Aesthetically speaking, it is one of the greatest concerns: unwanted cellulite. It affects women in particular — both slim and overweight — on the lower part of the body. It is a condition that should be addressed from its very first signs, in order to get straight to the root of the problem. Cellulite stems from poor microcirculation caused by a range of factors, and preventing or reducing it requires taking care of your body 365 days a year, not just in the weeks leading up to a beach holiday. In addition to the basic advice that is by now well known — including following a healthy, balanced diet — it is worth tackling it using a variety of strategies. Let's look at the main ones.

What is cellulite

Caused by the degeneration of microcirculation in adipose tissue with a consequent disruption of its most important metabolic functions, cellulite is characterised by an increase in volume of fat cells, water retention and stagnation of fluid in the intercellular spaces.

Several types of cellulite are distinguished: compact, flaccid and oedematous. The first, compact type, appears in individuals who are in good physical condition and have toned muscles; the second is more common in middle-aged people with hypotonic tissue; the third, in combination with the compact type, is a consequence of circulatory conditions.

These result in oedemas, swelling, water retention and orange-peel skin, predominantly on the buttocks and thighs. Not all orange-peel skin is cellulite, however — even babies a few months old display it quite prominently — but it is certainly a precursor to it.

The causes of cellulite

What happens in the connective tissue is known, and it is also known that certain conditions promote the related biological processes, but when it comes to the actual causes, only hypotheses can be put forward. No one has yet managed to explain with certainty why two people with the same lifestyle do not both necessarily develop cellulite.

In conventional medicine
According to conventional medicine, cellulite originates from a combination of genetic, constitutional, hormonal and vascular causes, often aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle, stress, liver conditions, poor diet, intestinal disorders or pathologies characterised by marked water retention.

Today, food intolerances are also beginning to be taken into consideration, because when the body lacks certain enzymes to digest particular foods it produces more waste products which, being unable to eliminate them, it then deposits in areas where they can do no harm to health.

Beyond these physical causes, natural medicine broadens the search without rejecting the initial premise. Common sense does not deny the genetic, constitutional, hormonal and vascular causes of cellulite; it denies the very usefulness of looking for causes in the body alone and suggests that the symptom — cellulite in this case — is also a response to other factors.

In homotoxicology
Homotoxicology, a branch of homoeopathy with its own theory and pharmacological therapeutic strategy, explains cellulite on the basis that disease is the body's reaction to the aggression of a homotoxin — a toxic agent — and that it helps the immune system to eliminate it.

The homotoxicological view interprets cellulite as a disease of the connective tissue — that is, the tissue lying between the skin and the deeper tissues, which forms a kind of elastic mesh capable of separating and supporting muscles, nerves and viscera, while also constituting the subcutaneous cellular tissue in which fats are stored.

It is precisely the connective tissue that plays the vital role of disposing of the products of cellular metabolism. Circulatory disorders, insufficient activity of the physiological emunctory organs, hormonal problems, psycho-emotional stress, a sedentary lifestyle, dietary errors, medication overuse and so on can lead to the accumulation of toxins in the connective tissue and become the triggers of cellulite.

Phytotherapeutic and/or homoeopathic preparations help to eliminate the toxins accumulated in our bodies and restore balance to the emunctory organs — that is, the organs responsible for disposing of toxins, such as the kidneys, liver and, of course, the intestine.

In holistic medicine
For holistic medicine, cellulite is a genuine symptom of a deeper discomfort — often of a sexual nature — rather than a disease as such. The living organism is a ceaseless flow of interconnected events. The body is not a machine; it is made up of biochemical processes that can be touched and measured, but also of psychic processes that by their nature cannot be measured and can only be perceived through inner experience. Like all symptoms, it can be treated and prevented by intervening on many different levels, just as it is equally true that there are many external and internal factors that have contributed to its onset.

