Can How You Eat Affect Cellulite?

Ah, cellulite. Anybody can develop this pesky skin situation: It appears when collagen fibers that bind fat to the skin stretch and tear, allowing fat cells to expand. The RGJ recently interviewed Kim Mason, Registered Dietician at Carson Tahoe Health, to learn about diet and cellulite. Read the full interview below…

Does how you eat affect cellulite?  Nutrition affects everything else so it stands to reason there is likely a link.  Nothing has specifically been proven to be a problem or a help, but there are a couple of nutrients you’ll want to make sure you keep on board, the first being Vitamin C.  One of the many functions Vitamin C has to do with the synthesis of collagen – in serious deficiencies it causes scurvy, a symptom of which includes brown blotches on the thighs and legs.  Normally in the United States we eat enough Vitamin C to prevent this serious deficiency, but because we are unable to synthesize the vitamin, may cause effects.  Another nutrient involved with the  cells that make up the skin is Vitamin A, again keeping the skin integrity good may be a key to keeping it smooth.  Just one more vitamin that is significant to protection of the cell membrane is Vitamin E, this vitamin also plays a role in fatty acid normalization.  These are all long shots but there is so much we still do not know about how foods and nutrients work in the body, what we do know is that the average American struggles to get and adequate supply of fruits and vegetables which would be best sources for all three of these vitamins.

When it comes to food, is fresh better than processed?  The advantage of fresh is that if it has not been modified, it is in a form your body recognizes and utilizes more efficiently, plus nature packages food in such a way that many of the nutrients in the food work together so you are getting an added benefit.  Another fact is that believe it or not, we do not have all the information about every nutrient that is in natural foods or what their functions are.  To be on the safe side it is always better to eat well and eat fresh.    In the long run, eating fresh would decrease the volume of what our bodies would interpret as toxins from foods and minimize the amount of excess nutrients that go unused because not all of the building blocks are available to use them.

Can drinking plenty of water help prevent or reduce the appearance of cellulite? Having adequate hydration is always important as a means by which our bodies keep things flowing.  What you drink is key as it has been shown here in America that what we drink is one of the largest contributors to over-weighted-ness and obesity.  Weight has been a consideration in cellulite, however even that is not consistent as thin people also can have cellulite. A caution not to over-hydrate but drink according to activity,  the more you exercise (which is always encouraged), the greater your need for fluids.