Matcha Tea the Green Gold

You’ve all heard lately about matcha green tea and how everyone is so obsessed with it. Matcha tea leaves are the same as green tea but concentrated and grounded into a fine powder. Since matcha is grounded into powder, you end up drinking the whole leaf and not only drinking the soaked leaves as with regular green tea, which makes it richer in health benefits.

Health benefits:

· Lowers cancer risk

Matcha tea is high in the compound “catechin” (EGCG), which has anti-cancer effects. A number of studies showed that patients who drank matcha tea had a significantly lower risk of different types of cancer. A test-tube study showed that the compound EGCG was effective in killing off prostate cancer cells and stopped its growth.

· Better brain function

There are two compounds in matcha tea are considered to play a role in alertness and better brain activity; these compound are, L-theanine and caffeine.

L-theanine is an amino acid (protein) that increases dopamine (the feel-good hormone) and alpha waves in the brain, which decreases stress levels, improves memory in older people, and increases relaxation and alertness.

The amount of caffeine in matcha tea will not crash your energy after caffeine consumption as with drinking coffee.

In other words, the combination of caffeine and L-theanine in matcha tea results in alertness and calmness at the same time.

· Lower heart disease risk

Matcha tea can reduce blood pressure, triglycerides, and LDL “bad cholesterol and increase HDL good cholesterol in the blood. A study has shown that drinking matcha tea daily can reduce the risk of dying from heart attacks and strokes by up to 26%.

· Helps in weight loss

Matcha green tea increases the rate of metabolism and boosts fat burning for a long-term weight loss. The compound “catechins” is very effective in reducing body weight, as shown in one study that a 12-week consumption of matcha tea resulted in a significant reduction in weight, BMI, fat mass and waist circumference.

· Better exercise performance

Matcha tea can help in muscle recovery by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress caused by exercise. The effect of matcha tea in enhancing exercise performance comes from the compound “ECGC”.

· Lowers type 2 diabetes risk

Researches suggest that adding matcha tea to your diet can control blood sugar levels and significantly reduces insulin levels as well.

Matcha tea has double the health benefits of regular green tea, due to the fact that it’s made from the whole leaf. You can drink matcha tea with water or milk, add it to your oatmeal, smoothie, or baked goods. Make sure you don’t drink more than 2 cups of matcha tea per day.

Sources:

Healthline. (2019). 7 Proven Health Benefits of Matcha Tea.

Dr. Axe. (2019). Matcha Green Tea Fights Cancer and Helps Weight Loss?.

Healthline. (2019). Matcha — Even More Powerful Than Regular Green Tea?.