Green tea is now the preferred drink of supermodels, but is it really any better for you than a good, old-fashioned cuppa?

Clinical evidence suggests that green tea is packed with health and beauty benefits that you can enjoy whether drinking it or applying directly to your skin. Even the leaves can be used as a gentle exfoliant, guaranteed to give your skin a healthy glow.

Recent research shows that green tea extract is naturally rich in antioxidants, which help protect the body from free radicals – naturally occurring particles in the body associated with accelerated ageing and an increased risk of major diseases. Exposure to pollution, smoking and excess sunlight increases the number of free radicals in the blood, but the potent antioxidants found in green tea add strong weight to the belief that green tea not only promotes good health but also makes you look younger.

Beauty benefits
Traditionally, many types of make-up, lotions, creams and beauty preparations have used chemical antioxidants, or vitamins A, C and E as preservatives for their products. Now, with research indicating that green tea has even more antioxidant properties than these powerful vitamins, there is a surge in products capitalising on its natural benefits.

You don’t need to rush to the chemist to stock up on goodies. Concentrated green tea extract is simple to make at home and is a flexible addition to both your daily beauty routine and your medicine cabinet.

Soothing spritzer
Simply steep 100g of green tea in half a litre of still mineral water at room temperature for at least one hour. Strain the liquor and it’s ready to use! It’s better to make small quantities and use it fresh but surplus liquid can be poured into clean, sterilised bottles and refrigerated.

The liquid can be used as a spritzer, to freshen up the face, or cotton pads soaked in it can be particularly soothing for tired or strained eyes. It has antiseptic properties, so can be used to treat minor cuts and rashes, and is surprisingly effective when applied to spots and blemishes. It can even be used as a treatment for sunburn – soak a cloth in the liquid and leave on the skin until the area begins to cool.

Mighty mouth
Green tea is also known for its ability to prevent bad breath – and it has the added advantage of tasting good if it’s inadvertently swallowed. Try making your own toothpaste to test it out.

Pour one cup of boiling water over 100g of Himalayan Green Tea and leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes. Make a paste using this liquid and one teaspoon of baking soda, and use this to brush your teeth as usual. The natural properties in the tea will curb mouth odour and help prevent plaque-forming microbes from attaching to the teeth.

Refreshing facemask
This gentle facemask will help remove toxins from your skin, as well as leaving it silky smooth.

Mix three tablespoons of mayonnaise with one heaped teaspoon of organic Himalayan green tea leaves. Apply evenly to the face, avoiding the delicate eye area, and leave for 20 minutes. Rinse the mask off, then dry and moisturise your face.

Lose weight
British supermodel Sophie Dahl’s attributed her weight loss, in part, to drinking regular cups of green tea. Sophie followed Body Doctor David Marshall’s nutritional advice, which advocates drinking as much toxin-flushing green tea as possible.

Claims that it raises the metabolic rate and speeds up fat oxidation are supported by research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Dulloo A, et al 1999). It is also thought to reduce cholesterol levels and increase energy expenditure by inhibiting the digestion of fat in the intestine.

So next time you fancy a cuppa, consider going green. Not only will it provide you with a refreshing drink, it may also boost your health, help slow ageing and even make you slimmer!

According to Reuters, the study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who drink water tend to eat a diet higher in fiber and lower in sugar and calorie-dense foods.

According to researchers involved with the study, the findings do not prove that drinking water makes people eat healthier. Rather, it suggests a connection between the two.

Health experts recommend staying hydrated with water as an important part of a proper diet since it is calorie-free and can help make the stomach seem full. Some claim alkaline water is an even better choice.

According to ImmuneSystemRemedies.com, ionized alkaline water is a powerful antioxidant, effective detoxifier and superior hydrator, compared to conventional drinking water. In addition, it can help with weight loss, allows for better absorption of the nutrients from food and can make skin appear healthier through effective hydration.

