Learn More About Cellulite:What is Cellulite?Hormones and Cellulite The Importance of the Leptin Diet Weight Management and Cellulite Fluid Retention, Lymph, and Vascular Changes Successful Remodeling What is Cellulite?Cellulite is an irregular change in the structure of your skin, also involving changes in the fatty layers under your skin, which result in a dimpled “orange peel” or “cottage cheese” appearance. Problems occur mostly on the buttocks or thighs, and can also appear in the abdominal or pelvic regions. Onset for women is any time after puberty, with the tendency to worsen as one grows older. Onset for men is typically after age 40, when androgen levels begin to decline. Your skin and fat beneath your skin are composed of various layers; it is important to understand these in order to understand cellulite. The epidermis is the outer layer of your skin, providing a protective barrier. It is made mostly of keratinocytes; skin cells that are stacked on top of each other to form the barrier. It also contains skin pigmenting cells (melanocytes) and immune cells (dendritic cells); important parts of the protective barrier. The epidermis is not significantly involved in cellulite. Below the epidermis is the thicker skin layer called the dermis. It is a much more “alive” and metabolically active skin layer, containing nerve endings and blood vessels – tiny pipes that supply nutrition and oxygen to the skin and help carry away waste products. It is made mostly of connective tissue (collagen, elastic, and reticular fibers). There are a lot of fibroblasts in this layer of skin (carpenter cells that synthesize new connective tissue). It also has the oil glands, sweat glands, and hair follicles. The healthy structure of the dermis is disrupted when there is cellulite. The first layer of fat under the dermis and in contact with the dermis is called the areolar layer. I call it the insulation layer, which is its main purpose. It has a profound effect on how your skin looks. It is made of large fat cells that are stacked vertically into tightly packed groups. Each group of fat cells has its own blood supply, which is very fragile (as in bruising and spider veins), and is surrounded by connective tissue. There are also fibroblasts to make new connective tissue and macrophages (immune cells) residing with the fat cells. The healthy function of this first layer of fat is significantly disturbed when there is cellulite. The dermis and insulation layer of fat are the primary areas of problem as far as cellulite is concerned. Between this insulating layer of fat and your muscles is another layer of fat that exists primarily to provide cushioning (lamellar layer). The fat cells are smaller (if normal weight) and arranged horizontally. The blood vessels are stronger and once again fat cell groups are surrounded by connective tissue. This layer of fat can become part of the cellulite issue if you are overweight, as the fat cells expand in size and put pressure on the dermis and insulation layer of fat – aggravating whatever problems they may be having. These two layers of fat are often referred to as one layer by the name subcutaneous fat. However, for an understanding of cellulite it is important to recognize there are two specific layers of different kinds of fat structures in the subcutaneous fat. The connective tissues loosely attach your skin and fat layers to your muscles – allowing movement of your skin while holding your body together. The first changes that result in cellulite are not visible to your eye. They begin with changes in the circulatory system; i.e., blood vessels become more permeable due to some form of stress. This causes fluid to accumulate and pressure to build in the dermis and fat insulation layer. The resulting inflammation and free radicals damage the connective tissue that is holding the fat cells in proper alignment. Estrogen then locks the problem into place and it becomes self perpetuating with visible signs now showing up. In response to the damaged connective tissue fibroblasts try to make new collagen to repair the problem. However, the fat cells that the connective tissue is surrounding have been knocked into an irregular pattern so that the new connective tissue does not form properly. Instead, there is a build up of irregular connective tissue which locks the now swollen and inflamed fat into a rigid and irregular nodule – visual cellulite. If the problem gets worse the connective tissue begins to form scar-like abnormal structures wherein smaller nodules clump together into larger ones – advanced cellulite. Various forms of stress start this process in the first place and lend a hand in perpetuating it. Poor diet (snacking, as well as too much fat and sugar), smoking (shuts down circulation to the skin), emotional stress (inflames the circulation and nerve endings), a sedentary lifestyle (lack of muscle fitness and lymph movement), constipation and/or wearing painful high heel shoes (which reduces lymph and blood flow out of the legs), and obesity (which adds insult to injury) are all factors that set the stage for cellulite and help lock it into place. Pregnancy places significant circulatory and lymph stress on the legs