Every individual wants to remain fit and healthy, and seeing a lump on your body could actually be worrisome. But not every lump is cancerous. One of the common non-cancerous lumps is known as lipoma, a round, oval-shaped mass of fatty tissue present just below the skin. Lipomas are generally painless and can be easily moved while touched. They could appear anywhere on your body but are most prominent on the back, arms, trunks, shoulders, and neck.
Lipomas mostly run in families, and while there is no guaranteed method to prevent them, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, maintaining weight, and possibly limiting hard drinks consumption could reduce the risk of forming new lipomas or conditions that could contribute to their growth. Even though lipomas impact people of all genders, they are a bit more common in women.
Dr Amita Jain, one of India’s top general and laparoscopic surgeons for lipoma treatment and surgery, explains how lifestyle habits could play a role in averting lipomas from getting bigger in size or number.
What are the Causes of Lipoma?
Though the exact reason for lipomas is not completely understood, they are supposed to be associated with a combination of genetic factors, trauma, and probably certain medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, or lipid metabolism disorder. It generally happens in people between 40 and 60 years of age. Changes in fat metabolism, tissue size, or conditions linked with aging might also play a role.
How Can You Manage the Growth of Lipomas?
Lipomas are generally harmless and do not cause pain. But, in certain cases, they may press against blood vessels beneath the skin, leading to discomfort and pain. The most impactful way to remove a lipoma is via surgery, but other alternatives, such as liposuction and steroid injections, are also present. A few people, however, like to try natural remedies to shrink or control them. While these methods might not fully get rid of a lipoma, they may help decrease its size and ease any symptoms.
Weight Management – Keeping a healthy weight plays an important part in averting the growth of lipomas. While these benign, fatty-appearing lumps might not always be associated with body fat, excessive weight could lead to higher fat deposits in our body, which may further contribute to their formation. Keeping your weight in check through a balanced diet and daily exercise could assist in minimising fat accumulation and support your complete well-being.
- Stay Physically Active – Daily exercise, in the form of walking, swimming, or yoga, assists in burn excessive fat and keeps the metabolism in control. Strength training could also boost muscle tone and decrease overall fat storage.
- Consume Nutrient-Dense Foods – A diet having vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats helps weight control and stops excessive fat buildup in the body.
- Reduce Consuming Unhealthy Choices – Lowering the consumption of processed foods, sugary beverages, and refined carbohydrates could also prevent unwarranted fat storage and keep your body in balance.
Balanced Diet – To help further stop lipomas from increasing, maintaining a balanced diet plays a pivotal role in managing fat storage and supporting our body’s natural detoxification method. While there is no direct factor linking diet with lipomas, making healthier food decisions could help manage fat metabolism and decrease the chances of excessive fat deposits.
By taking out all sorts of processed foods, high-fat snacks, and sugary products, you can surely restrict unwarranted fat storage, which might contribute to the formation of lipoma. By having the right nutrients in your diet you may further boost your body’s capability to break down fat easily and decrease inflammation.
- Fruits and Vegetables: High in antioxidants, they assist us in flushing out extra fat and toxins, bolstering the immune system. Berries, leafy greens, squash, and bell peppers are top choices.
- Fish: Filled with omega-3 fatty acids, salmon and tuna may help decrease inflammation and manage fat metabolism, stopping fatty tissue buildup.
- Lean Meat and Eggs: Rich in quality proteins, they suppress hunger hormones and help in fat decreasing, controlling overall metabolism.
- Whole Grains: Barley, brown rice, and ragi improve digestion, promote calorie burning, and prevent fat retention.
- Green Tea: Filled with antioxidants, green tea quickens up metabolism, helps fat breakdown, and might help shrink existing lipomas.
- Caffeine: Stimulates fat burning and enhances metabolic rate, helping in weight management.
- Water: Vital for detoxification, it throws out harmful toxins and enhances overall fat metabolism.
Reduce your alcohol intake
Even though lipomas are majorly inherited and cannot be fully prevented, you may take steps to decrease the possibility of them getting bigger or worsening. One good way is by restricting hard drinks consumption, particularly to reduce the risk of Madelung’s disease—a rare sort of condition that leads to several lipomas forming in areas such as the neck, shoulders, and thighs. Excess hard drink consumption could disrupt your metabolism, forcing abnormal collection of fats and putting additional strain on your liver. As healthy metabolism has a key role in the management of fats, reducing alcohol supports maintaining a good metabolic balance, decreasing unnecessary fat storage that may contribute to lipoma formation
It is always suggested to maintain a good lifestyle to decrease the risk of lipoma growth. A balanced diet, daily exercise, weight controlling, and limiting hard drinks intake could help regulate fat metabolism and stop unwarranted fat accumulation. Though lipomas cannot always be avoided, these steps support overall well-being and reduce the chances of their development.
Dr Amita Jain is a surgeon with the highest degree of professional competence, precision and surgical craftsmanship. Performed all complicated general surgery procedures with in depth knowledge of invasive and few minimal invasive and onco surgical techniques. Underwent special training in trauma, executed various trauma-related complex life-saving neurosurgical procedures, reconstructed injured mangled limbs and performed vascular and reconstructive procedures with critical care.
Dr Amita Jain holds 28 plus years of rich experience in Trauma and General Laparoscopic Surgeries (including Gallbladder stone removal, appendix removal, hernia repair surgery, piles and fissure surgeries). She was the Professor Surgery of at the Army College of Medical Sciences and Base Hospital Delhi Cantt. In 1994 she was commissioned as Surgeon under the United Nations Mission in Congo. From 2020 to 2022, she worked with Bansals Hospital. Currently, Dr Amita Jain is the Senior Consultant, (Speciality: General and Laparoscopic Surgeon) at Artemis Lite Hospital, New Delhi and Sr. General and Laparoscopic Surgeon at Rainbow Children Hospitals, Malviya Nagar, Delhi.