The best and the worst foods for cellulite: Seven-Star Foods [Part of The LipoTherapeia Diet]

This article is part of The LipoTherapeia Diet...

...our cellulite-specific diet and exercise plan that we developed over the last 10 years. For a full list of all the LipoTherapeia Diet articles please click the link on the heading of this paragraph. This article lists foods according to their effect on cellulite, with a "star system". The most effective a certain food is in reducing or preventing cellulite, the more stars we give to that food, so you can eat more of it without guilt or fear! The less stars we give the less you can eat of that food, if you want to prevent or reduce cellulite.

Seven-Star Anti-Cellulite Foods

These foods can only make you leaner, by keeping your stomach and brain happy/satiated due to their high fibre content, by containing a negligible amount of calories, and/or by containing anti-cellulite phytochemicals that act as antioxidants, inhibit fat cell function, reduce inflammation, support circulation and stimulate collagen cell function.

• All vegetables (cooked, or as salads). Examples: broccoli, peppers, cauliflower, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, parsnips, etc. Eat as many as you want, the more the better! You may use lemon, wine/cider vinegar (not balsamic vinegar), a bit of olive oil and sugar-free mustard to dress your salad/cooked vegetables, but no honey mustard, mayonnaise or other ready-made salad dressings please... Do not use soya sauce regularly as it contains very high amounts of salt. You may use low salt if you wish (low salt contains 66% potassium and 33% sodium). Exceptions: beetroots, carrots, corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes contain way too many carbohydrates, so they get less stars.
• All herbs and spices. Examples: parsley, dill, turmeric, coriander, fennel, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onions, cumin, paprika, etc. Exceptions: increased intake of chili, pepper, horseradish and mustard may irritate your stomach, so it is not recommended.
• Seaweed. Examples: wakame, nori, dulse, etc. Exceptions: seaweeds are fantastic anti-cellulite foods, but prolonged use of high amounts of seaweed is not recommended, as it may lead to extremely high levels of iodine in the body. Therefore, you must either ingest a high amount (one  seaweed salad every day) for a small period of time (up to three months), or a moderate amount (one seaweed salad two to three day a week) indefinitely. If you want to benefit from the anti-cellulite components of seaweed without the burden of iodine, you may consider using a good fucoxanthin nutritional supplement.
• Decaffeinated green tea, decaf tea, decaf coffee, cocoa. These foods contain huge amounts of antioxidants per gram, so they can be classified as superfoods and you can have as many as you want of those. Don't worry about the decaffeination process, these days all manufacturers decaffeinate their coffee/tea via the water process, which is absolutely natural. Exceptions: normal (caffeinated) coffee, tea and green tea contain caffeine, so you are only allowed a total of two caffeinated drinks in total. Also, if you put sugar (including honey and brown sugar) in your tea/coffee/cocoa, forget these drinks altogether, as the sugar will offset any benefits you derive from the anti-oxidants (sugar is the number one cause of cellulite). The only sweetener you can use is the natural sweetener stevia, which you may use conservatively 2-3 times a day - no more! By the way, avoid artificial sweeteners such as sucralose and aspartame like the plague...
• Still/sparkling water: Drink two to three litres a day (no more)! Contrary to popular belief, sparkling water is absolutely fine and does not cause cellulite. Exceptions: flavoured water contains artificial sweeteners, flavourings and preservatives. Also, prefer glass bottles to plastic bottles which may contain harmful BPA.