and is often the triggering event that starts cellulite going. Unfortunately, once cellulite is in motion it tends to be self perpetuating with no quick fix. The problem can be stopped “from the inside out,” and repaired at least to some extent, and doing so is likely to provide an improvement in appearance as well as other significant health benefits. There is no quick fix, but progress can be made when various health issues are improved consistently and simultaneously over time. Hormones and CelluliteOnset of cellulite in women can occur anytime after puberty, as estrogen levels rise. Higher levels of estrogen act in multiple ways to help start and perpetuate cellulite. In the formative stages of cellulite your body attempts to repair connective tissue damage by making more connective tissue. This does not work so well because pressure problems, fluid problems, inflammation, and free radicals have weakened the existing connective tissue structure to the point that fat cells have slipped out of alignment and taken up irregular shapes due to all the various stressors on them. This means the new connective tissue “goes around the problem” as opposed to being able to fix the problem. Fibroblasts in the dermis and insulation layer of fat are trying to make the new connective tissue – and the rate these fibroblasts operate is controlled by estrogen (estrogen activates the enzyme adenyl cyclase, turning on the cyclic nucleotides that activate fibroblasts). The improperly formed new connective tissue actually attracts more water causing an increase in pressure and a lack of oxygen in the skin, resulting in further damage (tissue hypoxia) and an even increased attempt to make more connective tissue that isn’t working right. Estrogen also acts to swell the size of the fat cells, helping to form larger irregular shapes of fat cells. If a woman is overweight the extra fat cells in the deeper layer of fat not only push pressure outwards and infiltrate the insulation layer of fat, they also synthesize more estrogen, aggravating the issues explained above. Estrogen itself then stimulates the storage of more fat, expanding fat cell size, and increasing pressure on the problem areas that result in cellulite. Many women have high estrogen menstrual cycles, relative to low progesterone. Such women have PMS, menstrual headaches, breast swelling and tenderness, and heavier menstrual cycles. Even in the absence of such classic high estrogen symptoms, excess stress will deplete progesterone and leave a woman exposed to higher estrogen. All these factors, especially if combined with obesity, fuel the estrogen problem that causes cellulite. Many women notice that cellulite appearance worsens and subsides in response to the fluctuating estrogen levels of their menstrual cycle. Smoothing out excessive estrogen or excessive fluctuations in monthly estrogen patterns is vital to preventing or improving cellulite. Birth control pills, which are a steady state of estrogen, can cause cellulite. Women approaching menopause typically have higher estrogen levels (heavier periods) before they lighten and go away – another period of a few years when cellulite may really flare up. Estrogen replacement therapy can cause cellulite. Any woman gaining weight while taking any form of estrogen is at risk for an increase in cellulite. Testosterone levels in men, which usually support muscle strength, less body fat than women, and better fat burning tend to protect men from cellulite. This natural protection declines after age 40 as androgens decline, opening the door for cellulite to form. Thyroid problems aggravate the cellulite issue. Hypothyroid results in poor energy status and thus a reduced ability of circulation, lymph, and fatty acid metabolism to work properly – playing into the stagnation aspect of the cellulite issue. Hyperthyroid speeds up the estrogen-driven faulty formation of new tissues – provoking fluid retention under the skin, also making cellulite worse.
The Importance of the Leptin DietLeptin is a hormone that comes from your fat cells, travels up to your brain, and regulates your metabolism and rate of fat burning and thyroid function. Women have more leptin than men – which establishes their naturally higher percentage of body fat. Fat, in turn, helps maintain higher estrogen levels. Leptin problems cause a disruption in insulin function leading to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance promotes fat to be stored and existing fat not to be broken down or used as fuel, aggravating the estrogen-driven problem of cellulite. Thus, poor diet can lock in the obesity angle and become a major irritant to cellulite, preventing it from going away. The worst foods to eat are processed sugar and too much fat. Another huge problem is snacking, which immediately packages up any fatty acids that could be burned as fuel and sends them back to storage inside fat cells. By following the Five Rules of the Leptin Diet it is possible to lower insulin and leptin resistance, in turn enhancing the ability of your body to clear fatty acids from the stagnant cellulite area. Women must quit snacking between meals and eating after dinner at night if they want to stop cellulite.
