Red meat, skin looseness and cellulite

“TL;DR: Most women consume too little protein, which leads to skin laxity and cellulite.

Avoiding red meat without replacing it with other high protein foods is a major factor for this. Unless you are a vegan, there is nothing wrong with lean, organic red meat - it is actually a superfood. And even if you are a vegan you must ensure you have an adequate protein intake to avoid skin laxity and cellulite.”

Red meat, anaemia, skin laxity and cellulite

• Does red meat cause or prevent cellulite and skin looseness?

• Red meat avoidance and anemia

• Organic red meat, protein intake and veganism

• The problem with red meat is…

• Be vegan but don’t shun protein: your skin, blood vessels and muscles will not like it

• How much protein do I need to help prevent skin looseness and cellulite?

• Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

• Discover our professional training and consultancy in cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency and ultrasound cavitation

Does red meat cause or prevent cellulite and skin looseness?

In the last half a century we all grew up being brainwashed:

• By the sugar/carbohydrate brigade to believe that red meat - and in general anything with protein in it - is bad for you due to saturated fat content

• By some unexplained hatred of certain “nutritionists” and “naturopaths” against protein because apparently “you don’t need much protein” or because protein stops your body from being “alkaline”. These are the same people who advocate to also abandon dairy products and expect the population to get all its calcium from anchovies and kale. Oh well…

As a result cellulite, skin laxity - and also anaemia - have shot up, especially among women, who tend to be more health conscious.

Sure, if you routinely eat cuts of meat with 50% fat (as in pork belly) and/or fry or heavily char your meat, yes, you will develop cellulite and, in time, heart disease and cancer etc, due to either calorie load and/or the toxic byproducts from high temperature cooking.

Most of our female clients presenting at the clinic with skin laxity and cellulite avoid meat completely or to a large extent. Sure, they eat instead A LITTLE BIT of chicken, fish, dairy and eggs but definitely not enough.

And most of them do not make up in any way for the lack of protein caused by avoiding those foods. They do not consume lots of pulses instead or at least nuts or even a good whey or vegan protein power. They just avoid protein altogether and subconsciously fill the gap with carbs and sugar, and sometimes fat - usually not “good fat”...

However, skin is made of protein: collagen and elastin are proteins. Blood vessels are also largely made of protein. The result, in combination with lack of exercise, is skin laxity, poor circulation and water retention, all leading to cellulite.

Red meat avoidance and anemia

Furthermore, most women do not make up for the lack of iron and vitamin B12 (due to red meat avoidance) by eating more iron-rich foods or by taking an iron, B12 and folic acid supplement. And the end result of this is anaemia and fatigue.

Organic red meat, protein intake and veganism

It is perfectly fine if you do not want to have meat because you are a vegan - for ethical or other reasons. But at least in this case please make sure you have enough protein, iron and B12 to ensure whole body and skin health.

• However, if you are not a vegan there is nothing wrong about having red meat, as long as it is lean and you do not cook it at very high temperatures (frying, charring etc).

• If you can have organic meat, that’s even better, so you can avoid potential antibiotics, pesticides and (in some countries) hormones. However, these chemicals are also included in chicken, eggs, dairy and farmed fish. And pesticides are also found in non-organic vegan foods too, albeit at lower concentrations.

• If you are affluent enough to afford organic AND grass fed meat (the way red meat used to be for millennia and up until a few decades ago), then you will be consuming a super-food that will provide you with plenty of protein for your skin, muscles and overall health - plus vitamin B12 and iron for your red blood cells (you will still need some folic acid from vegetables and vitamin C from citrus or other fruits and veg).

The problem with red meat is:

• Fat content (which equates to calories) and especially saturated fat (which in excess is unhealthy): Different cuts of meat can contain anything from 3% to 50% fat. Just choose anything below 10% fat and you will be fine.

• Curing: Nitrates used in the curing process are known to be a risk for cancer. So just don’t consume ham, salami, prosciutto and the likes, which BTW also contain too much salt and are quite fatty.

• High temperature cooking: This causes advanced lipoxidation end-products and advanced glycation end-products, both detrimental for your skin, blood vessels and overall health. Just lightly grill or simply cook in a casserole with some water to decrease cooking temperature. And avoid frying, of any type, at all costs.

• Pesticides, antibiotics and hormones: Simply eat organic and you don’t need to worry about those. If organic sounds too expensive, just choose cheaper cuts of organic lean meat, slow cook it, and you will have a lean, high protein, organic meat meal at a lower cost.

Now if you just don’t like the taste of red meat but are still open to eating chicken, eggs, dairy and fish, please do so, but don’t avoid those foods in addition to red meat - unless you are vegan.

Additionally you can have a good collagen protein powder - there are so many good collagen protein powders available these days. Just stir clear of collagen drinks in bottles or sachets which are too expensive for what they are - plus they represent a plastic pollution problem.

Be vegan but don’t shun protein: your skin, blood vessels and muscles will not like it

And if you wish to avoid all animal food that’s great, but make sure you:

• Eat pulses 3-4 times a week

• Have some nuts (not excessively, as they are high in fat; BTW seeds are very low in protein…)

• Have a good vegan protein powder shake to ensure you consume enough protein for your skin and whole body needs. These days you can also find some pretty awesome “vegan collagen” protein powders.

But in all cases, don’t shun protein completely for the sake of starches, sugar and fat because “we don’t need much protein”.

Most women would never over-consume protein, like many men sometimes do. So believe me, most women are not anywhere close to harming their kidneys from the usually paltry amount of protein they consume.

(Of course if you do suffer from chronic kidney disease or other condition where protein has to be limited, stick to the low protein diet your doctor has prescribed.)

How much protein do I need to help prevent skin looseness and cellulite?

1g of pure protein per kg of body weight per day is just about fine if you are sedentary (which you shouldn’t be) and anything up to 2g of pure protein kg of body weight per day is optimal if you exercise (more on these amounts on this excellent guide).

Of course, lots of vegetables, fruits (especially berry fruits), healthy fats (oily fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, avocado, some nuts, some olive oil - but no seed oils), regular exercise (VERY IMPORTANT) and an overall healthy lifestyle are also essential for skin firmness, cellulite prevention and overall health.

Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.

This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.

As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.

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And our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.

We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.

Learn more or check prices and book an expert treatment at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1)

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