FYI Health Tip
Green tea helps aging skin but also fights gum disease, boosts your workouts and contributes to weight loss.
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Scientists claim there are some very useful molecules floating around in a cup of green tea. Some help fight cancer; others help fight inflammation or act as antioxidants. One study even suggests that it contains substances that might improve the elastic content of your skin. Since skin that is elastic wrinkles less than non-elastic skin, you may want to check this out.
Health Poll
Loading ...Researchers divided 40 women with moderately aged skin into two groups. One took green tea supplements and applied cleanser, sunscreen and a cream of green tea extracts to their arms and face. The other group applied the same cleanser and sunscreen but were given placebos in place of green tea products.
After two months, all 40 women were examined by a physician and biopsy samples of their skin were taken. The encouraging news was a significant improvement in the content of skin elastic tissue. The control group’s skin aged a bit while the green tea group’s skin improved.
The bad news is the change wasn’t enough to produce a noticeable improvement in appearance. But, by tweaking the treatment and with further study, it’s possible the improved elasticity might someday lead to noticeably smoother, younger skin. The researchers will have to improve their green tea extract, however, since some subjects said it was irritating and dried their skin.
It’s not clear if the supplements or the extract, or both, contributed to the improved elasticity. And a longer study would provide a better indication of the potential cosmetic benefits of green tea.
In the meantime, keep gulping green tea. It may help fight gum disease, boost your workouts, contribute to weight loss and perhaps, counteract at least one aspect of aging.
The supporting research
Green Tea Extracts Effect on Aging Skin
Summary
Certain components in green tea have significant antioxidant properties and have been used in skin care preparations to treat aging skin. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of a combined treatment of oral green tea supplementation and skin cream on aging skin. For this study, 40 women were divided into two groups and given either green tea supplements or placebo for eight weeks. It was seen that those taking and applying the green tea supplements had improvement in elastic tissue content. However, clinically significant changes were not demonstrated.
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