Modern society operates on the idea that there is no alternative to major medications insofar as healthcare is concerned. While pharmaceutical-grade medications can only manage many conditions, other issues can be regulated with holistic alternatives. To clarify, we are not suggesting that natural alternatives can replace prescription medications for longstanding health conditions but that they can help alleviate symptoms and expedite your recovery.
Some substances have cultivated an impressive reputation for enhancing our health and appearance in the face of illnesses or blemishes. Many of the products sold by holistic or alternative vendors are so popular that even those who oppose their use have at least heard of them. The problem is that the mainstream disdain for alternative tools makes it harder for those interested in them to get the knowledge necessary to use them.
A common issue with pharmaceutical-grade medication and holistic alternatives must always be considered. Whenever you are given prescription medication, you are warned that some of them can be simultaneously used while others are incompatible and can generate harmful side effects when mixed. While interactions between natural substances might seem rare, it is more common than you realize.
The tricky part is distinguishing a good interaction from a bad one so you can take the substances you want or need in your routine. Two of the main substances holistic medicine enthusiasts use are matcha and collagen, which both play roles in our cosmetic appearance and health. The question is: what are the benefits of combining them (if any exist)?
What is Matcha?
You might have heard of matcha in passing or seen matcha-flavored desserts and drinks at a restaurant or café, but you might not understand its significance. Believe it or not, matcha is a variant of one of the most common beverages: green tea. Like green tea, matcha is harvested from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, colloquially called the "tea plant." The leaves of a C. sinensis plant are extremely valuable in the culinary world since they are refined into five distinct tea varieties: green, yellow, white, oolong, and black.
Furthermore, the leaves are packed with powerful vitamins and nutrients that benefit the human body. These nutrients are among the main reasons people drink tea or use products with tea extract. Insofar as matcha is concerned, it is a valuable variant of traditional green tea cultivated from C. sinensis plants.
The key difference is that matcha can only be harvested from C. sinensis plants grown in a specific environment. Specifically, matcha only grows from C. sinensis that were grown in the shade rather than those that grow in sunny environments. While it might seem like an arbitrary detail, shaded growth plays a significant role in how the nutrients in the plant's leaves develop.
The nutrients in matcha leaves are significantly more potent than in traditional green tea because shaded growth promotes improved caffeine and theanine production. As a result, the benefits typically associated with green tea are amplified when matcha is used as a substitute. This has made matcha significantly more popular than its common cousin, though some details must be considered when purchasing matcha. The biggest detail is that matcha comes in 3 grades that determine how potent it is and its overall financial and health value. These grades are:
- Ceremonial Grade: The highest grade of matcha there is, ceremonial matcha was originally used in tea ceremonies by Japanese and Buddhist cultures. The ceremonial grade tea has the highest nutritional value but is also the most expensive. As a result, it is the most popular variant despite the cost.
- Premium Grade: The second-highest grade of matcha, premium matcha does not have a history in ceremonies but has a similar nutritional value. As a result, this grade of matcha is one of the most common since it carries most of the same benefits as ceremonial matcha but with a reduced cost.
- Culinary Grade: Culinary matcha is universally considered the lowest quality matcha and is not pure enough for tea or supplements. Rather, culinary matcha is specifically used to give other food matcha flavors, such as ice cream or cake. While culinary matcha has the same nutrients as the previous 2 grades, it is significantly weaker.
Matcha's use in holistic or alternative cosmetics and healthcare has only grown in recent years, and for a good reason. Matcha is the source of countless benefits that can improve the health and appearance of your largest organ, the skin. The question you probably have at this juncture is: what are those benefits?
Benefits of Matcha
Despite being a relative of a very common beverage, matcha is extremely beneficial to our biology and can provide multiple health and appearance benefits. Matcha has a high nutritional value comprising some lesser-known but highly valuable compounds. One of the main benefits of matcha is that it is an antioxidant, meaning it can protect the body from damage by free radicals. The reason for matcha's antioxidant effect is that it has a high concentration of catechins, also found in normal green tea.
The advantage matcha has over green tea in this regard is that the catechins are more concentrated due to the shaded environment in which the C. sinensis plant grows. In fact, matcha has 100 times the concentration of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) as any other tea variety. As a result, the catechins in matcha can provide a more comprehensive antioxidant effect that improves our health and appearance. This is so important because free radicals can cause chronic health problems and damage the cells in your body.
