Tea For Healthy Skin

Anybody who knows me, knows that I am an avid tea drinker. A tea snob, if you will. I used to drink coffee years ago but the amount of caffeine is horrific for my acneic skin. It causes extreme inflammation in the body and the skin. My skin would be red, inflamed and pimples galore. Honestly coffee isn’t good for your skin or your health at all, I’m not sure who started the myth that it was. Probably some company that wanted to sell more coffee.
Tea is a much better choice for your health and your skin for so many reasons from cardiovascular health to high amounts of antioxidants that rid the body of free radicals to keep the skin tight and firm. There are so many different types of teas. My favorites and teas I drink daily are Green, Red, and Herbal. Green tea is also a great laxative. If you ever have any issues with constipation, drink green tea and that will do the trick!
Tea can be made out of any herb really, it just needs to be dried first, then steeped in hot water for a bit. The time of steeping depends on the type of tea you are drinking and the herb in which it came from.
A lot of Chinese herbals need to be steeped overnight in order to become extremely strong. These teas become healing elixirs for different ailments in the body.
The medical field doesn’t even know all of the health benefits tea presents, but let’s take a look at a few:

Anti Inflammatory

Green tea has been consumed for thousands of years, and in the past few decades science has uncovered a number of medicinal uses for this popular herb. Green tea has potent anti-inflammatory properties due to the antioxidants it possesses. It has been researched for its role in treating diseases caused by inflammation, including atherosclerosis, liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease and a variety of cancers. These antioxidants keep skin cells healthy, reduce redness and heal blemishes.
Green tea is about 30 percent polyphenols by weight, including large amounts of a catechin called EGCG. Catechins are natural antioxidants that help prevent cell damage and provide other benefits. These substances can reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protecting cells and molecules from damage. These free radicals are known to play a role in aging and all sorts of diseases.

Improves Brain Function

Green tea does more than just keep you awake, it can also make you smarter. The key active ingredient is caffeine, which is a stimulant. It doesn’t contain as much as coffee, but enough to produce a response without causing the “jittery” effects associated with too much caffeine.
What caffeine does in the brain is to block an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. This way, it actually increases the firing of neurons and the concentration of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine.
Caffeine consistently leads to improvements in various aspects of brain function, including improved mood, vigilance, reaction time and memory.
However, green tea contains more than just caffeine. It also has the amino acid L-theanine, which is able to cross the blood-brain barrie.
L-theanine increases the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which has anti-anxiety effects. It also increases dopamine and the production of alpha waves in the brain.
Studies show that caffeine and L-theanine can have synergistic effects. The combination of the two is particularly potent at improving brain function.
Because of the L-theanine and the smaller dose of caffeine, green tea can give you a much milder and different kind of “buzz” than coffee.

Speeds Metabolism

Green tea is commonly used for fat loss and in fact, if you look at any fat burning supplement and flip it over to check the ingredients, you will almost always find that it contains some form of green tea. This is partly for the caffeine content but also for the fact that green tea seems to boost the metabolism in other ways too, perhaps through the catechins and flavanols. Green tea has been shown to increase fat oxidation by as much as 17% in those who drink it daily.

Image source: Pinterest

My favorite go to teas that I drink daily are Oolong, Sencha, Matcha, Green Gunpowder, and Red Rooibus. All of these are green tea varieties except the Red Rooibus. Green tea comes in so many varieties and they all have a different flavor and amount of caffeine.
For your skin care the best varieties will be Red Rooibus, Sencha and Gunpowder Green because they do not have as much caffeine as some of the others and will not cause inflammation or irritation to sensitive, reactive skin types. So all the wonderful health benefits are achieved without causing any issues.
I always purchase loose teas that are fresh and minimally processed. I’m not a fan of commercial tea bags because the tea in the bags is ground into almost a dust and the quality is not good. Better to visit a local tea shop in your area or go online and check out some of the online shops available. They have better deals and the quality is just wonderful. Another one of my secrets for loose teas is the Chinese grocery store. You will find a lot of green tea varieties but no red tea or herbal.
I love to mix my own tea blends, usually I take a pinch of this and a pinch of that, mixing herbal with green, mint, chamomile and whatever I’mm feeling like that day. The blending options are endless! Sometimes I add a bit of honey and almond or coconut milk but mostly I drink my tea natural, with no additives. After all, honey is sucrose and too much of it will cause acne and inflammation, especially if you are acne prone like me.
One of my favorite online tea shops is called FULL LEAF TEA CO. check them out for some yummy loose teas!

USE CUPON CODE – FLTPURESTHETICS FOR 20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER!

What a deal! I’d love to hear what teas you order and how you like them. Follow me on Instagram @ellelorenzetti and let me know! You’ll be able to follow along with my tea journey as well.

Are you a tea drinker like me? What are some of your faves? I’d love to hear about it.

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xoxo

Elle