Combining treatments works best in battle against cellulite

By Sabine Maurer Jun 30, 2011, 3:07 GMT

Hamburg - Many women have cellulite, which results in ugly dimples that make the skin look like an orange peel.

The condition affects women of all ages and generally affects the area around the thigh and buttock , making swim suit season all the more difficult.

There are a variety of creams that promise to make cellulite disappear, but it's not so easy. The fight requires stamina, willpower, money and a lot of hope.

It is frustrating for many women because even their best efforts don't help. Ads don't help, since they make it appear not to be such a problem: simply spread it on the skin and it's goodbye cellulite.

The truth is it takes more effort, says Renate Donath of the association of German cosmeticians. Getting rid of cellulite requires a combination of exercise, the right diet and skin treatment.

'A poor diet with too much carbohydrates and fat is the main reason cellulite develops,' explains Andreas Scholz from the German Association for Sport Nutrition and Nutritional Supplements. However, he advises against radical diets, which typically end in the yo-yo effect - weight loss followed by weight gain. It's also bad for the skin and causes more cellulite.

Lean beef and fish, fresh vegetables and fruit are foods that help fight cellulite. Non-carbonated mineral water and buttermilk are also helpful.

Scholz also swears by the milk product whey, the watery remains after curds form, and amino acid tablets. Foods that make cellulite worse are pork, white bread, animal fat, sugary foods such as chocolate and pastries and canned vegetables.

Smoking has an even worse effect. Nicotine, one of the main ingredients in cigarettes, narrows the blood vessels of the skin, which chokes metabolism. It also damages the connective tissue of the skin.

Exercise such as jogging, swimming and cycling are good ways to keep cellulite away, says Donath. Targeted exercises that work the stomach muscles, the legs and the buttocks are also sensible. Scholz goes further, recommending strength training in the problem areas.

'Exercise helps metabolism come back into gear. Carbohydrates and fat are burned off rather than stored,' he explains. It takes three to four workouts a week at the fitness studio for 30 to 45 minutes at a time to win the battle against cellulite.

In addition to this discipline, it helps to have a thick wallet because treatments from a cosmetician have their price.

Donath recommends a lymph drainage once or twice a week. Each treatment takes about a half an hour and costs about 50 euros (71 dollars). After a while the treatments are necessary only every two weeks until the desired effect is achieved, she says. The first signs of success are already visible after two treatments. The longer the patient has had the cellulite the longer it takes to fight it.

Anti-cellulite creams, in Donath's opinion, are also sensible. They don't work if they are used alone, but they work when used in combination with exercise, massage and proper diet. She recommends applying them to the problem areas twice a day. It takes about three months until there is a clear reduction in the cellulite.

Two years ago, Germany's consumer products testing organization was much more critical of anti-cellulite products. They came to a very sobering conclusion after testing 10 of them - from creams to electronic wraps and massage rollers - none of them worked convincingly. Even the expensive products had no visible influence on cellulite.

Three hundred women took part in the testing. When one of them noticed something positive, a placebo often got the same grade. Sometimes creams with no active ingredients were rated higher than the anti-cellulite products. This might have been because when people do something good for their bodies and take better care of themselves, it doesn't matter whether something has changed or not.

The cause of cellulite is the build up of connective tissue in women and the female hormone estrogen. The dimples in the skin on the thighs and buttocks are filled fat cells that could no longer be held tightly in the layers of tissue. In men this material is held together like a net, which is why they rarely get cellulite.

In addition, women's fat cells have the ability to fill up to larger sizes than men's fat cells. Estrogen sees to it that the fat is stored primarily in the thighs and buttocks.