THE TRUTH ABOUT CELLULITE

It used to be the case that doctors claimed cellulite was exactly the same as any other fat on our bodies and, like normal fat, coutd be combated with exercise and a healthy diet. These days, however, thanks to advances in science, we know that the dreaded orange peel textured lumpiness we see on our thighs, butt, and even our arms and belly, isn't ordinary fat at all, but the result of fat cells found underneath the top layer of the skin being squeezed between the bands of connective tissue which attach muscle to your skin.

Weak, damaged fat cells can cause fatty tissue to lie unevenly, while the strong fibres that anchor fatty tissue to the layers of skin above can pull at the pockets of fat, creating that dimpled effect too. While the structure of men's connective tissue is angled, women's connective tissue is vertical, which is the reason why our fat cells can bulge through.

So it seems women - including many of the world's slimmest, fittest supermodels and Olympic athletes - are simply destined to have cellulite. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything to get rid of it once you understand the causes.

POOR CIRCULATION
When blood flow slows, collagen separates, allowing fat to come to the surface of the skin and create an orange peel effect. While poor circulation is primarily genetic, there's much you can do to give it a boost. including regular exercise, and your new secret weapon: daily body brushing (see    ? opposite for advice on how to do it properly).

Because exercise and body brushing help stimulate your metabolism and warm your skin as well as boosting your circulation, you should apply any cellulite products directly after these activities so their dimple-fighting ingredients are better absorbed.

YO-YO DIETING

Research shows that women store fat six times more readily on their lower body than their upper body. But the lower body is far less keen on letting go of that fat. So if you lose seven pounds, six go from the top and just one goes from the bottom. When you put it on again (as yo-yo dieters always do), six go to the bottom and one goes to the top.

And the pattern only intensifies if you go on dieting in this way. Following a sensible healthy eating plan where you eat at regular intervals - like the one in this book - can help normalise your blood sugar levels, prevent binges, and stop you from piling lost weight back on.

JUNK FOOD
Refined and processed foods, those that contain sweeteners, additives and chemicals, plus dairy, sugar and high fat products are all thought to contribute to cellulite. One major thought is that some of the chemicals in these foods act as oestrogen mimics to disrupt the smooth running of the female body. And worse, junk
food seriously lacks essential nutrients, including those antioxidant vitamins and trace minerals known to counteract cellulite.

Try to eat fresh fruit and veg to aid poor digestion and eliminate waste (both of which exacerbate cellulite),  and if you can't ditch all toxins, drink plenty of water every day to help flush them out.

CELLULITE: TIPS TO MINIMISE THE DIMPLE EFFECT

Dimples are adorable, yet when they're on butts and thighs, most of us admonish them as biological traitors. If you can't come to terms with the fact that cellulite is normal (really), we've road-tested ways to down play the orange peel.

You'd think in an era when we can send people to the moon, buy gym shorts without venturing into a change room, and create life like prosthetic limbs (yes, we do realise that answers a leai problem), you'd think science could do something about cellulite. After all, most women have it and go to an awfull lot of trouble to hide it.

Yet the deposits of subcutaneous fat (meaning fat just underneath the skin) and fibrous tissue that cause the maligned "dimple" effect aie trickier to burn off than garden variety adipose tissue.

Getting rid of cellulite entirely is impossible. All one can do is reduce the size of the cells that are causing the appearance of the dimpled skin. As always, diet and exercise are paramount to maintaining a healthy body, both inside and out Why are women harder hit than men? According to Melbourne's Dr Andrew Roberts, we can blame the size of our fat cells, which are double the size of our male counterparts'.

"They are arranged perpendicularly to the skin's surface and women have less firm cormective tissue than men, while their fibres are also arranged differently - so when the fat layers increase they can only grow upwards, which results in the appearance of pimpled and dimpled skin surfaces," says Dr Roberts.

How stark your cellulite is rests largely on genetics. Genes determine how many fat cells our bodies will hold and that threshold cannot change. Growth of individual fat cells, however, may lead to the visual hallmarks we know as cellulite.

While you mightn't be able to make it disappear, there are plenty of DIY ways to minimise the dimple effect.

TIP 1: Avoid processed foods and alcohol as they Increase body foKins, which are then stored in fat cells. This is why slim people with poor lifestyle habits exhibit cellulite.

TIP 2: Invest in healthy foods ond green juices instead of quick fixes. The problem lies beneath the skin where most topical treatments do not reach.

TIP 3: Pay attention to your hormones. Avoid things that increase unnecessory oestrogen intake such as bottled water and too much dairy.

TIP 4: Try body brushing and massage to increase blood flow and stimulate the lymphotic system beneath the skin.

TIP 5: Your body needs collagen to smooth out dimples so make sure you have a diet high in collagen-building nutrients like vitamin C and essential fatty acids.

TIP 6: Stretch for 10-15  minutes a day to improve circulation and increase the appearance of muscle. Saunas are also great for sweating our toxins.

TIP 7: Proteins in chicken, beef, fish, nuts, legumes and beans help strengthen collagen fibre and reduce cellulite appearance.