemon to your salad or a squeeze to your water can help restore balance to your blood sugar levels.
Berries
One of the easiest ways to rid your body of toxins? Why, antioxidants of course! Blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries are chock full of antioxidants and a delicious way to fight the appearance of cellulite. Add these berries to your morning oatmeal, breakfast cereal, or blend in a smoothie.
Papaya
If you feel like you can still use a little bit more vitamin C, try adding papaya to your diet. Just like the citrus fruits, the vitamin C in papaya is great for circulation and healthy cells, but it is also great for the production of collagen.
Restoring collagen to your skin is essential to minimizing the look of cellulite. When the collagen in your skin breaks down, your skin looses elasticity and starts to sag, giving an opportunity for those evil fat deposits to show through. Having a cup of papaya everyday will help boost the production of collagen.
Asparagus
Low in calories, this anti-inflammatory vegetable will reduce bloating and flush the body of cellulite-causing toxins. Another benefit to eating asparagus is that it is high in folate, a B-9 vitamin great at helping to reduce stress, another major cause of cellulite.
Broccoli
Another great way to boost collagen production in your body is by adding broccoli to your diet. Packed with vitamins and minerals, consuming broccoli not only benefits your overall health, but the alpha lipoic properties in the vegetable prevents the collagen you already have in your body from hardening
Hardening collagen is yet another cause of cellulite. To make sure you are getting enough broccoli in your diet, add three to four portions of steamed broccoli a week to your meals.
Avocado
Not all fats are evil. Avocado, in moderation, is a good fat. Avocado is great because it balances your insulin levels, is high in detoxifying fiber, stress busting folate, and blood circulating potassium. Try having some avocado spread on toast. Be careful though, as there can be too much of a good thing with this high calorie food, so eat sparingly.
Cucumber
High in water content, cucumber is another great way to keep your body hydrated and to flush out those toxins. Enjoy this vegetable raw to get maximum hydration. Other raw foods high in water content are watermelon, pineapple, tomato, broccoli, cabbage, and celery.
Spinach
Getting enough vitamin A is essential to collagen production. Spinach, a nice low calorie vegetable is rich in vitamin A, which helps strengthen and give elasticity to sagging, dimpled skin. Enjoy spinach and say goodbye cottage cheese thighs.
Garlic
Raw garlic seems to do it all: lowers blood cholesterol, boosts your immune system, and stabilizes your insulin levels. Add garlic to your diet if you want to flush the toxins out of your system, improve your overall health, and reduce the appearance of cellulite.
Fatty Fish
Remember when I said not all fats are evil? Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids are another great example of good fat. Salmon, sardines, mackerel, and oysters help you metabolize fat and smooth out cellulite.
Raw Nuts
If you’re having trouble balancing your hormones, if your estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels are off, consider eating a handful of raw nuts. Peanuts, pecans, walnuts, and almonds help block the absorption of bad cholesterol and restores hormonal harmony to your body.
Whole Grains
Slimming down is one of the most effective way you can prevent cellulite from developing. By eating whole grain cereals, brown rice, and brown pasta, you can help shed those extra pounds while balancing your blood sugar and enjoying the benefit of slow-release energy. Whole grains are also a great source of anti-oxidants, so try to add a serving a whole grains daily to your diet.
Green Tea
All around, green tea is a great beverage to add to your diet if you’re trying to stay healthy, lose weight, detoxify your body, and boost your metabolism. Green tea is especially adept at fighting cellulite because green tea contains theobromine.
Theobromine eliminates the stored pockets of fat in your body, therefore smoothing out dimpled skin. Drink green tea throughout the day to enjoy all of its far-reaching benefits.
Foods To Avoid
Now that we’ve established which foods to incorporate into your anti-cellulite diet, there are a couple foods you should avoid or seriously limit in your diet.
What NOT to eat!
- Salt
It is a given that too much salt is bad for your diet, however, you should be aware that if you are trying to prevent the development of cellulite, salt prevents you from eliminating cellulite-inducing toxins from your body. In fact, salt causes you to retain water. If you love the taste of salty food, try switching refined table salt for Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt. - Sugar
Its important to limit your intake of sugar if you want to prevent your body from taking on a dimpled appearance. Consuming too much sugar gets stored in your fat cells, which causes them to expand and promote the development and appearance of cellulite. - Processed Food
Frozen food that you can pop in your microwave may be convenient and save you on time, but these processed, preserved foods are also the fastest and most convenient way to develop cellulite. - Caffeine and Alcohol
You don’t necessarily have to banish these two completely, but its best to limit your intake. Two cups of coffee or one glass of wine should be okay. Try substituting coffee with herbal tea if you still need a boost after two cups. - Refined Carbohydrates
White flour, bread, and rice can wreak havoc on your insulin levels. Instead, try substituting these refined carbohydrates with whole grains such as brown rice, pasta, and grainy bread. - Red Meat and Dairy Products
These fatty foods are counterproductive to a healthy, cellulite busting diet. Try switching full fat milk for skim, cottage cheese for fatty cheese, and chicken instead of red meat.
Other Advice
Exercise and weight loss will always help in the battle against cellulite. Plyometrics are one of the best ways to fight cellulite. Rebounding is a great way to fight cellulite and you can find out more about it here.
Some people recommend dry brushing beauty routine—but there is not any evidence yet of this really working.
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