According to Dr. Howard Murad, author of The Cellulite Solution
In light of the information we’ve uncovered so far regarding the connection between nutrition and cellulite, it makes perfect sense that glucosamine is such a powerful component of an anti cellulite diet. Cellulite is formed by damaged connective tissue. The only way to heal cellulite naturally is to provide the body with the raw material it needs to rebuild this connective tissue. Glucosamine is a building block for connective tissue.
Not surprisingly, glucosamine is found in the bones and connective tissue of animals, too. Not long ago, glucosamine made its way into the food supply on a regular basis, when slow-simmered stocks were a daily luxury. Now, many of us don’t even know what stock is, let alone that it comes from bones!
Attempt #1: Chicken Stock
Any slow-simmered stock is a rich source for glucosamine and similar nutrients (in all likelihood, glucosamine is only one of many micronutrients found in stock that will help repair damaged connective tissue). Chicken stock is the most common. I’ve been making homemade chicken stock for years, but if you’ve been following along here at The Cellulite Investigation, you know that hasn’t always gone well for me.
I don’t recommend chicken stock unless you know the chicken was raised in the best possible conditions and all the feed was organic. Chickens are small creatures and their bodies are not able to process the high amount of fluoride-based pesticides contained in normal chicken feed. As with humans, fluoride accumulates in their bones and connective tissue. Chicken stock is one of the highest food sources of fluoride. Since I am especially sensitive to fluoride, I avoid chicken stock altogether (for now).
Attempt #2: Shrimp Stock
Shrimp shells are especially high in glucosamine, a fact that forms the basis of my theory that shrimp stock just might be the magical anti-cellulite elixir we’ve been dreaming of. But my first attempt at testing this theory went over only slightly better than with the chicken stock. Not because of fluoride, but because of a similar halogen: iodine.
The chemical structure of iodine is so similar to fluoride that it will displace fluoride from the body. Thanks to the well-meaning dentist who prescribed me all those fluoride pills as a child, my body now has plenty of fluoride to displace. As with fluoride, I develop a skin reaction to iodine, although it is not nearly as immediate or severe. Until I am confident my body is not overloaded with stored fluoride, my shrimp stock theory will remain just that –a theory.
Attempt #3: BEEF STOCK!
Despite my best attempts, homemade stock has been a missing element in my diet for awhile now. Beef stock is more difficult to make, but I finally decided it was time to give it a try. Because the bones are so large, they need to simmer for a much longer period of time if you want a nutrient-dense stock. However, there is also a benefit to using large bones for stock. Because of their size, cows are not as susceptible to the high levels of fluoride present in most animal feed.
So homemade beef broth is my latest experiment in treating cellulite with stock. Next time I will tell you about the recipe I used AND the Christmas gift I received this year that made the whole process sooooo much easier!
*This post is part of Fight Back Friday hosted at FoodRenegade.
Are you battling the blight solo? Cellulite investigating is much more fun (and effective) when you're not going at it alone. Come join the conversation in our discussion forum.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
For the vegetarians among us, Source Naturals makes a vegetarian Glucosamine supplement. It seems that Amazon.com has about the best price – $ 18.35 for 240 tablets. This particular supplement has received very good reviews on both Amazon.com and Vitacost.com. I am just embarking on an anti-cellulite , and have recently ordered these. I will try to weigh in on their effectiveness after taking them for a few weeks.
BTW, thank you Melissa for maintaining this site. There’s a wealth of information here and I’ve only scratched the surface. Looking forward to learning more about cellulite and how to eliminate it!
I’m glad you are enjoying the site, Mary! Thanks for the info on the vegetarian option.
What about new cellulite removal torontotreatment called Venus Freeze? how effective is this? I hear people saying this is way better than velashape but I’m not so confident in what people just say…..I need to know an opinion from someone that actually tried it.
Avril, let me do some digging and I will get back to you on this one. I haven’t tried this treatment but I might be able to find someone who has. If I turn up enough info, I’ll write a post about it in the next week or so. If not, I’ll just reply to your comment here with whatever info I find. Thanks for your question!
I’m in Toronto and I’ve tried it – but at a different medspa than the one you’ve linked to. I had 3 – 30 minute sessions and noticed no difference in cellulite, though my skin may be a bit firmer. Regarding the Venus Freeze they say that if you’ll notice a difference for cellulite it will be apparent after 3 sessions, so for me this is a no-go. The only thing that has ever gotten rid of my cellulite has been exercise and proper diet.
Thanks, Sid! I’ve had a hard time tracking down women who’ve actually tried this treatment, so I appreciate the first hand account. Did they give you an idea of what percentage of people don’t see results after 3 sessions?
At the medspa I went to the vast majority of clients were using this machine for their tummies (and apparently in that area almost everyone gets results). Despite the impressive cellulite reduction photos the company puts out I got the impression that most people actually using it for cellulite were getting the same results I did. If anyone did want to try this – or any of the other tightening treatments that are out there I would suggest checking out the group buying coupon sites for your area – there are sometimes great deals for this type of thing.
Good to know. Thanks, Sid!
OK, thanks a lot!
