Saturday, February 28, 2009

What is Oolong? Can It Make Your Skin More Youthful?

By Caitlin Ryan

Have you ever noticed how Asian women seem to have gorgeous, youthful skin well into their latter years? Do you not wish you knew their secrets? I know one! Would you like to know about oolong tea?

There are a plethora of reasons behind their youthful appearance. They tend to live more cleanly than we do in the Western world consuming cleaner diets and being exposed to less environmental toxins.

We should all strive for a better diet full of fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean proteins; however, we cannot do much to escape environmental toxins from industrial facilities, car exhaust and chemicals. This is where oolong tea can help fight the damage, prevent premature aging and improve the youthful appearance of your skin!

All tea is from a plant called Camellia Sinensis. The difference among different teas is due to when the leaves are harvested and the fermentation process that they undergo afterwards.

The fermentation process involves oxidation and crushing the leaves, which darkens the leaves and alters the flavor. Black tea leaves are crushed and bruised and left exposed to oxygen for a long period of time. They are highly fermented. Green tea is not fermented at all, and oolong tea is semi-fermented.

Wu Liang was picking tea leaves when a deer interrupted him. He left to hunt the deer and the picked tea leaves were abandoned in the sun. They began to ferment.

A few days later, Wu Liang returned and found that his tea leaves had darkened (oxidized) in the sun. Not wanting to waste the leaves, he prepared them for tea regardless of the oxidation that had taken place. To his amazement, the tea tasted much better than the grassy, green tea he previously made.

The most beneficial teas to fight premature aging and restore a more youthful appearance are oolong, green and white teas. Oolong tea has the nicest flavor; so many people enjoy it over other tea varietals. Tea contains phytochemicals (antioxidants) that are highly beneficial to your overall health because they can fight aging and repair damage.

UV rays, chemicals and pollutants amongst others produce free radicals in our bodies. These are the source of premature aging because of the effect they have at the cellular level.

Free radicals alter genetic material and destroy cellular membranes. It becomes harder to fight free radicals as we age and repair the damage. We also stop producing as many replacement cells as we could when we were younger.

All of this affects our overall health and the breakdown of all tissue. Your skin starts to wrinkle, sag and become more fragile. You start to see all of those early signs of aging.

The antioxidants in oolong tea can fight free radicals by stopping the oxidation process that takes place when free radicals steal the electron from healthy molecules in our bodies. Antioxidants are also imperative for repairing the damage already incurred and regenerating cells. Drinking oolong tea on a daily basis can improve you skin health. Healthy skin is beautiful skin!

Moderately priced and wonderful in flavor, oolong tea is one of the best!

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