Insufficient water intake may cause individuals to experience routine fatigue, dry skin, headaches, constipation and a decrease in normal bodily functions.

1. Train first thing in the morning, before breakfast if possible. Why?

When you train first thing in the morning, you reach your fat burning zone much quicker. Because you fasted all night, you have less sugar to burn. Exercising in the morning energizes you for the day mentally and physically.You will find that you are more likely to workout every day.

2. Commit to yourself in writing - If you write down in your day planner that you are going to train the next day, you will. Get in the habit of doing this so that you will not cheat yourself.

3. Drink water instead of pop - An occasional diet soda, coffee or tea is fine, but try getting in the habit of drinking plain water whenever possible. It is important to stay well hydrated when training.

4. Eat Slower – When you are hungry do your best to really chew your food and do not scarf it down. This will help you avoid overeating.

5. Make better food choices by planning ahead – Instead of eating fast food for lunch, prepare your food the night before. This will not only be much healthier but a lot cheaper in the long run.

6. Do not skip breakfast – Most people seem to run off and skip the most important meal of the day. If your body does not receive nutritious food in the morning, your body will not kick start your metabolism. The name of the game is to start the fat burning process early in the morning.

7. Strive for consistency and not perfection – If you mess up that’s OK. Choose one day a week to have your cheat day. If you plan on this it will help you not to cheat on the other days. Remember the key is CONSISTENCY!

8. Snacks – If you need a snack, just make sure that it’s a healthy one.  Have a yogurt, low fat bar or piece of fruit. Just make sure that you eat it slowly.

9. Have fun – Make the commitment to find exercises that you are going to enjoy. The stronger you get, the better you are going to feel. You will so enjoy the feeling of empowerment you get from training.

10. Learn to recognize when you are satisfied and you’ve had enough to eat. Stop eating when you are 80% full.

The team is converting the starch-like substance called gellan gum into a liquid which can be drunk but then turns to a gel when it reacts with the digestive juices in the stomach.

The substance, which contains virtually no calories, then slowly breaks down in around six hours.

By adding nutrients, the researchers believe they can make a drink that not only fills you up with no calories but is also healthy.

Dr Fotis Spyropoulos of the School of Chemical Engineering at Birmingham University, said: “We think it is a great idea because it is so simple.

“The solution we designed takes advantage of the body’s natural process of digestion to convert itself into a gel that fills you up and then breaks down.

“We are now working on how to get it to release energy slowly so that it not only makes the stomach feel full but also provides energy the body needs.”

The solution, which the researchers will be available for industry testing in three years, works by reacting with the acid in the stomach’s digestive juices and turning itself into a gel.

However, once it has turned into a gel it then starts breaking down just like a meal.

The strength of this gel is carefully controlled so it is firm enough to provide a prolonged sense of fullness but then breaks down at a rate similar to food.

While it “sits” in the stomach, it suppresses appetite, making the consumer feel full for longer, reducing the likelihood of snacking and eating unhealthy foods.

The scientists have designed other mechanisms into the technology to get the gel structure to progressively weaken after a certain time of exposure to the stomach’s acid, and eventually break down and pass through the digestive tract.

The researchers’ aim is to see the new solution in a breakfast drink or a type of porridge, the consumer benefiting from feeling full, but still able to eat three meals a day.

At the universities of Reading, Cardiff and Bristol in the UK, researchers have studied if there are more perks to consuming this potentially fat-filled beverage than omitting it from the diet. They used data from a recent report by the World Cancer Research Fund to determine current death rates from heart disease and stroke and what links to cancer may be present.

To summarize, the researchers found that drinking milk may only increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, whereas it decreased the likelihood a person would have a stroke, CHD or suffer from colo-rectal cancer.

Study co-leader professor Ian Givens exaplained, “our review made it possible to assess overall whether increased milk consumption provides a survival advantage or not.” He concluded, “we believe it does.”