This question is for Mary who was trying out the vegetarian Glucosamine supplement. Mary did it work to remove the cellulite? Or maybe you heard results from that Melissa. Thanks appreciate the answer to this before I order it.
Thanks for your questions, Pamela. I sent Mary an email in case she doesn’t see your comment. Hopefully we’ll hear back from her.
How one could get that being a vegetarian and no consumer of dairy products?
Thanks.
Sorry . I have just seen the vegetarian option on the comments above.
Thanks.
Hello ladies,
I’m the Clinical Manager from Venus Concept, the North American head office for the Venus Freeze. I’m reading all of your comments and questions and would like to address them as well as open the door to anyone wishing to contact me with further questions. At Venus Concept, the “concept” is complete support from the physician to the patient, we are here for you!
Our clinical results are consistent and reliable with cellulite, skin tightening, circumferential fat reduction and the treatment of wrinkles. I need to know which clinics you had your treamtents at so we can follow up. Whether it is additional training that is needed or troubleshooting their technique or protocol, we need to make sure these clinics are delivering to the patients the results we know the system produces. As well, I am happy to provide you with the names and locations of clinics that are using Venus Freeze in their practice in your area if you have not been able to loacte an office near you.
I saw a comment that a patient who had Venus Freeze and dis not see a result had asked the clinic to send in the photos of the patient showing no result, to the manufacturer. The manufacturer is us and I have not received any photos. This is very concerning as I said, we are here for our customers and their patients. Could the blogger who had the photos and lack of a result please email me the photos and the name of the clinic (with contact details) so I can follow up for them?
I would be happy to send anyone that contacts me, real before and after photos of patients that have gone through the treamtents and are enjoying the results. These photos are not the “home run” patients, these are realistic, standard results we see consistently in the office that have Venus Freeze.
I’m happy to receive inquiries here or personally at my email address. Feel free to contact me anytime, we are here for you!
Kind regards
Tracey Mancuso
tracey@venus-concept.com
888-907-0115
Thanks for your comment, Tracey. I usually don’t allow comments from the anti cellulite industry promoting certain treatments/products, but your comment warrants an exception. I will contact the woman who is trying to send her photos to the manufacturer and see if I can put her in touch with you. I believe her spa was sending the photos somewhere overseas, perhaps to the manufacturer directly. In any case, I’ll see if she is interested in sending them to you, as well. Thank you for your offer.
Hi there
Yes I do know for a fact my pictures were sent in for investigation and it was then sent back to the company with remarks that they needed to improve their clinical photography skills which either way I myself know there were no results. Some one was recently in there last week from your company and recently discovered the hand piece had been cleaned with the wrong product and had rusted the machine which is supposedly the reason why I had no results and I am being offered another 10 sessions but you will have to forgive me if I say that I do not believe your machine will work and so far I am incredibly unhappy with amount of money and time I have wasted on this product as a mother of three young children and also a full time student. But i cant say i am surprised I should have known better and not let my emotions regarding my imperfections drive me to waste money that could have been much better spent.
Hi Nicole,
I’d like to assist you in this case as there seems to be a very large issue with the clinic that performed the treatments. I have not received any information about rusty applicators (and all North American service reports like this I would hear about). As well, I need the name of the clinic so I can follow up with them.
I know for certain that our system works and that we have good responses from our cellulite treatments so I know that I have to follow up with the clinic to see what the issue might be.
Please let me know and I will follow up with the clinic and let you know my findings. As well, if you can send me the photos I did not receive, that would be great.
tracey@venus-concept.com
Tracey
I would be more then happy to get the girls to email me my pictures again because i no longer have the paper copy and I will also get the name of the representative that they have been dealing with. Once I have these things I will email you, however, out of respect to the company I do not want to advertise their name until I am sure that I in no way am going to receive my money back, because I have received a credit for $1700 but I am not interested in any other treatments or in redoing the treatment.
I hope this works out for you, Nicole. Please continue to keep us updated!
Hi Nicole,
That would be great, thank you. Please send them to me as soon as you can (tracey@venus-concept.com). Of couse, I respect your privacy and will not discuss the concerns you have with the clinic unless you want me to. For us at Venus Concept, we expect all of our partners to be delivering consistent results and if a clinic is not, it’s important that we are aware and that we work with them for their success and the satisfaction of their patients.
Our representatives function in a different way than traditional laser manufacturers. We regularly check in with each account and work closely with them.
I look forward to receiving your photos and information on the clinic that treated you.
Kind regards,
Tracey
I am interested in the Venus Freeze but must admit I am a non-believer in many ‘treatments’ that claim to make you younger looking/cellulite free. I was reading the comments between Tracy and Nicole but the ‘experience’ is not complete with the last post on Nov 23/11. Is there more to this story or did it leave you hanging……… I would be interested in checking into other websites regarding the success/failures of this procedure.
Hi, Sandra. I didn’t hear back from Nicole about this. I will see if I can get in touch with her to get an update. What area are you thinking of using Venus Freeze to treat? Did you read the comments on our full post about Venus Freeze? Most women don’t seem to notice great results with cellulite, although the people who used it for sagging skin report more of a benefit. I did hear from one woman whose daughter used it for cellulite and she was very happy with the results. She sent me some pics and they were impressive.
