Poor Diet Explains Unsightly Veiny Arms

Much ink has gone into stories about Madonna or Sara Jessica Parker’s veiny arms, but Angelina Jolie has also gotten her share of coverage for the same reason.

Asked by readers what leads to the appearance of the unsightly, leech-like veins on the arms of a woman who can’t be described as “old,” E! Online’s Leslie Gornstein talked to a few specialists to get the right answer.

And it, it would seem, lies in the star’s diet. All three female celebrities, SJP, Madonna and Jolie, are known for their active lifestyle (to varying degrees), but that’s not why their veins are so prominent.

It’s because their diets are so low in salt that the veins on their arms begin to stand out, because their skin is not hydrated. Another thing that contributes to this is the fact they have zero body fat.

Though they would (probably) never admit to it, all three must undergo low-calorie diets before certain appearances, meaning they eat just the right amount to prevent them from passing out in public.

Consequently, experts say, they have zero fat. They also work out a lot, which also burns fat. Most importantly, they also shun salt and swear by low-salt diets.

“According to registered dietician Sharon Richter of Manhattan, the ugly phenomenon generally – we’re not talking about any specific celeb, here – stems not from a lack of calories, really. Instead, blame a lack of another necessary substance,” Gornstein says.

“A lot of times these stars are following a very clean diet, with very few processed foods and instead a lot of foods that are very, very low in salt. That’s why the skin looks almost dehydrated; they have very little salt in their diet,” Richter explains.

The women who display this kind of protruding veins may also not be strangers to the so-called cleanse diets or fasting, which means they can go by for days at a time on no solids or very little food in general.

“Sometimes, before a photo shoot, celebrities will even do epsom salt baths, which draw the salt out of the body,” Richter adds.

“Or they may undereat for a few days, eat as little as possible, say, 800 calories, to make a certain weight,” the expert also says.

Useless to say, neither Richter nor Gornstein (nor us, for that matter), encourage any type of similar behavior.