Written by Dr. Sanjana V.B Bhms,dbrm,cdn

Founder & medical director of siahmsr wellness.in

All rights reserved with siahmsr digital healthcare[siahmsr wellness]

Reviewed by SIAHMSR medical team.

 Green tea  for young healthy skin

      Sunlight is definitely a vital source of energy to sustain life on earth. In human being it is very essential for vitamin D synthesis. However, it causes many harmful effects to the skin. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is one of the major environmental factors damaging your skin.

  Everybody wants to get healthy glowing young looking skin. But sun damage is a major factor which increase the pace of skin ageing and appearance of wrinkles. We may use sunscreen to protect from the harmful rays of sun. However, the compliance with its usage is not high among people .For many people it is not easy to use sunscreen every two hours to get protection from UV rays of sun. So  the need for an alternative solution to repair the skin is very relevant. Green tea is one of the best options to repair the damage to your skin  according to many scientific research studies.

   Green tea is the second most consumed beverage across the globe due to its known health benefits. Green tea is used as topical application  on skin  for  repairing the sun induced damage to skin and  as a beverage for general health of body and skin . Numerous studies have been conducted regarding its use on both ways. Researches show that it has great effect on multiple organ systems of human body such as blood, heart, brain and skin. It has anti- cancer properties also. 

  Green tea is made from leaves of Camellia sinensis. They are harvested as the leaves emerge in the beginning of early spring and processed in different ways to create white, green, oolong, and black teas. Smaller young leaves and leaf buds are used for making green tea ,and the older larger leaves for the preparation of  oolong and black tea. The buds are used for preparing white tea.

  The tea plant originated in Southeast Asia over 4,000 years ago and is currently produced in over 35 countries with China, India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya generating three-quarters of the world's production.

Green tea  is an important dietary source of plant polyphenols. There are three main types of polyphenols (flavonoids, stilbenes, and lignans) Flavonoids are divided into 6 subclasses: flavonols, flavones, isoflavones, flavanones, anthocyanidins, and flavanols.

Majority of the green tea polyphenols (GTPPs) are monomeric flavanols called catechins. The four main catechin compounds are (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (−)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), and (−)-epicatechin (EC).

 Epigallocatechin-3-gallate [EGCG] is the most abundant and extensively studied catechin with potent therapeutic effects on skin.

     Human and animal studies using both topical and oral preparations of  green tea polyphenols [GTPPs] have shown significant protective effects against UV-induced skin damage and immunosuppression.Topical application of green tea on skin provided significantly greater benefit against UVB irradiation-induced skin damage.

UVB rays of sun causes depletion of antioxidant enzymes and signaling protein phosphorylation with in the cells. As per the study topical application of green is very effective against sun induced skin damage [4].

     Oral intake of green tea is a potent dietary source of antioxidant polyphenols. These compounds may be able to provide additional protection to the body to help prevent the harmful effects of ultraviolet A and visible radiation.

 Studies show that in adult human subjects who ingested 7.5 mg of pure (commercially available) green tea brewed in 540 mL of boiling water, there was a significant decrease in UVR-induced DNA damage of peripheral white blood cells [5 ].

The damage to skin is produced indirectly via reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the sunlight exposed skin and polyphenol antioxidants repair it scavenging the free radicals.

So apply green tea preparations on your skin for reducing the bad effects of sun exposure  and repairing your skin.

Oral intake of green tea also has so many health benefits apart from the antioxidant action on your skin.Green tea intake in moderate doses[2-3 cups/day] can improve your cardiovascular health and nervous system health preventing dementia or memory loss.

Green tea [ Read more ] 

                     Preparation of Green Tea

1.     How to make green tea using leaves 

Step 1

Take one teaspoon of green tea leaves.

Step2

 Transfer the tea leaves to a strainer/sieve and keep it aside

Step 3

Now, just boil the water in a pan. The ideal temperature for green tea is 80°C to 85°C.

Step 4

Now, place the sieve/ strainer with green tea leaves over the cup or mug in which you want to get green tea.

Step 5 

 Pour the prepared hot water into the cup over the strainer and let the tea leaves steep for 3 minutes. This is the step where we need to be very careful regarding the strength of green tea. Check whether the tea is strong or just right for you, by keeping a spoon in the mug and drink a spoonful of tea every 30-45 seconds to find out if the flavor is right for you. If you want lightly flavored tea you needn’t steep the leaves for entire 3 minutes. Take the strainer out before the set time.

2.     How to make green tea with tea bags

If you are using tea bags to make green tea, ensure that they are made from an unbleached material. As most of the tea bags are bleached to make them appear white, it is not considered as a healthy practice to use in a healthy drink like green tea.

Step 1

 Heat the water in a stainless steel pan.The ideal temperature of the water should be around 80-85 degrees C. 

Step 2

Put the green tea bag into the cup or mug

 Step 3 

Pour the hot water into the cup or mug and cover it with a small lid. Let the bag steep in water for about  3 minutes.

 Step 4

After 3 minutes is over, remove the lid and remove the tea bag. Your green tea is ready.

Qualities of best green tea

·        Choose buying only whole leaf green tea.

·        Check the origin of the green tea.

·        The leaves should remain green after brewing.

·        Always buy loose green tea rather than the tea bag with bleached covering.

·        After brewing green tea, after a while, the leaves should turn brown or black. That is the quality of genuine tea leaves.

References

1.     https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21061269/

2.     https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390139/

3.     https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12885257/

4.     https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12771038/ 

5.     https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19898857/