“I’ve been interested in and studying nutrition since I was 14 and a competitive athlete and I have to say that the paleo diet holds a lot of appeal, as it is purportedly the diet of our early ancestors. However, we do not live a paleolithic lifestyle so a modified paleo diet would make a lot more sense. Clean eating also sounds good until you develop orthorexia, an eating disorder. I have tried both paleo keto, clean eating and keto and found them temporarily useful but not that great in the long run. In regard to carnivore, it is as good as the cabbage soup diet or the lemon detox diet, i.e. an unsustainable gimmick. In terms of cellulite, modified paleo, clean eating and keto make sense, at least for a while but the carnivore diet seems just plain unhealthy - and that cannot be a good thing for cellulite, long term.”
Is the paleo diet good for cellulite prevention and skin firmness?
What is the paleolithic diet? Is it good for cellulite prevention or reduction?
Are potatoes, honey and date paleo? How about agave syrup?
Paleo diet, clean eating and cellulite
Is the paleo diet good for cellulite prevention / reduction then? How about skin firmness?
A modified paleolithic diet?
Clean eating vs paleo vs carnivore diet vs keto diet for cellulite
Paleo and carnivore lifestyle and cellulite
Is the paleo diet easy or practical?
Is the carnivore diet easy?
Will the paleo diet get rid of all my cellulite or firm up my skin?
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Paleo diet, carnivore diet and cellulite / In summary
The paleo diet promotes eating in a way thought to mimic the habits of early humans, focusing on unprocessed foods such as grass-fed meat, wild-caught fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. It excludes dairy, grains, pulses, sugar, alcohol, and processed foods, aiming to reduce modern overconsumption and support overall health. While some debate exists around foods like potatoes, honey, and natural sweeteners, purists argue that many of these are not truly paleo due to their sugar content or modern availability.
In relation to cellulite, the paleo diet's emphasis on clean eating, reduced calorie intake, higher lean protein, and fibre-rich, antioxidant-rich plant foods makes it one of the most effective diets for prevention and reduction. However, its restrictiveness and the need for discipline can make long-term adherence difficult. Modifying the diet to include pulses and certain polyphenol-rich carbs may improve practicality without severely compromising benefits.
In contrast, the carnivore and keto diets eliminate or heavily restrict plant-based foods, which are essential for fibre and antioxidants, making them unsustainable and less effective long-term for cellulite and general health.
Ultimately, no diet alone can fully eliminate cellulite; consistent physical activity, a clean diet, and targeted treatments are all necessary for meaningful, lasting improvement.
What is the paleolithic diet? Is it good for cellulite prevention or reduction?
The paleo diet (a diet similar to the keto diet and to the carnivore diet, but not the same) is based on the premise that we should eat like our carnivore caveman/cavewoman ancestors did in the last 150,000 years.
This basically means no dairy (milk, cheese, yoghurt, cream etc), no grains (wheat, rice, corn, oats etc), no pulses and of course no sugar and no alcohol - plus lots of daily physical activity.
(This means no avocado and poached eggs on toast - not even on chickpea toast. So there goes the influencer’s instagram/tiktok post, sorry. But hey, one can post smoked salmon, eggs and avo instead, as it also looks good on social media and it is 100% paleo.)
Meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts are allowed, as they were always part of our ancestral diet.
Ideally, meat and poultry should be grass-fed and fish wild caught.
Fried food is obviously not paleo either, although some would twist all the rules to eat some unhealthy food.
Are potatoes, honey and date paleo? How about agave syrup?
There is debate in the paleo community about foods like potatoes, while some accept sweet potatoes and yams.
Honey and dates are supposed to be consumed rarely, as they have not been freely available throughout our evolution, yes some people gorge on them, erroneously thinking that sugar can be “paleo” if it’s “natural”.
For example, raw cane sugar, despite being “all natural” is obviously neither paleo nor healthy. Whoever says that raw cane sugar is natural, they haven’t seen the teeth of the indigenous people in South America who consume 100% natural and raw cane sugar (hint: lots of rotten teeth).
Neither things like the horrid agave syrup, made up of 80% fructose (really bad for you, unless in whole fruits) and 20% glucose (bad for you unless in wholemeal starches) and found in some so-called paleo bars, could ever be paleo. Never in a million years.
Let’s not twist everything…
Paleo diet, clean eating and cellulite
Given that our ancestors lacked the tools to create the highly processed foods of today, the paleo diet also places emphasis on minimal food processing and clean eating.
This precludes things like bacon, protein powders, potato crisps, pork scratchings, nut “milks” or protein bars, which can be unnatural / highly processed or made with unhealthy cooking processes such as frying.
Most “paleo” protein bars, specifically, could qualify as junk food, with all the hidden sugar in them, in the form of honey, dates, dehydrated apple juice (basically pure sugar) etc. Not to mention the questionable protein and fats in them and their highly processed nature.
Obviously, no ultra-processed / junk food can ever be paleo or good for cellulite, despite whether it is disguised as “paleo” or not.