Weight Management and CelluliteFat cell fitness is an issue of immense importance. As a person gains weight fat cells expand in size and replicate, and their metabolism becomes sluggish. Problems are aggravated by high stress. Within cellulite not only are the fat cells expanding in size, they are being knocked into irregular shapes. Fat cells naturally fill up with triglycerides when they expand in size. A triglyceride is a small droplet composed of three fatty acids linked together with one sugar, an efficient way to store calories. Fat cells release triglycerides to use as fuel under the right set of circumstances (which is also how weight is lost). Free fatty acids can either be formed into triglycerides or be used as fuel (they are released when triglycerides are broken down). The combination of estrogen and leptin/insulin problems promotes the formation of free fatty acids into triglycerides, which are then taken up by fat cells which causes the fat cell to become swollen. If you are overweight and/or gaining weight then this process is going on in many areas of your body – not just in cellulite. If you ever want to get rid of cellulite you have to change the trend of fat metabolism for your whole body and restore better overall fat cell fitness. Fat cell metabolism is strained in cellulite tissue. A swollen fat cell becomes hypoxic from all the fat inside itself pushing on everything. This generates free radicals and inflammation, in turn recruiting nearby macrophages to respond – who also participate in the inflammatory reaction. The fat cell’s stress now complicates the other stresses going on in the cellulite tissue (damaged connective tissue, fluid retention, circulation changes). On top of that free fatty acids build up outside the fat cells and become locked in the stagnant retained fluid. This is a significant part of the problem that locks in cellulite as the fat cells will not break down any of their stored fat when they sense the free fatty acids around them. The nutrients that clear out these stagnant free fatty acids to get the ball rolling are pantethine and acetyl-l-carnitine. Pantethine provides the energy (coenzyme A) to move the fat; like a freight train engine pulling its boxcars. Acetyl-l-carnitine provides the nutrient needed to burn the fat for fuel (beta oxidation). These are both found in our Stress Helper product – which as the name implies is also fantastic for stress management.* It is very important to manage stress in order to mobilize stuck fat from the cellulite area (or from any resistant area of your body). Fat cells have receptors for adrenaline, which travels through the nerves and reaches them in the cellulite area. Under lower levels of adrenaline the beta receptors are activated on fat cells, stimulating fat cells to release triglycerides. Under higher levels of adrenaline the alpha receptors are stimulated, causing fat to mostly stay put. This is why stress wreaks such havoc with weight management – as well as irritating the cellulite issue. Some women who lose weight very rapidly notice that their cellulite now looks worse. This is because the underlying fat was applying pressure to the cellulite area, and while aggravating the problem, was in some ways also supporting the frail structure so that it didn’t look so bad. By losing weight in a healthy way while simultaneously repairing the cellulite area, this problem can be avoided. By restoring fat cell fitness your body can replace many of the old and damaged fat cells stuck in cellulite with new fat cells that can work normally and form proper non-cellulite structure. This will only happen well if you have a trend of fat cell fitness going on throughout your body. Additional helpful information can be found on the Weight Loss health topic page.
