Probably, the greatest health issue in western society today is the overwhelming epidemic of obesity. Over half of the American population is considered overweight or obese. As a result, diet and weight loss plans are becoming more and more popular. But not all diet plans work. And many of them cannot be considered risk-free. A safer alternative for people wanting help with losing weight are green tea diets.
What is Green Tea
For thousands of years, the Chinese considered green tea to be highly valued as an herbal and medicinal drink. It was believed that green tea was first discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung who was boiling water when the leaves of a nearby tree fell into his pot. The result was the first ever pot of green tea.
Like all three of the major Asian teas in the market, green tea comes from the plant called Carmellia sinensis. Much of the health benefits of green tea diets are owed to the steaming method of making it. As opposed to black and oolong tea which undergoes full oxidization, green tea diet is only gently steamed, preserving the natural antioxidants in its original form.
There are many health benefits associated with using green tea. One of these green tea benefits is preventing cancer. Certain substances present in green tea diets are said to help in destroying cancer cells without harming any of the neighbouring tissue. This scientific term for thi substance in green tea is called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG.
EGCG in green tea also seems to help in increasing the 24-hour energy expenditure of the body. A study on green tea conducted by American and Swiss scientists in the University of Geneva showed an additional increase of four percent in the body’s natural energy expenditure. People who were drinking green tea on a daily basis were more likely to use up more fats than those who were not drinking green tea.
Also, green tea is said to greatly help in lowering cholesterol levels in humans. Studies on green tea, conducted over the last few years have shown that people with high cholesterol levels have noticed a drop in their cholesterol levels.
Green tea can also be a potential cure to obesity. The catechin polyphenols present in green tea can delay the reaction of gastric and pancreatic lipases in the body. These enzymes are responsible for converting calories in the body into fats. By delaying these enzymes, green tea can therefore stop fat from being stored and help prevent obesity in people.
Green tea also contains a substantial amount of caffeine that makes it an effective appetite-suppressant. However, caffeine content in green tea diets is not as high as those found in other caffeine-based beverages, like coffee or some soft drinks. Caffeine may be harmful for the body since an excess of it can cause heart palpitations, hypertension, and insomnia. Because green tea contains lower levels of caffeine, there is no danger of experiencing these side-effects.
The benefits of green tea seem somewhat unbelievable. It seems that antioxidants in these “magic leaves” reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, arthritis, obesity and type II diabetes. If you do a little research, you will see that these things are not that unusual.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you have probably heard healthcare professionals telling us to eat more fruits, vegetables and other plant foods. They may not be specific about it, but the reason for this is the nutrient content, in particular the antioxidant content of these kinds of foods.
The compounds responsible for the vivid colors seen in fresh fruits and vegetables are antioxidants. They are the plant’s natural protection against disease, oxidation and UV radiation from the sun. The longevity of some plants is amazing. Their ability to survive natural and man-made disasters is incredible. There are olive and ginkgo biloba trees that are thousands of years old. There are four gingko trees in Hiroshima that survived the 1945 atomic bombing. They are alive and well, today.
The benefits of green tea are due to the antioxidants found in its leaves. They include gallic acid and catechins. There are a number of different antioxidants in olive and gingko leaves. In grape seed we find proanthocyanidins. In bilberry, there are anthocyanins. In turmeric, there is curcumin. The list goes on and on. All of these antioxidants are beneficial to human health, just as they are to the plants.
Cooking fruits and vegetables reduces their antioxidant content, except in the case of tomatoes. One of the antioxidants in the tomato is lycopene. The lycopene content becomes higher and more concentrated when tomatoes are cooked. But, as far as we know, that does not occur with other fruits or vegetables.
Because of the processing used to prepare the leaves, the benefits of green tea drinking are difficult to define. Seeping the leaves in water extracts some of the antioxidants, but it is difficult to say how much. It is known that the caffeine content varies from 10-80mg. We can only assume that the variance of the catechin content is similar. You might get a little. You might get a lot.
In order to be sure that you are getting the benefits of green tea, a standardized extract is your best choice. If you enjoy drinking the beverage, go ahead. It’s good for you in other ways. The warm water supports digestive function and contributes to good hydration. The caffeine may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s. The standardized extracts contain very little caffeine.
The best multi-nutritional supplements contain an extract that provide 80mg of catechins, per 100mg of the extract. Other products only provide 25mg/100. It’s important to compare supplements carefully before you buy them. Learn about the manufacturers and the steps they take to protect you from contaminants. This is important, because the raw ingredients typically come from China. Only about 2% of Chinese manufacturers have high standards.
Research concerning the benefits of green tea is currently on-going. We may know even more, tomorrow.
