Is Green Tea Good For Your Skin?

Available in drinks, capsules and skin-care products, green tea has many claims surrounding its benefits. The ingredients in green tea, including cell-protecting polyphenols, provide your skin with nutrition. It can help you reduce inflammation while providing antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic effects. In a review of evidence published in the "Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry," green tea was shown to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer and other cancers.

What's In It

Green tea is made from the unfermented leaves of the plant Camellia sinesis. It contains a higher concentration of polyphenols, a type of powerful antioxidant, than any other known source. Polyphenols fight free radicals, the compounds responsible for altering cells and damaging DNA. In addition to antioxidants, green tea contains caffeine and two other alkaloids that stimulate your body -- theobomine and theophylline. The tea also contains the amino acid L-theanine.

Antioxidants and Cancer

Green tea helps your body fight skin cancer. A 2006 review of evidence in the "Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry" found green tea's antioxidant EGCG protects your skin from ultraviolet radiation and prevents tumors from forming. Skin cancer is typically caused when UV light penetrates the skin's top layer. The DNA in chromosomes becomes damaged and mutated. Green tea boosts the production of chemical interleukin-12, which repairs DNA, according to a 2007 study published in "Cancer Research." The Food and Drug Administration is awaiting stronger evidence regarding the role of green tea in cancer prevention before supporting claims. The antioxidants in green tea may also help your skin fight carcinogens, according to a study in the "Archives of Dermatology." The study concluded that more clinical studies are needed, but supplementing skin-care products with green tea might benefit people with skin disorders.

Hydration

When you drink green tea in moderation, you hydrate your skin while getting the tea's antioxidants. Your body needs plenty of water to transport nutrients to cells and remove toxins. A study published in the "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition" noted the diuretic effects of caffeine happen only when tea consumed in a single sitting is more than 300 mg of caffeine -- equivalent to six or seven cups. The study found no evidence that green tea consumption impacts hydration levels except when you drink more than seven cups. Researchers recommend you adjust the your intake, depending on the concentration of caffeine in each cup.

Sources and Dosages of Green Tea

You will find green tea as an ingredient in many skin-care products, including lotions, creams, cleansers and gels. You can also ingest green tea by steeping the leaves in water as a drink, or by taking the dried leaves in capsule form. Liquid green tea extracts are sold commercially as well. If you plan to drink the tea, University of Maryland Medical Center recommends you drink daily two to three cups, which contains 240 to 320 mg of polyphenols. If you plan to take green tea extract, the university recommends ingesting 100 to 750 mg per day.

When to Avoid Green Tea

Talk with your doctor before incorporating green tea into your diet. If you have heart problems, stomach ulcers or kidney disorders, you should not take green tea. If you have some psychological disorders, particularly anxiety, you should also avoid taking green tea. If you drink too much green tea for a long period of time, you run the risk of experiencing the negative effects of caffeine. Effects include dizziness, heart palpitations, insomnia and irritability. Signs of a caffeine overdose include diarrhea, headaches, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. See your health-care provider if you experience the symptoms of caffeine poisoning.