Is the paleo diet good for cellulite prevention / reduction then? How about skin firmness?
Many diets can be effective against cellulite / skin looseness, as long as they are restrictive enough to reduce our modern food overconsumption and as long as they emphasise:
Reduced calorie intake (basically less carbs and saturated fat)
Higher lean protein intake (eggs, lean meat, fish, poultry)
High fibre and polyphenol intake (basically veg, herbs, spices and fruit)
Minimal or no alcohol and sugar
No trans fats, frying, BPA lined utensils and other unhealthy food ingredients, food prepaping practices or food additives
It is clear from the above that among all diets, the paleo diet is the closest to the ideal anti-cellulite diet.
Yes, the paleo diet is restrictive, but all diets that maintain a healthy body weight have to be restrictive against today’s unhealthy habits that lead to degenerative diseases (and cellulite).
A modified paleolithic diet?
Personally I would add pulses to this diet, as they can offer decent amounts of protein combined with some complex carbs and polyphenols (a good example is black beans) and require minimal processing (just boiling / simmering / steaming (of course, things such as lentil and chickpea crisps, are neither paleo nor healthy, as they are highly processed).
Plus I would add the occasional high-polyphenol “carbs”, such as black rice or black quinoa.
But the last two additions would mean that we are not talking about the paleo diet anymore - perhaps a “modified paleo diet”.
Difference between Clean eating, paleo diet, carnivore diet and keto diet, specifically for cellulite
Clean eating and cellulite: Clean eating focuses on consuming whole, unprocessed foods, prioritising nutrient-rich choices like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. It minimises or avoids processed foods, artificial additives, refined sugars, excess salt, and unhealthy fats. Clean eating is as closed as possible to the perfect anti-cellulite diet.
Paleo diet and cellulite: Paleo is by definition a clean eating diet, as our ancestors did not use any of the above refined and processed food ingredients and did not employ ultra-processing of foods. However, paleo is a more restricted clean eating diet, as grains, dairy and pulses are excluded, even if they are clean / not highly processed.
Carnivore diet: On the other hand, the carnivore diet is a highly restrictive regimen that includes only animal products, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and certain dairy items. It excludes all plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds, and is often called a "zero-carb" or a “keto” diet because it eliminates carbohydrate sources from plants. Obviously a diet that excludes vegetables and fruit can neither by sustainable in the long run nor healthy, so the carnivore diet is not such a good idea, either for overall health or for cellulite reduction (you need those plant derived fibre and antioxidants).
Keto diet and cellulite: Finally, the keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that induces ketosis, where the body burns fat for fuel. It emphasises meats, dairy, nuts, and low-carb vegetables while avoiding sugars and grains. This is also not sustainable for most people (again, you need much more plant derived fibre and antioxidants than this diet can ever provide).
So all these diets are fine for a short period of time and can all help with cellulite reduction temporarily but they are counter-productive both in terms of health and in terms of cellulite in the long-run.
Paleo and carnivore lifestyle and cellulite
Since our ancestors never smoked, never took hormonal contraception and were physically active A LOT, it is obvious that an overall paleo lifestyle (i.e. lots of physical activity every day, sports, formal exercise) is ideal for smooth, firm skin and healthy blood vessels, not just on the thighs but on the whole body too.
Some people ask, “What about the carnivore lifestyle?” I have no idea what a carnivore lifestyle is because humans have never, ever been exclusively carnivores. Perhaps we can ask the lions and the tigers for advice…
Is the paleo diet easy or practical?
Paleo can be quite practical but, like all such diets, it also requires organisation and discipline.
Plus, like all healthy diets, it requires constant conscious decisions not to succumb to the unhealthy temptations all around us, especially in a world obsessed with things like ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and how to make the perfect cake, i.e. the most fattening, sugary, fatty, diabetes-producing, unhealthy cake.
By definition, that is not very easy.
But hey, if healthy living in today’s world was easy, almost no one would suffer from obesity, diabetes, heart disease or cellulite.
Is the carnivore diet easy?
Sure the carnivore diet is simple - you don’t have to think at all: just eat meat.
And the carnivore diet can be easy for a while, as you just consume lots of fat and protein, which after an initial adjustment period satiates your appetite.
But can you possibly live without vegetables, nuts and fruits for a long time without developing myriads of health problems? Perhaps if you supplement with tons of phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals you can live without it for a while.
But in the long run you must go back to eating some real food to get your antioxidants, instead of taking supplements.
Will the paleo diet get rid of all my cellulite or firm up my skin?
A paleo lifestyle, as defined above, can definitely prevent cellulite and can also help reduce it too.
But no diet, exercise plan or treatment can ever “get rid” of cellulite, unless the cellulite is recent or minimal.
A good cellulite treatment (basically deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and high-power ultrasound cavitation) and/or real cellulite cream (basically one with multiple, high-purity anti-cellulite actives in high concentrations) will help with fast cellulite reduction.
But in all cases, healthy diet (paleo or not) and exercise are absolutely essential for cellulite reduction - even when you receive a cellulite treatment and/or use a cellulite cream.
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