In the world of ever-changing health fads, there's one that's remained steady throughout time: green tea.
In the United States, green tea accounts for 15% of tea consumption. And in Asian countries, you can expect that number to be even higher.
While some drink it for the taste, others also consume it to improve their health.
Are you curious about drinking green tea or using green tea products? Then read on.
In this article, we'll discuss green tea skin benefits, as well as what other health benefits it may have.
About Green Tea
Green tea is a type of drink made from all sorts of leaves. It's native to China and India, but over the years, it's become widespread throughout the world.
As with other teas, the final product is obtained by first growing tea plants. The fresh mature leaves are plucked off, steamed, then dried for preserving. Then, when consumers wanted to drink it, they'd rehydrate and steep those leaves in boiled water.
Caffeine Content
Does green tea have caffeine? Yes, it does.
But you don't have to worry about feeling jittery like with coffee or energy drinks. Green tea can have anywhere between 25 to 40 mg of caffeine, which is comparable to soda.
So if you can drink soda and feel fine, then you will with green tea too!
How to Make Green Tea
Making green tea is very easy! Simply boil some water, take a tea bag (or 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea), and place it into a cup or mug. If you're using loose leaf tea, you'll need a strainer on top of your cup/mug.
After the water's done boiling, pour it into your cup. Let the tea steep for 3 minutes, then remove the tea bag or strainer. At this point, you can either drink it plain or add things like sugar, lemon, honey, or milk to make things more interesting.
If you're using a powder (such as matcha), it's easy to brew as well. Boil water, put the powder in your cup, then pour the water in.
After 3 minutes, pour the tea through a strainer into a new cup. Put any of the additions from above if you desire. And you're done!
Green Tea Skin Benefits
A main reason why green tea's remained popular throughout the years is because it's full of the antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Antioxidants are able to reduce the amount of free radicals in your body, which are very damaging to your cells.
In fact, free radicals are what cause the major signs of aging. So as you can guess, antioxidants have anti-aging properties; by default, green tea does as well.
EGCG is able to help repair and protect your cells, which means not only will your skin retain its youthfulness, but it'll also look a lot healthier.
1. It Reduces Inflammation
In addition to fighting Father Time, green tea can also reduce redness and irritation in your skin. This is because it has anti-inflammatory properties.
So if you have any skin conditions that create redness and inflammation (such as rosacea, dermatitis, or psoriasis), then adding green tea to your diet may help reduce those things and give your skin a more uniform and healthy look.
2. It Helps With Acne
When you read the previous section, you may have thought: does this mean green tea can help with my acne? Well, the answer is "yes!"
Not only will it help your skin be less red and inflamed, but it'll also reduce the sebum secretions your skin makes; this is thanks to the polyphenols found in the drink. Because these secretions play a part in acne, as a result, you'll experience fewer breakouts.
Polyphenols also have another added benefit: it fights and kills bacteria. This means it can assist in keeping bacteria populations down and further reduce your acne.
3. It Fights Skin Cancer
When you're out in the sun, its UV rays are highly damaging to your skin. When your skin cells are damaged, it increases your chances of getting skin cancer.
However, you can reduce your risk by using green tea. Its antioxidants can repair your skin cells and decrease your chance of any areas developing into something cancerous.
4. It Keeps Your Skin Moisturized
In addition to antioxidants and polyphenols, the best green tea is also packed with vitamins. One such vitamin you'll find is vitamin E, which is essential for skin health.
Not only will it keep your skin moisturized, but it'll also keep it soft.
You can get the above skin benefits by both drinking green tea and using products like green tea detox masks and green tea facial scrubs. Simply replace the products in your current skincare routine and you'll be able to see the difference with time.
Green Tea Gut Health Benefits
Not only can green tea improve the look and feel of your skin, but it can also boost your gut health. Take a look below to see the various benefits.
5. It Can Increase the Amount of Good Gut Bacteria and Fend off Obesity
In a study done with mice, it was found that a diet that had green tea in it increased the amount of good gut bacteria. This means that if you drink green tea, your body may have a better time digesting the foods you eat.
As a result, this can help you fight against obesity. It's thought that poor gut health is linked to obesity. So if you have the opposite scenario, then you should have a better time managing your weight and staying within a healthy range.
6. It Can Help You Lose Weight
Wondering about green tea calories? Then there's good news! When you drink green tea without adding anything in it, there are zero calories!
This means you can have this tasty beverage without consuming any calories, while still reaping all of its benefits.
Not just that though; its caffeine and flavonoid (catechin, a type of antioxidant) content are both excellent for weight loss as well. This is because both increase the amount of energy you use, and the flavonoid helps to break down any extra fat you have in your body.
When you combine drinking green tea with eating healthy and exercising regularly, you'll find the pounds will drop much quicker and easier. A green tea fat burner is just what you need to get over a weight loss plateau.
7. It Can Aid Digestion
Do you get an upset stomach easily? Or maybe you have a GI condition like IBS or Crohn's Disease.
If you add green tea to your diet, it can aid digestion and reduce the instances of an upset GI tract. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, green tea can soothe your gut and make digestion not so difficult.
Green Tea Energy Benefits
So green tea can help you with your skin and gut health. What else?
Well, it turns out green tea can also assist with your energy levels! Read on to find out how.
8. It Gives You More Energy With Fewer Side Effects
As you know, green tea has caffeine in it, which you can find in other drinks, like coffee, soda, and energy drinks. For people who are sensitive to caffeine, it's a great alternative to all these other drinks since its caffeine levels are relatively low.
This means you can get a little boost without experience adverse side effects, such as increased heart rate, sweating, anxiety, and jittering.
9. It Helps Maintain Your Energy Levels
With many energy supplements and drinks, you may initially feel strongly energized and ready to tackle anything. But within a few hours, you may feel yourself crashing, and you may be even more tired than before.
The good thing is, you won't experience this with green tea. As we mentioned before, it can help you burn fat that's stored in your body already. As a result, this lets you maintain your energy levels better, which means you won't experience such dramatic crashes.
Add More Green Tea to Your Life
Now that you know all about green tea skin benefits and more, you might feel like it's a great idea to add it to your life. Considering it has no calories and a vast amount of health benefits, you'd be crazy not to!
Thankfully, there are tons of green tea products out there, such as detox masks and facial scrubs. Not only that, but there are various types of green tea to try. So if you aren't too fond of one type, you can always try another.
So give green tea a try and see how much it can change your life. The effects will be so wonderful, you'll be wondering why you didn't do so earlier!
Don't like plain green tea? No problem. Get yourself some Teami Blends match powder now!
Adi Arezzini
Teami Blends - Co-Founder + CEO
Certified Nutrition Health Coach
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