New year, new resolutions… Yours is to finally get rid of the cellulite that’s been bothering you. You’d love to try an anti-cellulite drainage drink, but you’re not sure where to start? We separate fact from fiction, taking a close look at drainage drinks and explaining exactly how they can help with cellulite.
What is a drainage drink?
A drainage drink is a drinkable solution — either a concentrate to dilute or a ready-to-drink beverage — designed to help the body drain. Its goal is to detoxify the body deeply, by:
- Stimulating certain elimination organs (the liver, the kidneys)
- Boosting the veno-lymphatic system
- Encouraging the elimination of waste and toxins
- Kick-starting a sluggish digestive transit
In this way, a drainage drink can not only support overall wellbeing, but also help reduce water retention.
There are various types of draining beverages, but most of them rely on the diuretic, digestive and/or fat-releasing properties of certain plants.
How effective are drainage drinks on cellulite?
A drainage drink course can have a positive effect on cellulite, especially when it is the aqueous type. Indeed, aqueous cellulite is mainly caused by water retention — an excessive build-up of water in the tissues that the lymphatic system fails to eliminate properly. Water retention shows up as:
- A puffy, oedematous appearance, especially in the lower body (thighs, knees, legs)
- Sometimes swelling of the fingers, feet or face
- Sensations of heavy legs with paraesthesia, tingling and numbness
- A cellulite that looks swollen, is not painful to the touch, and only shows when pinched (the classic dimpled appearance of orange peel skin)
It is mainly caused by sluggish lymphatic circulation: the lymph moves poorly and no longer fulfils its elimination function properly. By boosting the removal of water and toxins, a drainage drink helps relieve this failing lymphatic circulation. It is therefore fair to say that draining beverages are effective against cellulite.
One caveat, however: the effect on adipose or fibrous cellulite will be limited, especially if the drainage drink does not contain fat-releasing and thermogenic actives such as caffeine (coffee, guarana), bromelain (pineapple) or capsaicin (chilli).
Finally, a drainage drink will only have an impact on cellulite when it is part of an overall healthy lifestyle approach:
- A balanced diet low in salt, sugar and saturated fats
- Regular physical activity (for example water-based sports such as swimming or aqua aerobics, which are particularly effective against cellulite)
- A consistent anti-cellulite massage routine
What precautions should you take?
Short courses of anti-cellulite drainage drinks can be genuinely beneficial, especially knowing that many women don’t drink enough and are often dehydrated. Dehydration, incidentally, actually worsens water retention!
That said, draining drink courses should not be prolonged. That is the very principle of a course: it is time-limited — 2 to 3 weeks maximum! Beyond that, certain risks arise:
- You can disrupt your body’s sodium balance — because while excess sodium encourages water retention, a sodium deficiency in the blood (hyponatraemia) can lead to serious neurological consequences (including intracranial hypertension).
- You may experience nutritional deficiencies, as nutrients from food are flushed out directly through urine.
- You put strain on your kidneys, which become overworked by the diuretic substances in the drainage drink.
- You may disrupt your sleep and the quality of your nights (frequent urination, stimulating caffeine preventing you from falling asleep).
So yes to anti-cellulite drainage drinks — but always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and, where appropriate, consult your doctor.
What are the best anti-cellulite drainage drinks?
If you have cellulite and are interested in a draining course, it’s important to choose your anti-cellulite drainage drink wisely. Certain plants are particularly effective at reducing water retention and tackling the swollen, dimpled appearance of cellulite:
- Diuretic plants: nettle, birch, meadowsweet, ash, borage, dandelion, mouse-ear hawkweed, orthosiphon…
- Plants that support digestion: artichoke, black radish, rosemary, sage, papaya, fennel…
- Venotonic plants: red vine, ginkgo biloba, blackcurrant, butcher’s broom, horse chestnut…
- “Fat-burning” plants: pineapple stem (bromelain), coffee, tea, guarana, maté (caffeine), chilli (capsaicin), pepper (piperine), garcinia cambogia (HCA)…
If your chosen drainage drink contains natural actives like those listed above, and if its formula is clean (no unwanted additives such as artificial flavourings, texture agents or unnecessary colourings), then you can go for it with complete confidence! And to make sure you’re picking the right option, take a look at our 3-in-1 Cellulite Drainer :
- Its formula is 98.3% natural
- It contains “fat-burning” actives (including guarana), draining actives (green tea, ash) and digestion-supporting actives (ulvaine, papaya).
- It’s easy to use — simply dilute 20 ml of our anti-cellulite drainer in your drinking water
- Its gentle pineapple flavour is delicious and never cloying
- It helps eliminate waste and toxins from the tissues
- It reduces the water retention associated with cellulite
- It’s loved by women: 72% of users notice a significantly reduced orange peel appearance after just 12 days of use
And that’s just the beginning! To take your anti-cellulite and detox routine even further, you can perfectly combine our Drainer with our Cellulite Capsules: capsules that are 100% natural and vegan, made from beneficial plant extracts.