To maintain a healthy heart and strengthen bones, some may consider following the alkaline diet. This eating plan centers on the consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, tubers and legumes.

Women who drink one small glass of wine a day are increasing their risk of developing certain forms of cancer by six per cent, Oxford University researchers found.

This means that around 7,000 cases of cancer in women in the UK are caused by them drinking just one alcoholic drink a day, the study revealed.

Around 5,000 of these cases are related to breast cancer but others are cancers of the rectum, liver, mouth and throat.

For women who drink one drink, calculated as a small 125ml glass of wine, the risk of cancer increased by six per cent by the time they reached 75 years of age.

If women consumed two drinks a day the risk doubled.

The researchers examined survey answers to the Million Women Study and published the results in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A range of cancers was studied and the increased risk from drinking daily varied with one drink a day increasing the breast cancer risk by 12 per cent up to the age of 75, and cancer of the larynx by 22 per cent.

The study involved more than one million women in the UK and over seven years there were 68,775 cases of cancer recorded.

The researchers calculated each drink to be 10g of alcohol. In the UK, a standard measure of alcohol is 8g but a 10g equivalent would be a small glass (125ml) of 10% ABV (alcohol by volume) wine or a 330ml bottle of beer at 4% ABV.

Dr Naomi Allen, cancer epidemiologist at the University of Oxford and lead author, said the study looked specifically at women who consumed low to moderate levels of alcohol – defined as three drinks a day or fewer.

“These findings suggest that even relatively low levels of drinking – about one or two alcoholic drinks every day – increase a woman’s risk of developing cancer of the breast, liver and rectum, and in smokers, cancers of the mouth and throat.”

Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: “We know that too much alcohol increases the risk of a number of cancers. This latest study shows that even relatively low levels of drinking increase a woman’s risk. It is important that women are as well informed as possible so they can take responsible decisions over how much alcohol they drink.

“Cancer Research UK recommends that the more you cut down on alcohol, the more you reduce your cancer risk. The more you drink the greater the risk.”

Dr Sarah Cant, Policy Manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “We already know that drinking alcohol can increase your risk of breast cancer. This study suggests that for women over 50 even drinking moderate amounts of any type of alcohol can have many health consequences, including a greater chance of developing breast cancer.

“Around 80 per cent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women aged over 50, so limiting how much you drink is one step you can take to try to reduce your risk of developing the disease.”

Betty McBride, Policy & Communications Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This shocking research found that obese adolescents were at the same risk of an early death as someone with a 10 a day plus habit.

“This is an alarming illustration to young people who may have been blasé about the implications of obesity to their future health.

“The Government need to bring the same level of sustained focus to tackling the obesity crisis it has previously brought to smoking.

“The number of young people who are overweight and obese is growing. Without tackling this now we risk the next generation growing up with more health problems than their parents.”

It is thought around seven million people are putting their health at risk by drinking more than the recommended alcohol limits.

A comprehensive Government survey last month claimed that middle aged, professional Britons are more likely to exceed recommended daily levels of alcohol consumption than the working-classes, with twice as many drinking every night of the week.

The study, by the Office for National Statistics, claimed that middle class drinkers are more likely to indulge in “heavy” drinking – which equates to drinking double the recommended daily limit on a given evening.

Almost one in four middle-class drinkers admit to drinking to this level at least once a week. This is equivalent to a man having three pints of strong lager or a woman drinking two large glasses of wine.

The figures have raised fears that it is now much too easy for people to drink more than is good for them, as manufacturers have developed stronger wines and beers while pubs and restaurants serve larger measures and supermarkets offer cut-price deals.

UK guidelines show that women should not drink more than one or two UK units a day and men should not drink more than three or four.

Earlier research has estimated that 15,000 people die annually due to their drinking, from cancer, heart disease, alcoholic liver disease, other illnesses and accidents.

It is thought alcohol misuse costs the economy £25bn a year and around 811,000 hospital admissions are thought to be due to drinking.