Fight Sun Damage by Drinking Tea
It’s true, the last thing I associate with sunshine and swimming and 90+ degrees is piping hot, fresh-brewed tea. Piping-hot, fresh brewed sunburn, yes. But as far as my palate in concerned, tea is reserved for the other six months of the year, when I’m covered in snow and can’t feel my toes.
So now I’ve got this to contend with: tea, that winter stuff, might help fight the damaging effects of too much sun.
How Can Tea Fight Sun Damage?
Black and Green teas, in particular, contain high levels of polyphenols and antioxidants that fight free radicals. Free radicals can lead to cellular damage and they are emboldened by the sun. Free radicals are like my freckles; in winter, no one knows I have them, but in summer, freckles galore!
A recent study conducted by the Dartmouth Medical School discovered that people who drank two or more cups of green or black tea a day were 30 percent less likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma. I had to look that one up. From the website Skincancer.org: "Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer, with over 250,000 new cases per year estimated in the United States. It arises in the squamous cells that compose most of the upper layer of the skin." Studies now suggest that people who drank green and black tea regularly for almost 50 years cut their chances of developing squamous cell carcinoma by about 51 percent.
The polyphenols in the tea may prevent against sun exposure by acting as a form of sunscreen. And if you're wondering which is better (green or black), green tea appears to win out (it seems to be slightly better for you).
How to brew?
Longevity overachievers drink two cups of steep-brewed (longer than five minutes ) green tea a day. The longer you brew the tea the more polyphenols you release.
When life gives me lemons, I add vodka. When life gives me tea on a very hot July day, I add ice.
Ice might knock the polyphenol potency slightly, but if you must (I must) during those lazy days of summer, drink green tea over ice with lemon. It's delightful!
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