Food and cellulite: that complicated relationship

• Foods that cause cellulite

• The worst foods for cellulite: fried food, sugar, excess fat, excess carbs, food with BPA in it

• Cellulite: foods to avoid

• What foods cause thigh fat? What causes cellulite on the legs?

• We always have a choice: indulgence vs hot thighs

• Have a cellulite treatment with London’s cellulite experts

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

Foods that cause cellulite

These are very common questions at our clinic:

• What foods cause cellulite?

• Which foods shall I avoid and which ones shall I eat for firm legs and to prevent/reduce cellulite?

• Do carbs cause cellulite?

And even specific questions, such as:

• Does honey cause cellulite?

• Does corn cause cellulite?

• Do dairy foods cause cellulite?

The worst foods for cellulite: fried food, sugar, excess fat, excess carbs, food with BPA in it

If I had to put it in one sentence I would say:

Anything sugary, anything fried/hydrogenated, any food stored/cooked in BPA-leaching containers, too many carbs, too much fat cause cellulite. And having too little protein, too little fibre, too few omega-3 fatty acids and too few polyphenols in your diet don't help either.

And there is good justification for that statement:

• Sugar is one of the top three causes of cellulite these days and a major reason for the increase in cellulite in the last few decades. Sugar is responsible for glycation, inflammation and fat accumulation, i.e. three distinct hallmarks of cellulite.

• Fried oils/fat, as well as unnatural hydrogenated/trans fats, are also responsible for inflammation, glycation and free radical damage, three major causes of cellulite. Frying peroxidises fats and oils in food; hydrogenation alters the chemical structure of oils/fats. Both frying and hydrogenation leads to inflammation and cellular damage. Not to mention that frying increases the fat content of food.

• Too many carbs and too much fat (i.e. too many calories), also lead to fat accumulation. As excess hypodermal (deep skin) fat accumulation is the most important aspect of cellulite, you can understand that carbs do cause cellulite, if eaten in excess - even healthy carbs. And of course fat causes cellulite, if eaten in excess - even healthy fat.

• BPA, BPS and microplastics act as endocrine disruptors/xenoestrogens, upsetting endocrine balance in both men and women and acting as badly conformed estrogen. This results in cellulite and more female-type fat accumulation on thighs and bum - not to mention the cancers and endocrine-related conditions they cause

On the other hand, the three remaining food components - i.e. protein, fibre and micronutrients - actually help reduce cellulite cellulite.

So fruits (especially berries), veg and herbs, as well as high protein foods, help reduce cellulite.

Cellulite: foods to avoid

So if I had to give some typical examples of what foods cause cellulite - on legs or anywhere else on the body - those would be:

• Doughnuts - the ultimate cellulite-causing food: they are fried (quite often in hydrogenated oil or oil cooked 20 times over) and they contain sugar, fat and starch (carbs), plus chemicals used in the frying process, as colorants, stabilisers etc. There is literally nothing good about a donut, nutritionally.

• Muffins should not be far off, as they also contain carbs, fat and sugar - but at least they are not fried. The same applies to snacks like:

  • granola (fat, sugar and carbs)

  • cookies (fat, sugar and carbs)

  • chocolate (fat, sugar and carbs), including 70%+ dark chocolate, which is still fat, sugar and carbs - plus a bit of cocoa antioxidants)

• Fried chicken with fries (fried, fat, sugar, starch) - as opposed to grilled chicken with salad and roast potatoes

• Cola and other soda/fizzy drinks (pure sugar/sweeteners and water) - as opposed to sparkling water. Not the mention the BPA in the can lining or the microplastics in the plastic bottle…

• Excess bread, pasta (too many carbs) - as opposed to some bread/pasta with loads of salad/vegetables and protein

• Thick, greasy pizza, heavy on cheese and salami (carbs and fat) - with the much lighter, Italian-style pizza with vegetables or seafood being a better option

• Greasy cheeseburgers with soda (fat, sugar, carbs) - with lighter, home-made, low-fat meat burgers being a much better option

• BPA-packaged food, such as ANY tinned drink (beer, soda, “energy” drinks, horrible wine in a box or abominable wine in a can), olive oil in a tin, and ANY canned food (tomato sauce, tuna, baked beans etc). Fresh is best - or at least prefer a glass jar/bottle variety.

What foods cause thigh fat? What causes cellulite on the legs?

That’s a very common question and the answer is twofold:

• The same things that cause cellulite or fat anywhere in the body also cause thigh fat

• But most importantly, cellulite and fat accumulation on the thighs and butt specifically - as opposed to other parts of the body - is driven by genetics and female hormones too

This means that, if as a woman you want to avoid thigh fat or cellulite you must be really careful with avoiding the above foods, alcohol, smoking/vaping and, by doctor’s permission, hormonal contraception (patches, injections, pill etc).

We always have a choice: indulgence vs hot thighs

You get the drift: anything that has too many carbs or too much fat or too much sugar or is fried/hydrogenated or all of the above, is great as a cellulite-causing food.

I know I sound like a spoilsport, but reality is reality and we always have a choice:

• Either indulge frequently in unhealthy foods that will clog our arteries, increase the risk of cancer, make us fat and give us cellulite

• Or focus on healthy foods (salmon salad anyone?) with the minor occasional indulgence once a week

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.

Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.

Our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, microneedling-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.

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)

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

Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening?

Attend a half-day, 1-day or 2-day or 3-day professional consultancy / one-to-one masterclass and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.

Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.