Cellulitis

Cellulitis is caused by the accumulation of toxins and metabolic waste due to a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, hormonal imbalance, or lymphatic stasis. The skin presents the characteristic ‘orange peel’ effect. In aesthetic medicine it tends to be defined as ‘Edematous Fibrosclerotic Panniculopathy’, or ‘Fibrosclerotic Microangiopathy’, underlining the fact that the process of its formation is based on the proliferation of fibrous tissue due to the slowed and disrupted exchange of fluids in the microcirculation. Cellulite specifically affects certain parts of the body: thighs, inside of knees, buttocks, waist and abdomen, lumbosacral region, ankles, and arms.

General measures

To counteract cellulite, at a dietary level it is recommended to reduce the toxic load to a minimum (drugs, smoking, excess alcohol and coffee, food additives, environmental pollutants); reduce simple carbohydrates in favour of complex ones, favouring whole grains; limit saturated fats (cheeses, fatty meats); eat fruit at least 3 times per day, and vegetables at least twice per day. It is also advisable to do regular exercise or sports and expose yourself to the sun, possibly for fifteen minutes every day.

Phytotherapy

Certain medicinal plants have very strong detoxing characteristics, which help to restore the physiological order of the subcutaneous tissue in case of a microcirculatory deficit and alterations in capillary permeability.

Centella

Centella (Centella or Hydrocotyle asiatica L.) is a plant in the Apiaceae family, also known as ‘navelwort’. Its Chinese name, fo-ti-tieng, means ‘elixir of life’. In Sri Lanka, the fresh leaves of Centella are considered a food capable of ensuring health, longevity, and beauty. In phytotherapy, the whole fresh plant is used for its eudermic properties, that is, it promotes the normality of the skin’s various protective, trophic, and phlebotonic functions. Recent studies have made it possible to isolate the active ingredients capable of stimulating the production of collagen fibres in the subcutaneous connective tissue. It is most indicated for: skin ageing, capillary fragility; venous and lymphatic oedema; stretch marks. Centella is used to treat cellulite resulting from alterations in the vascular-connective trophism.

Dandelion

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber) is one of the best known herbs in our popular culture. The name – derived from the Greek taraxis, disorder, and axos, remedy – suggests the wide culinary, preventive, and therapeutic application of this Composite. In phytotherapy, it is appreciated for its purifying action, in particular in treating spring ailments and counteracting cellulite.

Curcumin

Extracted from Turmeric, it is used as a nutritional supplement thanks to its choleretic (promotes bile flow), cholagogue (increases bile flow), and purifying action.