Green tea vs turmeric vs high flavanol cocoa for cellulite reduction and prevention - Advanced cellulite and skin tightening treatments in London, by LipoTherapeia Book the best cellulite treatment in London here

What is LipoTherapeia® Plus, how many sessions do I need, how much does it cost, where are you based and more FAQs

Green tea vs turmeric vs high flavanol cocoa for cellulite reduction and prevention

EGCG, curcumin and cocoa flavanols for cellulite

Green tea vs turmeric vs cocoa flavanols: which is best for detoxing, skin firmness, anti-aging and cellulite removal?

Most people look into popular superfood ingredients, especially turmeric, matcha tea and cocoa, to help them detox their body, either from the festive excesses in the winter or to get slimmer for summer in the spring.

Being big proponents of natural health, and specifically polyphenol-rich herbs, we have looked into the benefits and nutrient content of each of these popular superfoods and have come to some interesting findings.

Curcumin vs EGCG vs cocoa flavanols

Each of these food ingredients (turmeric, green tea and cocoa) has a key super-nutrient, i.e. an active molecule, responsible for the vast majority of its health and detoxifying - and aesthetic - benefits:

  • Turmeric has curcumin

  • Green tea boasts a molecule called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate)

  • Cocoa contains flavanols

These actives are found at different concentrations in each herb.

So which super-ingredient is more "super" than the rest?

Green tea: with 7% active ingredient content, it is clearly a winner

Personally I am a big fun of all three nutrients, but in terms of simplicity, concentration and cost, it’s a no brainer: if I had to choose one of those famous “super actives”, that would be the humble green tea - no need for expensive and cumbersome to drink matcha.

A cup of green tea is easy to prepare, costs next to nothing and provides you with a whooping 7% active molecules (EGCG), the most of any other drink or food.

Turmeric: 2% curcumin and a hassle to prepare

This is in contrast to turmeric, which is a hassle to prepare (due to all the yellowness everywhere around the kitchen) and only contains 2% active (curcumin).

Cocoa: 0.5% flavanols - plus needs milk and/or sugar

Plain cocoa fares even worse, as it usually needs milk and sugar to be palatable and only contains 0.5% actives (flavanols).

Blueberries: 0.2% proanthocyanidins

For comparison between these herbs and blueberries, the purported “king of antioxidants”, blueberries contain only 0.2% proanthocyanidins.

(On the other hand, you can easily consume 200g of blueberries, while for green tea, cocoa and turmeric we have to stick to about 2-10g per dose.)

The merits of each herb

All three superfood actives have quite similar and diverse health benefits:

  • All are powerful antioxidants

  • Curcumin is more known as an anti-inflammatory

  • EGCG is well known as an all round skin health booster

  • Cocoa flavanols are renowned for their microcirculation enhancement

So looking at the evidence, no scientist could really decide on which ingredient is best, quality-wise.

Quality vs concentration?

However, quantity-wise, things are much simpler.

Looking at the concentration of each active, it is quite easy to pick a winner: green tea contains 14x more polyphenols than cocoa and 3.5x more than curcumin.

Green tea takes five minutes to prepare, is super cheap and is widely available. On the other hand:

  • Curcumin needs another drink, such as a protein shake or a latte, to be added to, and will stain your teeth and everything it gets in contact with

  • Cocoa also needs a protein shake or milk and sugar (or sweetener), which is not the best way to “detox”

Green tea: it is easy to replicate health studies yourself with a few cups a day

  • With five cups of green tea a day you can get a whooping 2000mg * 7% * 5c = 700mg of EGCG, i.e. an amount compared to that used in clinical studies.

  • On the other hand, to have 1,000mg of curcumin used in many studies, you need 1,000mg : 2% : 5000mg/sp = 10 spoonfuls of turmeric. That’s a lot of turmeric lattes and very yellow teeth…

  • Regarding cocoa, with 0.5% flavanols, you need 200mg : 0.5% / 5000mg/sp = 8 spoonfuls of cocoa just to reach the 200mg of flavanols used in studies. That’s a lot of cocoa drinks.

There is nothing special about matcha tea - just high caffeine and the instagram pictures

And you don’t even need to use expensive - and more difficult to prepare and drink - matcha powder tea to get the benefits.

Matcha is indeed very hip and instagrammable but it typically contains the same amount of EGCG as a normal cup of quality green tea - contrary to what matcha sellers claim - but with a lot more caffeine, and at 10x times the price. Not really worth it.

And there is no point having decaf matcha - matcha was traditionally developed in Japan centuries ago for its high caffeine content - not for more antioxidants, which were unknown then.

High flavanol cocoa

High-flavanol cocoa, on the other hand, may contain as many polyphenols as green tea: a whooping 8% flavanols (normally 0.5% flavanols)

But it is more costly, almost impossible to source (most commercial high-flavanol cocoa varieties contain just 1% flavanols) and still needs a drink to be added to, such as a protein shake or milk, as well as sweetener.

So it does not really compare well.

The ultimate detox drink for perfectionists

So if you are looking for a drink to help you detoxify, fill your body with antioxidants, beat cellulite and help tighten your skin this year, green tea is the simplest and most effective choice.

On the other hand, if you are a perfectionist and are looking for the ultimate “detox drink”, why not add some turmeric, decaf sencha green tea powder and high flavanol cocoa in a whey or vegan protein shake?

It may not taste or look great (green, orange and brown don’t make a nice colour when mixed together), but it will provide you with the ultimate in antioxidant/polyphenol goodness.

Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.

This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.

As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.

Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.

And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.

Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, microneedling-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.

And our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.

We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.

Learn more, check prices and book an expert cellulite / skin tightening treatment at our London clinic.

Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 200mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.

We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.

Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.

On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.

Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic.

The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening

Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, LED phototherapy, cellulite and skin tightening?

Attend a half-day, 1-day, 2-day or 3-day one-to-one masterclass and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.

Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.

Learn more or check prices and book training at our London clinic or via Zoom.