|
All these benefits add up to what could be
the perfect drink for those struggling with
acne,
provided that you take it the right way.
Not all green tea is equal. To get the full
benefit from drinking green tea, you have
to brew it fresh. That means buying the
tea leaves and brewing it yourself, not
simply picking up pre-brewed ice tea at the
store. If you're just going to buy Lipton or
Arizona green tea, you might as well be
drinking soda. That stuff is packed with
sugar and preservatives that go a long way
in negating any health benefits.
And that brings us to another point:
don't use sugar. Sugar neutralizes the
antioxidants and vitamins you would
otherwise get from green tea. So if you're
not drinking it unsweetened, you're missing
out.
A
liquid diet of green tea for acne?
Some people are so enamored with green tea
that they recommend drinking tons of the
stuff - as much as 2-3 gallons per day to
combat acne! That's a lot of green
tea. Flushing gallons of tea through your
system may help speed detoxification (even
water alone would do this), but it's not a
practical (or natural) long-term acne
solution, and like most extreme diets, it
comes with a few drawbacks.
Besides constantly having to use the
restroom, the other downside of drinking
super-high quantities of green tea is that,
along with antioxidants, you'll also be
getting a whole lot of caffeine.
Like alcohol, caffeine is a diuretic, which
means that it dehydrates your body, sapping
water from your skin cells and leaving them
more vulnerable to irritation and
inflammation. In addition, caffeine also
stimulates the production of more oil from
your sebaceous glands, and if you have acne,
the very last thing you need is even more
excess skin oil.
Compared to other teas and coffee, green tea
is actually low in caffeine (it varies, but
1 cup of green tea usually has 20-30 mg of
caffeine, compared with 30-60 mg in black
tea, or 60-100 mg in coffee). However, this
advantage will obviously be offset if you
are drinking gallons every day...
Green
tea
is good.
White tea
may be even better.
Green tea may be getting more attention, but
don't let that fool you. When it comes to
clear skin, the health benefits of white tea
may just be even more impressive than its
green-tinted brother.
Both
green tea and white tea actually come from
the same plant (Camellia sinensis). They
both use the very same leaves. The only
difference is when they are picked.
White tea leaves are picked before the buds
open, while they are still sealed and coated
in fine white hairs. And while green tea is
partially fermented, white tea is not
fermented at all. It has a pale tint and a
light, often floral or fruity flavor.
It turns out that the younger leaves
harvested for white tea yield an even higher
concentration of antioxidants than what is
found in green tea. They also have stronger
antibacterial properties and pack slightly
less caffeine. That makes for a great
combination against acne.
As with green tea, the same preparation
advice applies: it needs to be fresh-brewed
and unsweetened for best results (note that
hot or cold is fine, so if you want to brew
a pitcher at a time, go for it).
Whether you go with green tea or white tea,
both beverages are great for your skin when
taken at non-insane levels. You're supposed
to be drinking 8 glasses of water per day,
but if you want to swap a few of those
glasses for something with a bit more taste,
either one of these teas is an excellent choice.
|