Fluid Retention, Lymph, and Vascular ChangesThe circulation to and from the cellulite area is involved in the very first changes that lead to cellulite. Once cellulite gets going the damaged connective tissue actually holds more water causing fluid pressure to build and further weaken blood vessel structures. Because these tiny blood vessels are inherently fragile, there is a reduced ability to get nutrition and oxygen to the skin and toxins and waste products out of the cellulite area. To break out of this nasty catch-22 it is necessary to improve the integrity of the blood vessels and the function of your lymph system. Our best product that addresses both issues is Cardio Helper, although a variety of supplements can be used as needed depending on your overall health. Cardio Helper contains hawthorn berry which has bioflavonoids that nourish the blood vessels, as well as directly protecting them from the effects of stress (by modulating the enzyme neutrophil elastase). It also contains the herb horse chestnut whose special nutrients (standardized for 19-20% aescins) also strengthen the blood vessels and enhances the ability of veins to return blood to your heart (while helping to carry away toxins from the tissues). It has been shown to be as effective as support stockings at moving fluid out of your legs.* If you are constipated you must move your bowels daily, as natural lymph flow and circulation from your legs is reduced by constipation, aggravating the pressure build up already occurring within cellulite. In general, a lack of dietary fiber can predispose you to cellulite formation by reducing your overall toxin clearing capacity. Even worse, if you are constipated your body cannot clear toxins as well – which means you will start trying to use backup systems to clear them, and that means toxins will be directed at your skin to be removed through your pores and oil glands. To get there they travel through the very same circulatory system and tiny blood vessels that has been disrupted by cellulite. Once in the stagnant fluid of the cellulite area these toxins simply generate more free radicals, make cellulite worse, and really dry out your skin. Another form of “constipation” occurs in your lymph system, and will also cause a backflow of pressure and unnecessary shunting of toxins towards your skin (and cellulite). The main lymph drains (thoracic ducts) are on either side of your spine in your upper back area. You can tell if you have this problem because you will have a stiff upper back that feels as if there is too much pressure in it. Sometimes this causes pressure-related headaches up the back of the neck, top of the head, or in the sinus area. Your lymph is most active while you sleep at night; a swelling lymph can push on nerves that cause a hand or arm to fall asleep while you are sleeping. If your lymph was not able to orchestrate a good job of house cleaning at night then you will feel gunky in the morning, often clearing significant amounts of mucous or congestion upon awakening. You either do or don’t have such problems – but if you have them they will seriously aggravate the lymph and fluid build up that is occurring within cellulite and, like regular constipation, need to be solved or cellulite will not clear. Stagnation is the overall enemy of your lymph system; refreshing exercise is its friend. The proper flow of toxins is from tissues (such as the cellulite area), into lymph and veins, eventually to your liver, and then mostly into your GI tract and then out (lesser amounts go to your kidneys and out through urine). Any weak spot in this system causes a back up that aggravates cellulite. Obviously, improving these issues within your body has significant health benefits besides assisting the cellulite issue.
Successful RemodelingCellulite, once in motion, can be described as a remodeling job gone bad. It is not that your body does not know how to fix itself. It is not that estrogen is supposed to be causing this problem. During evolution your genes did not have to figure out how to deal with excessive pollution, unrelenting stress, a lack of fitness, poor diet quality, and too much food. In essence, important survival systems have been turned against themselves when there is cellulite. You need to straighten this problem out, which means getting multiple health issues all working in a better direction as described in the previous sections. Once you get the cellulite issue headed in the right direction then you have to implement a correct remodeling process. Remember, the cellulite area is full of extra connective tissue in a tattered and useless formation and damaged fat cells that don’t work right. If you showed up at a construction site faced with a house in this condition the first thing you would do is take down all the improper and damaged things and cart off the trash. And that is exactly what your body will do if given the chance. Your body does this with its own protease enzymes – these are enzymes that dissolve tattered structure so that it can be carted off by your lymph and circulatory system. Unfortunately the ability of your body to make these enzymes declines with age and/or fatigue. Thankfully, natural extracts from fruits like pineapple (bromelain) and papaya (papain) can provide a boost of helpful protease enzymes to help clean house in the cellulite area. Our best product for this purpose is Repair Plus, which contains full strength versions of these enzymes. Most products on the market contain watered-down extracts of 1/6 potency. We also include the finest quality curcumin and quercetin, nutrients that help to calm down wear and tear and help quench free radicals in the cellulite area so that repair can proceed in an orderly manner. Think of Repair Plus as a natural “Pac-man” that can get in there and do a good job of house cleaning in tattered tissue areas like cellulite.* Repair efforts can be further enhanced by providing additional antioxidants that have a high affinity for skin as well as nutrients that assist in the formation of new and healthy connective tissue. An ideal product in this regard is Skin Rejuvenator. It contains the excellent skin antioxidants of green tea, lycopene, and grape seed extract along with the tissue strengthening nutrients glucosamine, MSM Sulfur and once again the grape seed extract. Additional helpful information on rejuvenating your body can be found on the Rejuvenation health topic page.*
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