Valerie Rosenbaum has spent several years researching the many anti aging supplements and skincare products available today. Through her research she has found that it is vital to use green tea extract in any anti aging supplement that will be effective over the long term. Learn more at her website NaturalBalanceSupplements.com
Anti-Aging is a bit of a misleading and I have yet to meet someone who has turned back the hands of time. As we age our skin becomes empty of nutrition and hydration, which leads to pre-mature skin aging.
Anti aging skin care products are formulated to renew and new look to our youth. Through a combination of hydration, protection with antioxidants and anti-wrinkle creams, lotions and moisturizers, the life of us baby boomers can add years of aging or damaged skin. Anti aging skin care begins several reasons we should all be respected and the use of effective skin care products. Diet, fitness and health, maintaining proper hydration and healthy cell membranes, a bit of scientific know-how, giving us the opportunity to look years younger, slow down or stop premature aging, improve elasticity and smoothness, and somewhat “turn back the hands of time”.
Keeping Your Skin Clean
It is as simple as it may sound many skin problems due to lack of cleanliness. Clogged pores can cause skin rashes, rosacea, blackheads and whiteheads and prevent the proper irrigation of pores. Layers of the skin require adequate moisture and movement and nutrition can be hampered without proper cleansing.
As part of the daily regimen of skin care using a facial cleanser in the morning and at bedtime is recommended. Avoid cleaning products with a hard surface, which can irritate the skin – this only exacerbates the problem and my offset the benefit of products designed to treat or protect.
Oily or dry skin can be given special attention, but a good, deep cleansing, removing makeup and pat drying are the best first steps to protect the skin from aging faster than you want.
Hydrating Your Skin
You have probably heard that our bodies are now made in much of the water. Water is the main part of the skin cells, thus proper hydration is important. The moisture content directly effects healthy cell maturation and development, while the sales and supply of nutrients.
Maintaining adequate levels of body fluids is a must. As the doctor said, drink plenty of fluids and avoid liquids high in caffeine and sugar. Caffeine is a diuretic that acts to deplete fluids and sugar is known to increase the metabolism of both nutrients and reduction of hot flashes fluid levels. It goes without saying diet and regular exercise and stopping smoking (if you do), is extremely useful.
Anti-Aging Skin Care
Although anti-aging cover a vast subject, to maintain the brief conversation and focus on products most effective care anti aging skin is divided into a relatively small group:
Wrinkle Treatment
Antioxidants Skin Care
Age Spots
Dry Skin
Enlarged Pores
Body Firming
Spider Veins
Stretch Marks
Of course, this is not all-inclusive list, but covers a range of issues that we face skin care with age. Skin care is fundamentally developed to respond to symptoms, but effective products to remedy the causes as well. Let's look more closely Anti aging skin care and how it can help the anti-aging “Quest”.
Wrinkle treatment comes primarily in the form of wrinkle creams formulated to reduce the frequency and depth of wrinkles. Many bring hydration, which is to reinforce and provide nutrients to the cell membrane – to improve skin health, improving the regeneration of healthy cells.
Argireline and Matrixyl are two of the most widely used active ingredients. These peptide compounds similar act to the effect of Botox to relax facial tissue – smoothing wrinkled skin and eliminating wrinkles. Many are somewhat temporary in nature, though consistent use will help to strengthen the prevention of wrinkles.
Common anti-wrinkle eye and face cream, Argireline and Matrixyl are also effective for use in the neck (where my wrinkles started) and in the chest. Hyaluronic acid is also useful in the treatment of wrinkles. Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance in our body. It helps cells to retain moisture and acts to plump and smooth. It is used as an active ingredient in wrinkle creams, has a cumulative effect in relaxing and smoothing wrinkles.
Skin care antioxidants should not be ignored. The free radicals produced from the natural oxidation destroy cells – and are particularly pleased to skin cells. Antioxidants are common in many fruits and vegetables – especially green tea, Idebenone and coffee.
All three were found as popular ingredient in the fight against aging skin care. Green tea is particularly encouraged in consumables (tea), moisturizers, and topical applications of serum. Free radicals, in a nutshell lead to premature skin aging and can be accelerated if you smoke or are exposed to sunlight. Use an anti-oxidant in the context of your program to fight against aging is an important step in the right direction.
I turned 50 last years … mmm … I still feel 30, but I started noticing some things on my skin that not only related to my grandmother – age spots. Since the age of the pigment melanin in the skin loses its ability to protect against sun damage, so dark, brown or age spots appear. Bleaching or skin whitening creams can be effective in reducing the appearance of age spots, but should be used with caution. Many whitening agents make skin sensitive – and sensitive to the sun. Furthermore, it should only be used for age spots themselves, unless they are used in light (er) formulations for overall skin lightening. Dry skin is a hidden evil of aging. As we age our skin naturally loses moisture, the ability to maintain hydration, and this leads to an amplifier other skin problems like wrinkles, eczema and psoriasis.
