Coffee, Tea or....Chocolate!?!

In my previous page I stressed upon cleansing inside-out and we all agree that the best way to do it is by drinking water!

Oh well, what's the big deal about it?  We all drink water; some more, some less.  Okay...those of us who drink less water will increase our intake. "So, now can we have some 'tips' on how do I get rid of pimples?"..... 

Sure! But is it enough to drink water to cleanse the system?  What's the point in drinking gallons of water if this is equalled out by consuming other stuff that are too acidic and dehydrating?  Again all the time and money spent on lotions and face packs would be a complete waste.

Some say black coffee is good for metabolism and weight reduction, so, no harm in downing a couples of cups a day.  Others say, tea is 'safer', so instead of black coffee, just go with black tea - it has less caffeine!  Well, friends the operating word is caffeine!!

Roasted Coffee Beans ready for grinding

Black Tea only has less caffeine that coffee, that might make us safer, but definitely not safe enough to have a glowing skin!  Apart from addictive nature of this chemical, caffeine absorbs moisture from the system to digest.  It uses the water in the body to get purged out of the system.  Recently when I went to my General Physician with a complaint of fluid-retention in ankles, she casually suggest I drink an extra cup of coffee as it works as diuretic!  This scared the daylights out of me!!

***************Courtesy Wikipedia****************** 

Caffeine has diuretic properties when administered to people who are not used to it, but regular users develop a tolerance to this effect, and studies have generally failed to support the common notion that ordinary consumption contributes significantly to dehydration. With heavy use, strong tolerance develops rapidly and caffeine can produce clinically significant physical and mental dependence.

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Imagine! If I can cure fluid retention with caffeine, how much more water would one lose if they are addicted to coffee or tea!  I am certainly guilty of being addicted to at least one cuppa in the morning and one in the evening, and I have been sincerely working on getting over this addiction since past 10 years ;)

Why do you think infants and toddlers have such 'to-die-for' skin?  They are not given caffeine by their mothers.  So why do mothers start getting their children addicted to coffee/tea as the children cross the age of 10-12??  This has been a mystery to me all these years.



Process of Drying Tea in the factory



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But then Green Tea and White Tea are definitely much better than Black Tea.  Caffeine content in Green and White Tea is very low.  Surprisingly, though, all the varieties of tea are derived from the same plant, the tenderness of leaves and natural drying process of leaves of Green and White Tea do not have processed caffeine, so these teas are much better beverages and rich in antioxidants, making them almost good for the system!


 Since Green and White teas have proved to flush out toxins from the system, they can actually help in improving skin quality!  Green Tea is better than Black since Green Tea, though air dried, it's not fermented.  The possible skin benefits of Green tea are considered to be partial protection from UV damage, anti-inflammatory effects and skin matrix protection are likely to slow down the development of some signs of ageing.


White Tea

However, White Tea is even better since this is made from the tender most leaf & bud and naturally processed.  White Tea is recommended by Tea manufacturers for preventing wrinkles and improving skin elasticity.  It is considered to be even better for your skin than green tea.

If you plan on trying some form of tea-based skin treatment, you may want to consider white tea or a mixture of green and white teas.

So....in effect caffeine is bad for skin.  Coffee is most dehydrating of all everyday beverages that we all succumb to so easily.  Black tea is equally bad , but we get fooled into thinking it's better than coffee.

In all this talk of Coffee and Tea, we have forgotten the most delicious beverage of all - Chocolate!!



Chocolate Beans

According to many a research conducted over the period of time, it has been proved that Chocolates are very good for skin.  Lately, we have seen the markets being flooded with many skin care products that claim to have chocolate cream in them.

Chocolates are also believed to have to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  Drinking or eating this regularly help the skin to appear smoother, denser and moisture skin and reduced wrinkles - in short, a younger looking skin!

This is why I guess, my Grand Ma and Mom forced me to drink that Bornvita and Horlics till my mid-teens!!

But always remember EVERYTHING TO BE IN MODERATION!  Too much of anything is equal to an overdose which is never good.