Additionally, the nutrients in matcha allow it to protect and rejuvenate the skin by protecting it from chronic inflammation. Matcha also shares the same skincare benefits as green tea and can moisturize your skin, making it easier to maintain a youthful complexion. Matcha accomplishes this by providing an ample supply of vitamin E, which is an essential vitamin for dermatological health. Like the catechins, the vitamin E concentration in matcha is significantly higher than in normal green tea, making it an invaluable addition to your skincare routine.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is an incredibly important protein that naturally occurs in most living creatures and is responsible for producing several body parts. While collagen is commonly viewed as a tool for cosmetic surgery, it is a natural resource our bodies require due to the rise of collagen implants. Collagen is the primary compound our bodies use to create our skin while developing in the womb. Without our initial collagen production, we would be born without skin, and our internal organs would be exposed to the elements.
Fortunately, our biology ensures we have ample collagen in the womb to develop the initial skin layer. Once we are born, the collagen left in our bodies is used as a reserve that our bodies use to repair damage to our skin. We also use it to repair damage to nails, certain organs, and hair, but the most commonly recognized effect of collagen is that it provides skincare benefits.
The problem with collagen is that we lose the ability to produce it as efficiently once we reach a certain age. As we age, we struggle to produce more collagen that our bodies can use to reinforce and rejuvenate the skin. Additionally, the collagen we have left deteriorates at a significantly faster rate. This means we eventually lose the ability to repair our skin and enjoy the youthful complexion we had in our earlier days.
While age contributes to collagen deterioration, some people are collagen deficient and do not have enough collagen despite being young. This can cause premature skin damage at a point in our lives when we are meant to maintain a healthy complexion.
While this can be discouraging, it is possible to restore your complexion even if your collagen levels are not where they are supposed to be. The main method is to take advantage of collagen supplements that can help bolster your dwindling collagen levels. Collagen supplementation has become common for individuals worldwide who struggle to maintain a healthy collagen concentration. Collagen supplementation has several benefits for your skin and overall health, but the full extent of what a collagen supplement can do for you might not be something you are familiar with.
Benefits of Collagen
The most obvious benefit of collagen supplementation is that it can enhance the strength of our skin and improve its elasticity and hydration. When the human body ages, our skin ages and wrinkles due to diminished collagen levels and compromised hormones. This means we show signs of age, such as wrinkles and dry skin, that can make us lose confidence in our appearance. Since our diminished collagen concentrations contribute to these effects, adding more collagen to our bodies seems like the most obvious solution.
The good news is that collagen supplementation can offer limited improvements to our complexion when we are dealing with age-related collagen depletion. The problem is that using collagen as a preventative tool when our collagen levels are healthy will not work. There is evidence proving that premature collagen supplementation does not affect your skin quality or health since your body will not allocate the extra collagen when it has a healthy reserve.
While collagen supplementation has a major role in skincare, it has other benefits that make it a worthwhile addition to your healthcare routine. Studies have connected collagen supplementation to reduced bone loss, joint pain, and gastrointestinal distress. Furthermore, collagen supplementation can provide enhancements to the quality and health of your hair and nails. These cosmetic and health benefits have turned collagen into an extremely popular substance that rivals other major skincare products. While collagen plays a more direct role in skincare than matcha, the question remains whether the 2 can be combined and whether such a combination yields significant benefits.
Can You Combine Matcha and Collagen?
The short answer to this question is "yes," you can safely combine your collagen supplement with your matcha. Believe it or not, combining these two substances is a longstanding practice amongst holistic skincare enthusiasts. The two have no harmful interactions, and they share several of the same benefits for the skin and body. Insofar as skincare is concerned, there are no unique benefits that can only be attained by combining them.
Rather, the benefit of combining matcha with collagen is that you reap both substances' benefits simultaneously. This means the catechins from the matcha and the natural effects of the collagen can enhance and improve our skin's health and quality while compounding other shared benefits. For example, matcha and collagen can provide minor bodily enhancements that promote weight loss.
Combining them means the benefits they offer for a specific issue can be employed to enhance the speed and effectiveness of their respective effects. While combining matcha and collagen is possible, finding a reliable vendor for either product is the biggest challenge.
Keep it All Natural!
Collagen and matcha are both extremely beneficial substances that can generate several enhancements for your health and appearance. While it might seem odd to think of tea and protein as important tools for skincare, their effects are scientifically supported. Most doctors caution their patients to avoid combining too many medications to avoid a harmful chemical reaction.
Fortunately, collagen and matcha are both naturally occurring substances that can synergize without issue. Unfortunately, finding a reliable supplement for either can be difficult since many vendors adulterate their products with artificial preservatives.
We at Bella All Natural believe that mixing artificial ingredients with natural compounds is a poor decision, so we have dedicated ourselves to providing all-natural supplements. Our products are designed to improve your health and appearance by taking advantage of natural substances like collagen to restore your body naturally.
While we do not offer matcha products, we can provide the collagen you need with a naturally enhanced flavor. Our Collagen Powder provides a daily dose of collagen and comes in 2 delicious flavors: strawberry and watermelon. We encourage you to visit our website and try our products directly, but regardless of your decision, remember always to keep it All Natural!
