The health process Books & Videos   Workshops About Leslie Kenton

A misnomer catchall word used to describe the orange peel syndrome, cellulite is a cosmetic defect which results in jodhpur thighs and what is known as the 'mattress phenomenon' - that is pitting, bulging, and deformation of the skin on thighs, hips, abdomen, (sometimes even arms and shoulders too) when subjected to a 'pinch test.'

In the medical literature cellulite has been called a variety of things from mesenchymal disease to cellulitic dermo-hypodermosis, edemato-fibrosclerotic panniculopathy and, most recently, panniculosis and liposclerosis. A condition which by any name smells as odious, cellulite is a syndrome with well defined clinical, histological and histochemical characteristics. What this means in ordinary language is that cellulite not only looks a certain way when you examine it objectively with your eyes and fingers. Where it is present in a body you will also find that certain measurable biochemical and physical changes have taken place in skin, connective tissues and at the deeper layers of the body. By the way, one thing the disbelievers say is true: Cellulite does often occur in an overweight body. If you are overweight, shedding excess ordinary fat will be essential to shedding your cellulite. But cellulite occurs on the thighs and bottoms of very slim women as well. For it is quite different in many ways than ordinary fat.

a checkered history

Cellulite has a shady past full of contradiction and confusion. Far from being some newfangled notion created by glossy women's magazines, cellulite was first described in depth by European physicians at the beginning of the 19th Century. It is now believed to affect 80 out of every 100 women in Europe and America. In 1816 Balfour first commented on the cutaneous nodule formations which were later named cellulite. In 1929 P. Lageze, a French physician, discovered that cellulite comes in stages: First tissues in thighs, buttocks, knees, abdomen and upper arms become traps for free serum outside the capillaries. Then fibrous formations develop which in time turn into the retracted sclerotic connective fibers which create a dimpled orange peel effect. After Lageze, many researchers proposed numerous theories about the causes of cellulite but none of them could fully agree. Then in 1966 two Spanish dermatologists named Bassas-Grau confirmed that, while no inflammation of the tissues is present in cellulite, watery fluid does indeed accumulate in the tissue. They also reported that the molecules of subcutaneous connective tissue in cellulite seem to be larger than molecules in the normal connective tissue for they undergo what is called a hyperpolymerization.

In the 1970s a few researchers such as Braun-Falco and Ribuffo came out in favor of the view that cellulite is simple fat. In later years they were to modify their beliefs considerably. Most European researchers grew increasingly convinced that cellulite is a well-defined clinical condition and a physiological entity. 'A defect of the mesenchyme ' said Pisani. 'No, a disturbance in the vasomotor reflex and an irritation of the sympathetic nerve fibers leading to a disturbance of normal fat deposits and water logged tissues" argued Merlin. While Binazzi insisted that 'cellulite' should rightly be renamed dermatpanniculopathy oedmato-fibro-sclerosis. In 1972 Muller and Nurnberger showed that where cellulite occurs there is also a decrease in the quantity of elastin fibers in the dermis and a rearrangement of the collagen bundles. Then in 1977 Braun-Falco and Scherwitz demonstrated that a dilation of the lymph vessels takes place in cellulite as well as an enlargement of the adipocytes or fat cells. But it was not until the well-respected Italian anatomo-pathologist and molecular biologist Professor Sergio Curri took up the study of cellulite tissue, that the whole of the European medical world began to stand up and take notice. Now considered the leading scientific authority on cellulite in the world, Curri carried out in-depth studies comparing cellulite to normal fat, and established quite conclusively that cellulite is indeed a specific syndrome.

Home | Top of Page | Leslie Kenton Books | Workshops |Become a friend

Journey to Freedom is a practical and highly personal course which marries the most ancient technique known for accessing power and expanding awareness - shamanism - together with tools from mythology, leading-edge physics, biology, systems theory and the rapidly developing science of consciousness itself to create a user-friendly, well-tested path to freedom. Journey to Freedom workshops offer you a technology for liberation. It is simple and practical. The skills you learn are like a rope you use to climb to the top of Freedom Mountain. Once you get there, you can throw the ropes away.