You’re tempted to try a course of food supplements to tackle your cellulite — but the overwhelming choice of products and their promises leave you confused. Not sure what to pick? If you’re curious about anti-cellulite capsules and want to know more about how effective they really are, read on!
What are anti-cellulite capsules?
1- A quick definition
An anti-cellulite capsule is a food supplement, available over the counter in pharmacies, parapharmacies, health and nutrition stores, dedicated websites, or the dietetics aisle of supermarkets. The goal of these capsules is clear: to target the various causes of cellulite and reduce it — including its visible appearance, commonly known as orange peel skin. An anti-cellulite capsule works on:
- Boosting veno-lymphatic circulation, which is particularly involved in the development of water-retention cellulite, mainly caused by water retention
- Stimulating certain organs, such as the digestive organs and kidneys
- Eliminating toxins, for better nourishment and oxygenation of the tissues
- Triggering the lipolysis process, to reduce adipose cellulite or fibrous cellulite
2- How anti-cellulite capsules work
There are different types of anti-cellulite capsules, but most share the same core ingredients — namely plant extracts. These natural actives serve several functions:
- Diuretic function: the plants help eliminate water trapped in the tissues.
- Draining and venotonic function: the actives promote better blood and lymphatic circulation, helping to restart the venous pump and stimulate the elimination of waste and toxins.
- “Fat-burning” function: plant extracts support lipolysis — either gastro-intestinal (breaking down fats during digestion) or adipocyte-level (emptying the fat stored in adipocytes, the subcutaneous fat cells)
3- Ingredients in anti-cellulite capsules
It’s common to find shared ingredients across different anti-cellulite capsules:
- Diuretic plants such as dandelion, horsetail, hibiscus, orthosiphon, nettle, birch, couch grass, meadowsweet or mouse-ear hawkweed — and many more!
- Draining plants, such as red vine, horse chestnut, butcher’s broom, melilot, blackcurrant, ginkgo biloba, witch hazel or cypress.
- Natural lipolytic actives, such as caffeine from guarana, tea, coffee, kola nut or maté; synephrine from raspberry ketones; capsaicin from chilli pepper; or bromelain from pineapple stem — to name just the best-known ones.
How effective are anti-cellulite capsules?
Some anti-cellulite capsules can provide a genuine boost in the fight against cellulite. However, to see real results, it’s important to incorporate food supplements into a healthy lifestyle that includes:
- A varied and balanced diet, free from processed foods and low in salt, sugar and saturated fats
- Daily physical activity, combined with regular exercise at moderate to high intensity
- Anti-cellulite massages, such as the pinch-and-roll technique, which encourage lipolysis and drainage
That said, it has been shown that certain natural actives do have a positive effect on cellulite:
- Paraxanthine, an isomer found in caffeine, increases lipolysis, while theobromine causes vasodilation that supports toxin drainage.
- Several studies have shown that capsaicin, by stimulating the production of adrenaline and noradrenaline, may have a proven lipolytic effect(1).
- Certain plants — such as meadowsweet, ginkgo and red vine — are now active ingredients in venotonic medicines. Indeed, phytotherapy is regularly used by healthcare professionals when developing treatment courses, whether in the form of capsules, ampoules, tablets or creams.
Which anti-cellulite capsules should you choose?
Choosing anti-cellulite capsules requires a little care. Some capsules have a questionable composition:
- Natural actives are present in low amounts or of poor quality
- The origin of the plants used is unclear
- The capsules contain excessive texturing agents, colourants and preservatives
- The products are not vegan (animal fat is used to make the capsule shell)
It’s best to opt for transparency — choosing anti-cellulite capsules whose full composition is clearly stated on the packaging, and which comes as close as possible to 100% natural.
Other criteria can also help guide a well-informed choice:
- User reviews, which can be found in product reviews, videos, testimonials, forums or on the manufacturer’s website.
- Patented complexes, as this means the manufacturer has submitted their product to scientific scrutiny and developed a unique formula.
That’s exactly the case with our Cellulite Capsules:
- 100% natural ingredients and a vegan product
- A unique blend of fat-burning plants (guarana, pineapple stem), diuretics (cherry stalk, green tea), venotonics (red vine) and digestive plants (ascophyllum, artichoke).
- Overwhelmingly positive user reviews — 96% of people who have tried our capsules recommend them!
- Easy to use: simply take 4 capsules a day for 21 days to feel a sense of wellbeing and notice a clear improvement in skin texture, free from dimples
The capsules can also be used alongside our Cellulite Drainer 3-in-1 for even greater results. Drainers can have a very positive effect on water retention and the feeling of heavy legs, which affects so many women.
So, if you have no contraindications (pregnancy, medication, kidney disease, breastfeeding…), why not try a quality anti-cellulite supplement course?
References
(1) 2014, Whiting, Derbyshire, Tiwari, Could capsaicinoids help to support weight management? A systematic review and meta-analysis of energy intake data