Hi sorry
I asked the place I am going to, to confirm where exactly they had sent my pictures and who had been in to review them and so on and so forth. I have to admit im not terribly comfortable with just sending someone on the internet my photos of an area of my body I am ashamed of. The contact that the salon had talked to was sufficient for me and I know regardless that although it may work on others it did not on me (considering I was using it on 100% which is so hot it feels like your skin is getting severely burnt within seconds for the max amount of time recommended). The place I went to credited back my $1700 as an in house credit only. But I have learned from my mistakes and I seriously would still caution anyone, don’t have high hopes and be ready to have just given up a large amount of money to not be impressed. I should have saved my money because now i plan on just having an abdominoplasty and the money i just wasted would have been 1/3 of the surgery cost
Hi Nicole,
I’m very concerned with the “solution is to have an abdominoplasty”. This explains a lot about the situation as I thought we were speaking about thigh cellulite. As I understand it now you are speaking about either skin laxity in the abdominal area or circumferential fat reduction (or both). If you are a candidate for an abdominoplasty and that is your best solution as suggested by your plastic surgeon, a non-surgical treatment series, no matter what the technology is, will not produce the same results. This is not a matter of the machine working or not working, it’s about patient expectations and the clinic / physician being clear with you about the best options for you.
Many offices use the Venus Freeze post surgically to help achieve a more enhanced result but they should not recommend it in place of the surgical procedure with the intent it will produce the same result. This is a non-surgical device which is FDA cleared for treatment of mild to moderate facial wrinkles and rhytides and is Health Canada licensed for the treatment of temporary cellulite and temporary skin tightening. It is a good option for those candidates who do not wish to have surgery and understand that this will produce good skin tightening, cellulite reduction and smooth wrinkles without the risk of surgery and the downtime.
As for the machine being used at 100% and burning you, this is actually not possible with our machine and to date, there has been no burns reported world wide (which is something you can research yourself with the FDA, CE and HC for any device). I’d be very leery of this information you have and again, I am reaching out to you to let me know the name of the clinic so I can follow up with them and ensure they are performing the treatments correctly, the consults are clearly and accurately given to the patients and that their device is functioning properly. I have no intention, nor will I, mention your name. As part of our standard protocol we visit every account every month so this will be part of our usual call to this account.
I’m reaching out to you again to assist you and help guide you. Although I work for Venus Concept I have been in this field for over 21 years and have a wealth of experience with services that are offered and technology that is out there. I will tell you, for the most part, what is available out there in the cosmetic physician offices is all effective technology, it’s more a matter of what is right for each patient and selecting the right patients for the right procedures that makes the difference.
I’d like to help you so please feel free to contact me; my email is posted and available to you anytime.
Tracey
Hi tracy
I will email you back now but i would like to say publically that i am very concerned that the product was sold to me based on the fact that its primary reason was to tighten skin and that on some people it takes aeay cellulite but the machine was not reallyeany for that? Perhaps if the loose skin on my abd made me not a good candidate for exactly what the machine is advertised in spa for means that the company most definately is ripping people off…i have found my pictures and will forward to you so that you can see i am not an extreme case just unhapy with the appearance
Hi Nicole,
I’ll keep an eye out for your email in my inbox; I am in front of a computer all day today. The Venus Freeze device does produce significant tightening and it does temporarily treat cellulite bringing you down one grade in cellulite and with maintenance (one treatment every season), it will be a good long term non-surgical result. In none of our literature do we state that we “take away” cellulite. Cellulite is a disorder which can be reduced but not eliminated. In fact, we state clearly on all of our websites, printed materials and even signage we give to clinics, we are HC licence for the treatment of temporary cellulite. If a partner of ours is advertising Venus Freeze differently, then we want to know so we can work with them to ensure the product is correctly represented.
It’s not necessarily that you are a poor candidate; you can be a great candidate if your expectations are to improve the appearance of cellulite and to reduce your circumferential measurement. If you want to “get rid of” fat or “remove” cellulite, those words indicate to me that your expectation will require a surgical response. A surgical solution all depends on whether or not you are medically a candidate (meaning the procedure is deemed safe for you by the physician) and whether or not you accept the risks and downtime associated with surgery. All of these considerations must be discussed with your plastic surgeon in detail for them to decide what is best for you.
I’m very glad you’ll be reaching out to me by email as I want to help you through this. It sounds to me like you can use a little guidance as I know this whole field of cosmetic enhancement can be confusing at times. There is a lot of information out there and one thing I want to stress to you is that YOU are the most important part of this equation. Although I want to make sure that the correct information reaches out consumers and I am replying on behalf of Venus Concept, I am also replying to you to ensure YOU get the right information no matter what you choose to proceed with. In the end, it’s the goal we all have in this field, to have our patients happy and to deliver the best treatments that produce the best results.
I will post a summary outcome for followers after we chat however, I will leave the details of what procedures we discuss and what you decide to do up to your to share. My summary will just discuss how we as a company have addressed this issue with the clinic in question.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Tracey
Tracey