Reducing Wrinkles with Plant Extracts (studies)

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Reducing wrinkles as a part of our daily beauty program is the number one long term goal. An increasing number of clinical studies is suggesting that the skin matrix and the appearance of wrinkles can be influenced through the intake of highly antioxidative plant extract containing a high concantration of polyphenols like ECGC, procyanidines, isoflavones and catechines.

Below you will find just a few of many studies conducted regarding polyphenols and the skin:

Polyphenols and Skin in general

  • A recent article published 2015 in the Swiss magazine “Antioxidants” takes a deeper look into Photoaging, the extracellular matrix and the oral or topical application of plant antioxidants, i.e. tea, cocoa, grape / wine, soy or pomegranate. Please read more here (full article)1: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4665475/

Skin, UV rays and Grape Seed extract

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Skin structure, wrinkles and coca extract

 

Wrinkles, moisture and Pomegranate extract

References:

  1. Brosch, R., et al.: “Mechanisms of Photoaging and Cutaneous Photocarcinogenesis, and Photoprotective Strategies with Phytochemicals”; Antioxidants (Basel). 2015 Jun; 4(2): 248–268. Published online 2015 Mar 26. doi: 10.3390/antiox4020248 ↩
  2. Khan, N., et al.; “Pomegranate fruit extract inhibits UVB-induced inflammation and proliferation by modulating NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways in mouse skin”; Photochem Photobiol. 2012 Sep-Oct;88(5):1126-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-1097.2011.01063.x. Epub 2012 Jan 13 ↩
  3. Park, H.M., et al.; “Extract of Punica granatum inhibits skin photoaging induced by UVB irradiation.”; Int J Dermatol. 2010 Mar;49(3):276-82. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2009.04269.x ↩
  4. Pacheco-Palencia LA1, Noratto G, Hingorani L, Talcott ST, Mertens-Talcott SU. “Protective effects of standardized pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) polyphenolic extract in ultraviolet-irradiated human skin fibroblasts.”; J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Sep 24;56(18):8434-41. doi: 10.1021/jf8005307. Epub 2008 Aug 22 ↩
  5. Kasai K1, Yoshimura M, Koga T, Arii M, Kawasaki S.; “Effects of oral administration of ellagic acid-rich pomegranate extract on ultraviolet-induced pigmentation in the human skin”; J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2006 Oct;52(5):383-8. ↩

Skin Detox Tea

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Preparing your own Skin Detox tea is easy and a great idea! Because it a healthy drink that is probably one part of the asian phenomena of healthy anti-aging.

The best tea types for a Skin Detox Tea

Tea leafs for skin detox teaThe ideal tea for a Skin Detox tea is green tea and matcha tea. Green tea contains much more polyphenols than other teas and therefore has a higher antioxidative capacity.

Black tea is not that well covered in health science, but it makes up more than 90% of the tea consumed in western countries. Black tea is coming from the same botanical plant (Camellia sinensis), but it is oxidized and therefore looses some of it´s health benefits associated with green tea.

You can also take black tea to prepare a skin detox tea (e.g. Darjeeling, Ceylon, Assam, Nepali or Gongfu leaves) and black tea blends, e.g. Earl Grey tea (with bergamotte flavour), English breakfast tea or English afternoon tea. But:

Matcha tea is very much a fashion at the moment, and a healthy fashion. Matcha tea also contains a similarily high amount of polyphenols and OPCs.

Oolong tea and white tea are not as common, but offer also very great taste and are healthy part of our diet. They are also oxidized.

Healthy parts in Green Skin Detox tea

First of all: green tea is very low in calories. It only contains 1 calorie per 100 ml, which is negligible. So it´s the perfect drink for a detox diet or a weight management diet. It is also basically free from fat and proteins.

The most valuable parts of the green tea extract are caffeine and polyphenols. Polyphenols are a large group of chemical substances close to vitamins. They are considered as healthy and important part of our diet. Within the group of polyphenols, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin gallate, epicatechins and flavanols play an important role. These classes of polyphenols are part of the polyphenol blend provided by green tea.

Vitamins and minerals in Green Skin Detox tea

Green tea as well as black tea contain hardly any vitamins or minerals and trace elements. There is a very low degree of Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), which amounts to around 7% of the recommended daily dosage. Also, there is around 10% of RDA from Manganese in a cup of tea (150 ml). But that´s it. The other vitamins, trace elements and minerals contained in green tea are negligible amounts.

Why prepackaged Ice Tea is not a great Skin Detox Tea

Green tea match skin detox teaPrepackaged ice teas are very convenient and they are tempting. They attract our taste through the smooth and sweet taste of the tea. But that comes at a high price. Usually, prepackaged ice teas are full of sugar or artificial sweeteners. One bottle of half a litre contains around 50 grams of sugar (appr. 10% / 100g sugar per litre)! You don´t believe it? Check it out, mandatory by law the content of sugars is written on every bottle. This is more or less the same amount of sugar as it is in a regular soft drinks (cola, common lemonades).

Both, sugar and low-calories sweeteners have a bad reputation when it comes to contributing to our health. Some sources say that excessive intake of sugar might lead to breakage of collagenic structures, therefore harming our skin. Sweeteners are frequently in the discussion and they are usually not part of a natural healthy diet.

Also, the content of healthy polyphenols and natural antioxidants in prepackaged ice teas is usually relatively low.

Therefore, we believe that bottled ice teas are not a great source of healthy (skin) food.

When you want to enjoy the taste of a great ice tea, just prepare it yourself! It´s so easy to prepare a green tea or black tea of your favourite flavour and take the tea leaf you prefer, add a splash of lemon or a spoon of honey, and cool it in your fridge. Through the natural antioxidants, the acid of lemon and the sugar as part of the honey, your drink is easily good for three days. And your own skin detox tea is cheaper than anything commercially bottled and loaded with sugar.

amitamin® Skin Detox radical is the ideal companion to a Skin Detox Tea

While a green Skin Detox tea is great on it´s own, you might want to reinforce the power of your nutritional antioxidative diet. In order to add more polyphenols to your diet, as well as antioxidative vitamins and hyaluronic acid, we recommend considering the intake of a concentrated product like amitamin® Skin Detox Radical.

What is hyaluronic acid?

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Hyaluronic acid: you certainly have heard about it in the context of beauty, skin and probably also joints and cartilage. But what is hyaluronic acid really?

Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance, produced by our body. From a chemical standpoint, it´s a chain of sugar molecules. Hyaluronic acid´s most important feature is that it can bind large quantities of water. Just one gram of hyaluronic acid is able to bind 6 litres of water! It therefore serves as a potent buffer of moisture. 50% of hyaluronic acid is found in our skin. The body´s hyaluronic acid thus provides a valuable depot of moisture and volume within our skin. It reinforces a trong and elastic connective tissue and is even able to neutralize free radicals.

With increasing age unfortunately the amount of hyluronic acid in our skin decreases. The process already begins in the late 20s. This is one important cause for deteriorating tension of skin and the appearance of wrinkles. Skin that is well supplied with hyaluronic acid tends to be smoother, softer, more elastic and with less wrinkles. Hyaluronic acid within the skin is a premier anti-aging substance.