Use a moisturizing night cream is the best advice. Avoid the sun, drink plenty of fluids and try to eat fruits and vegetables raw whenever possible. As mentioned above, many products use hyaluronic acid to help preserve moisture. Often found in face applications, it is also successfully used in lotions and creams for the body.
Emu oil for the last two years has become a favorite in the fight against aging skin care. Emu oil is known to penetrate the dermal layers and subcutaneous skin and is super moisturizing. It also has anti-inflammatory properties as well as being antibacterial. Company has advantages that lets you “carry”; the other anti aging ingredients deeper into the skin – improving their effectiveness. Since hyaluronic acid, this can be found in body lotions and creams for the face and eyes.
Pores create face destruction. The result of heredity, clogged pores and excess oil, enlarged pores accumulated dirt, oil and dead skin cells. Often, they lead to rough skin, bacterial infections, errors, swelling and irritation, inflammation or acne and rosacea.
And effective daily cleaning usually helps to reduce pore size and pore charge irrigates bacteria. Light makeup or using a mineral makeup that does not irritate the skin and cause inflammation is recommended.
Many skin care products using emu oil or Alpha Hydroxy crystals to clean bacteria and reduce pore size. Both are effective and active ingredients used in concert, help clean and clear your skin and make smaller the pores of the skin.
Ah … If you’re still with me, there are some things to cover – but what are the top three in the list of the countdown. Let us begin by examining the body firming lotions. Again, I know you’re tired of hearing this, as we age our skin loses its elasticity and decreases the production of elastin fibers.
So what? … Well, what makes the skin loose? Beyond the most obvious causes of lack of exercise and diet, the production of collagen and elastin development diminishes. Combined with depleted hydration, you get a double blow to the fat and skin. For the taut skin, body firming lotions use complex of ingredients that firm and tighten skin, improve hydration, and feeding the optimal cell reproduction.
Many body firming lotions use Collagen III, Emu Oil, firming peptide complex, and nutrients, and amino acids that collaborate with the firm sagging skin. Particularly useful in the arms, abdomen, neck and legs, lotions tighten skin and add moisture.
Spider veins are usually the result of a series of joint events – weight gain during pregnancy in work activities that require you to have your feet a lot or often come to sun exposure – especially facial spider veins.
Seen a result of damaged or weak veins and capillaries, spider veins appear faulty valves allow the flow of blood, but not out. Weight gain and the severity of the problem more difficult and in some respects might be affected by this problem. Anti aging skin care products focus on two results.
One, the healing or strengthening the vessel walls. There are several active ingredients considered useful in the vessels and restoring healthy walls, but vitamin K as the most effective at this time. Two, you can cover. Correction of spider veins usually requires a spider veins cream or a spider veins treatment.
I myself have had several facial capillaries removed from under my eyes and upper nose with laser treatment – the result is too many days in the Florida sun to rise to my dermatologist. But I have had great success with a cream enriched with vitamin K has been a measurable and significant as the use of compensation.
But back to what they are. Many people have started using spray-on pantyhose (men and women), add about tone and color of their feet warm seasons approach. Many spray-ons are formulated to not run when wet, or give a strange color. Often available in different colors, you can choose the color that suggestion, which fits the body without obvious.
Whew, finally, stretch marks. While not necessarily anti-aging than the list are a common problem that people want to tackle, especially as they age and become more “knowing” and organs or through the childbearing age. Stretch marks are often due to childbirth, pregnancy, weight loss and gain, and are common in bodybuilders.
Simply, stretch marks are just that, marks occur when skin stretches faster that the skin can keep up. Elastin and collagen are not able to reproduce quickly enough to avoid stretching and the result is the scars and torn fabric.
Underlying the central issue is clear stretch marks elasticity and moisture. There is that word again. Certainly, though. If you experience weight gain or are pregnant, using a cream against stretch marks developed to add moisture and hydration has been shown to reduce or even prevent stretch marks. If you already have, as the title of this article suggests, there are several possibilities.
Again, stretch marks and scar creams help increase collagen and elastin fiber production. If used with ingredients that stimulate healthy cell reproduction, consistent, disciplined use can often marks and scars. An alternative is to use one at home, soft light laser. Lasers emit low levels of light waves in oscillations that have been shown to stimulate cell growth and increase circulation. Used for many applications such as scars, burns, wounds and blemishes, low level “soft light” lasers have proven effective.
Anti aging is a goal we all have and can be effectively dealt with the fight against aging skin care. Reduce or eliminate wrinkles, smoother, softer clear skin, protection with antioxidant products, firmer, tighter body and the removal or lightening of the veins and stretch marks is possible with products for skin care law.
Although many things to consider, a system of care focused on skin cleansing, hydration, and treatment will give significant benefits in the short term and long term.
