Skin herbs - Peppermint

Peppermint is thought to restore elasticity, tone your skin, minimize pores, and reduce swelling and redness. While peppermint is used topically because it cools, refreshes, stimulates, and revitalizes, it's just as beneficial when taken internally, where its many nutrients energize your skin from the inside out.

Peppermint contains manganese, vitamins A and C, fight the damaging effects of inflammation that you notice in the skin as redness. For this reason, peppermint reduces swelling and thereby improves the skin's complexion.

If you are looking for a refreshing way to jazz up your green tea, look no further. The green tea in this tasty drink increases the skin's elasticity and contains the powerful antioxidant EGCG, which prevents inflammation that causes puffy, red, and wrinkled skin.

Iced Minted Green Tea

Ingredients

200 g sugar (see note)

235 ml water 

1 bunch fresh mint 

950 ml boiling water

5 green tea bags 

Additional mint for garnish, optional

1. To prepare the sugar syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring as the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

2. Rinse and dry the mint. Gather the mint sprigs in your hand and crush and bruise them. Add the mint to the syrup, and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Strain through a sieve to remove the mint and pour the syrup into a jar or bottle. Discard the mint.

3. To make the iced tea, place the tea bags in a large pot or pitcher. Cover with the boiling water and let them steep for 4 or 5 minutes.

4. Remove the tea bags and let the tea cool to room temperature.

5. To serve, add enough of the mint syrup to sweeten and flavor the tea to your taste. (Leftover simple syrup can be stored at room temperature indefinitely and used to sweeten cold or iced drinks.) Pour the tea over ice cubes in large glasses and garnish with a leaf or two of fresh mint, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

Note: In place of sugar, use stevia or honey to sweeten the tea - your skin will thank you for it. Stevia and honey are much sweeter than sugar, so you'll need less. Use about half as much honey as you would sugar, or just a few teaspoons of stevia.

Recipe adapted from Feed your skin, starve your wrinkles : eat your way to firmer, more beautiful skin with the 100 best anti-aging foods / Allison Tannis