Jokes and name calling is no laughing matter for teen acne sufferers as it can affect them both physically and psychologically resulting in social anxiety and isolation. For adults, it can be equally embarrassing either at work or socially as they become self-conscious about their blemishes.
Green Tea
Tea is one of the most popular beverages. Green tea has been used for centuries as one of the natural cure and remedies in traditional Chinese medicine to treat numerous ailments such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and obesity to name but a few.
The health-promoting effects of green tea are mainly attributed to the flavonols, B vitamins, folate, manganese, potassium, magnesium, and caffeine.Most of the green tea polyphenols (GTPs) are flavonols, commonly known as catechins. The most abundant catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) which is known to have significant biological effects, which explains why Green Tea extract is a popular nutritional supplement.
Research studies
A 2016 Complementary and Alternative Medicine randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial on 80 subjects revealed that green tea nutritional supplement has beneficial effects on the prevention and treatment of acne.In this trial, 80 women were randomly assigned to receive either 1500 mg of decaffeinated Green Tea Extract daily for four weeks while the control group received a cellulose placebo. After the 4-week clinical trial, inflammatory lesions were assessed.
The Complementary and Alternative Medicine study by Lu et al revealed that there were statistically significant differences in the facial inflammatory lesion. The group treated with Green Tea Extract had significant reductions in inflammatory lesions and the total cholesterol levels compared to the control group.
Conclusions
Green tea lotion has already been clinically proven to help with mild-to-moderate acne and is sometimes used in integrative medicine therapy protocols as the natural cure and remedies. Therefore, these findings are not surprising as there are multiple mechanisms whereby green tea may inhibit acne through anti-inflammatory action, anti-microbial activity against P. acnes, and possibly the reduction of sebum production via 5-α-reductase inhibition.
While further research is required to validate these findings, drinking Green tea or taking Green tea extract nutritional supplement may be useful in treating acne. However, better results will be seen if dietary changes are also implemented.
It is important to use a safe form of green tea as some have had issues with lead contamination, therefore, an organic green tea is recommended.