Natural remedies to combat it: lymphatic drainage massages

When there is significant water retention and areas of swollen skin, a course of lymphatic drainage body massages (carried out by a knowledgeable and competent professional) may be sufficient, as they are ideal for reactivating circulation. At home, you can nonetheless practise self-massage: start at the ankles and continue with circular movements upwards along the legs and over the areas affected by fluid stagnation. To make the treatment more effective, blends of oils that help to break down fats can be used.

• When showering, direct the jet of water onto your feet, move up along the outer side of the leg and down along the inner side. Repeat several times and use cold water if possible, to stimulate the body's response;
• When applying a body moisturiser or a specific anti-cellulite product after showering, do so with a good massage (unless the packaging indicates otherwise). Start from the tips of the toes and move slowly up to the groin, with an open hand, pressing it against the body in full contact and in an enveloping motion. Then start again from the feet and repeat several times.
• The pressure should be even and not very strong; it should feel pleasant, never painful.

Whenever possible, perform an anti-cellulite micro-massage by applying medium pressure for about ten seconds with the fingertip of the index finger or thumb on the following points:

• on the ankle, just below the inner malleolus;
• on the back of the knee (popliteal fossa), just towards the outer side;
• on the front of the thigh, halfway between the knee and the inguinal fold; repeat on the back of the thigh at the same level;
• just below the hip joint.

This micro-massage can be performed several times a day. Bear in mind that (re)finding the points is not easy, because the "right point" responds with greater sensitivity to the pressure of your fingers.

The oils to use

For example, ten drops of lemon essential oil — one of the best, alongside grapefruit, for combating adiposity — can be combined with sweet almond oil. Another blend can be prepared using calendula oil — ideal for sensitive, easily irritated skin — to which five drops of orange essential oil and five of rosemary are added. Before performing the massages, it is a good idea to prepare the skin with an exfoliant, so as to facilitate absorption of the beneficial elements of the various oils.

Scrub

An easy scrub to prepare is the following: mix two tablespoons of oat flour with the juice of one lemon and add five drops of lavender essential oil. Massage it onto the areas to be treated with gentle movements; it can be left on for five to ten minutes, then rinsed off. Whole sea salt works just as well in place of oat flour.

Areas prone to cellulite can also be treated using a horsehair or plant-fibre glove such as a loofah: making circular movements from the bottom upwards encourages cell renewal.

Ginkgo biloba and other herbs

Several herbs come to our aid thanks to their properties, such as centella asiatica, which acts on connective tissue. This plant can be taken both orally through essential oil (including in the spagyric tradition) and topically (many creams contain it). Butcher's broom, an evergreen also known as pungitopo, is likewise effective as it acts on the venous system and on water retention. Purchased from a herbalist's, it can be taken in the form of a decoction or as a mother tincture.

Ginkgo biloba is also effective, used in various contexts for its different virtues: it acts on peripheral microcirculation and against free radicals thanks to the presence of flavonoids. A plant that has grown popular over the years and is recommended for its antioxidant properties is green tea; substances called xanthines have been identified in its leaves, which suppress inflammation and reduce cellulite. As well as as an infusion, green tea can be used directly on the skin by using the leaves to massage the areas to be treated; a handful of green tea in the bath water is equally revitalising.

Treatments with algae

Treatments with algae (brown algae in particular) are useful for reactivating blood circulation, as they help to break down stored fats that have accumulated. Rich in iodine, brown algae reduce water retention. They can be used for a scrub massage (combined with sea salt and a few drops of lemon essential oil) or as an ingredient to add to one's diet. In particular, Laminaria japonica stimulates the metabolism and can reduce the blemishes caused by cellulite.

In addition to a balanced diet (it is recommended to introduce, for example, pineapple juice, herbal teas based on birch and horse chestnut, and in general raw, fresh, steamed foods dressed with raw oil), exercise — from swimming to cycling, from running to yoga — helps to burn excess fat.

Featured photo © cellublue.com