Believe it or not, there are foods that cause cellulite. And women (like me) who love to hate cellulite will want to know what foods will cause and even worsen the appearance of those hideous cheese-like marks on the skin.
As much as I hate to admit it, your food intake plays an important role in producing and reducing cellulite. Unfortunately, you will not be able to evade cellulite no matter how much you lift weights or do stretches, unless you say goodbye to some foods.
But before we get to the list of foods that cause cellulite, let us first talk a little bit about what cellulite is.
Cellulite Defined
What is cellulite, by the way? It is a manifestation of the weakening of the connective tissues in the skin. When this happens, the subcutaneous fat protrudes to show the “dimples” that we all know too well.
Did you know that 90% of women are suffering from cellulite? And cellulite is not really necessarily based on weight and body type as even fit and toned athletes have them. While weight is a contributing factor, it also does not automatically mean that you are overweight if you have it.
There are actually many things that lead to the appearance of cellulite. However, the biggest culprit is your food intake. You need to understand now that the same food that cause you to gain weight are basically the same foods that cause cellulite.
Foods That Cause Cellulite: Watch List
If there are foods that can help you get rid of cellulite, there are also those that help you pack on the pounds. These are the foods that you need to watch out for if you intend to keep that dimpled skin from showing.
Curious to know which foods you need to eliminate? Read on:
1. Pizza – my heart broke into a million pieces upon learning about this. Food filled with unhealthy fats affects blood and oxygen flow. Consequently, your connective tissues known as fascia are impaired, resulting in wrinkling of the skin. Bad news, pizza lovers. Pizza is full of unhealthy man-made fat. 🙁
2. Barbecue sauce – are you aware that you are adding salt to your diet when you slather your grilled meat with barbecue sauce? And it just doesn’t stop there. Did you also know that you get as much as 15 grams of sugar from just two teaspoons of barbecue sauce? Yikes! But we’re not yet done, my friends.
The majority of the sweets from the sauce come from high fructose corn syrup, which is extremely addictive and increases appetite (which results in the appearance of cellulite). It increases blood glucose levels, thereby making the body release insulin.
If you can’t live without barbecue sauce, you can try a low-sugar version which is less than 250 grams per serving.
3. Soda – collagen is key to making the skin soft, smooth, and supple. The sad thing is that sugar, apart from aging, decreases collagen production. While it is true that sugar can be found in almost any food, this sweetener is most commonly found in energy drinks, and soda.
If you really want your dose of bottled drinks, you can opt for diet sodas.
4. Canned soup – whoever thought that canned soup can be part of the list of foods that cause cellulite? I honestly did not expect this either. This is a trusty friend for dinner when you are in a hurry to eat something, but they are full of salt. Salt causes dehydration and water retention which, again, causes… you guessed it right, cellulite!
Soup lovers, I suggest that you simmer your own pot with a low-sodium broth to make sure that you only have enough salt.
5. White bread – this contains refined carbohydrates, which are converted by the body into sugar and glucose afterwards. Glucose destroys collagen which results to rippling of the skin. In addition to that, converted sugar, which is not burned by the body gets stored and turns to fat. Again, fat is a contributing factor to cellulite.
Try whole grains instead of white/refined bread and you will see a huge difference.
6. Bagels – can this list of foods that cause cellulite gets any worse (for me at least)? Why are you doing this to me? Ugh!!!
I can understand if French fries tops this list because of all the salt in it. But bagels? Why? Unfortunately, you can get as much as 600 milligrams of salt in a fluffy bagel even without the cream cheese in it. Sad, right?
If a strong craving for bagels hits you, try a bagel thin or the hole-sized bagels.
7. Cheese – oh boy. The research I made about the foods that cause cellulite is depressing me. I am so sad that I want to eat cheese as it has always been my comfort food (please don’t judge me). But no. No, no, no.
I need to strengthen my resolve because cheese is filled with sodium. Sodium causes water retention and bloating. All this equals to more noticeable cellulite.
One cup of cottage cheese contains about 700 milligrams of sodium – which is more than what we need for a day. If you really want to eat cheese, go for a no-salt version or a Greek yogurt.
8. Margarine – contains trans fats which block the arteries and make blood and oxygen flow difficult for your system. This is hazardous to your health as it overworks your heart, and impair your tissues. Plus, it makes the dimpled skin more prominent.
A healthier option would be to use grass-fed butter onto your staple breakfast.
9. Snack cakes – while it is better and healthier than a huge whole cake, this pint-size goodness in a pack has about 42 grams of sugar. SUGAR. Need I explain more? If you want to get hold of these sweets, fight it and try fruit smoothies instead.
Conclusion
I understand that memorizing this list of foods that cause cellulite can be cumbersome, so let me make things easier for you.
You will need to avoid the following: (1) Refined carbohydrates, (2) processed foods, and (3) salt. Refined carbs have been stripped off of important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They easily get converted into simple sugars and quickly enter the bloodstream, which causes a rapid increase of glucose levels. You can get them from cereals, sweetened drinks, pasta, and pastries.
Processed foods are those that are canned, cleaned, and bagged. They also have added salt, sugar, and fat in them to enhance their color, flavor, and to lengthen their shelf life. Chips, baked goodies, soda, and hot dogs (and other processed meats) are just some of the examples of this group.
Last is the salt. They make already existing cellulite more pronounced because it causes water retention. It is one of the major culprits of the wrinkling and dimpling effect.
The common denominator here is that they are all inflammations causing – your fat cells will blow up, and hold water and toxins in your body. As water storage grows, blood and oxygen flow becomes worse and all the waste in the body causes damage to the collagen. All this results in cellulite.
I must admit that this is a disheartening list of foods that cause cellulite (mostly because pizza is on this list and it just broke my heart). I was actually shocked to find out about this. The good thing is that, while there are foods to avoid, there are also foods that can help you fight it.
I suggest that you load up on foods rich in antioxidants as these reduce the damaged cells in your body. Examples include berries, citrus fruits, spinach, kale, tuna, olive oil, and other foods containing healthy fats.
Cellulite causes the deterioration of collagen so make sure that you eat lots of Vitamin C. Did you know that that vitamin is a known supplier of collagen in the body? Collagen is a protein, so help your body produce more of it by consuming egg whites, chicken, and low-fat dairy.
Or better yet, you can check out this post about the foods that help fight cellulite.
If you ask me, there is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to cellulite. Even celebrities have it, so don’t be too harsh on yourself.
Honestly, there is no instant solution for cellulite. Apart from healthy living and exercise, you also need to make changes with your food choices. You can consume more foods that reduce cellulite and reduce those that make cellulite appear.
Click here to learn how to get rid of cellulite with Cellinea
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