7 Amazing Health Benefits Of Matcha Green Tea

You’ve probably seen it talked about on health-food blogs or heard about it from a friend of a friend, but maybe you haven’t given much thought to this oddly-named beverage. Matcha tea – is it everything people say it is?

What Exactly is Matcha?

Matcha is powdered green tea, so it’s generally sold in a canister, not in little tea bag like you may be used.  In fact, the powdered form is one of the things that makes it very versatile.

Before it became trendy and showed up in coffee shops around the Country, Matcha was used in China and Japan over 1000 years ago in tea ceremonies. The Tang Dynasty, which ruled over the 7^th – 10^th centuries in China, used to steam green tea leaves and form them into bricks for easier transport and trading. The bricks were then roasted and pulverized into a powder.

It was a Japanese Buddhist monk studying in China who eventually brought the powdered tea back to his temple in Kyoto, Japan. At that time, Matcha was only allowed to be made in very limited quantities, making it an instant status symbol. Kind of like the Dom Pérignon of its day, only green.

Eventually, all classes of people were able to buy and brew this special tea, and it was adopted by tea drinkers and health fanatics all over the world.

7 Amazing Health Benefits of Matcha Tea

Not all “superfoods” are as beneficial as the hype makes them seem. However, It turns out Matcha really is a nutritional powerhouse. Here are 7 reasons you may want to start drinking it.

1. It’s Loaded with Antioxidants

Antioxidants are incredibly important to our health and well-being because they fight the free radicals that seek to do our body harm. While many fruits and veggies offer varying amounts of antioxidants, none quite as much as this earthy green beverage. Just one bowl of Matcha contains 5x as many antioxidants as any other food – the highest rated by the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) method.

But if we’re going to talk about antioxidants, we have to talk about Catechin, EGCg. ¹ Catechins are the most potent of all antioxidants. The EGCg kind makes up about 60% of the catechins in green tea and is widely recognized for its cancer-fighting properties. Studies have shown that Matcha tea contains over 100x more EGCg than any other tea you can buy.

2. Promotes Calm

It’s no wonder Chinese Daoists and Japanese Zen Buddhist monks all drank this stuff – it has an uncanny knack for promoting a sense of calm. You try sitting for hours meditating without a sense of peace.

It turns out what inspires this calm is an amino acid called L-Theanine, which promotes the production of alpha waves in the brain which induces relaxation without the inherent drowsiness caused by other sedatives or muscle relaxers. ²

3. Improves Brain Function

Another benefit of the amino acid L-Theanine is that it produces dopamine and serotonin. Not only do these two chemicals enhance mood, they also improve memory and promote better concentration.

4. Boosts the Immune System and Supports Overall Health

Those catechins I mentioned? They also have antibiotic properties, which are beneficial to your overall health. Matcha tea also boasts significant quantities of potassium, vitamins A & C, iron, protein, and calcium.  Studies have even shown that the nutrients in Matcha may have the ability to inhibit the attacks of HIV on human T-cells.

5. Helps with Weight Loss

Let’s revisit that specific catechin called EGCg. Research shows that catechins, particularly this one, have a positive impact on body mass index. ³

In one study that lasted for 12 weeks, men with the same body mass index and waist circumference were given green tea to drink. Half the group drank green tea containing 690 mg of catechins, the other drank green tea with only 22 mg of catechins. Everything else about the men’s diets and lifestyles were the same.

At the end of the study, the group that drank 690 mg of catechins each day had greatly reduced their body mass index, waist circumference, body fat mass and subcutaneous fat area. ⁴

Other studies have suggested that the EGCg in Matcha has an ability to boost metabolism during moderate-intensity exercise. Researchers found that green tea extract was able to increase participant’s fat-burning abilities by 17% when they cycled for 30 minutes.

If you’re trying to lose weight, adding Matcha to your diet may be just the thing that helps you get past those plateaus.

6. Increases Energy Levels and Endurance

In ancient Japan, Samurai warriors drank Matcha tea to give them energy to fight important battles. Your battles may be different, like getting your report in on time or training for that marathon, but you can have the same edge the Samurais had. Matcha’s unique combination of nutrients will power your day. And, as a bonus, because of the calming effects of L-Theanine, you can feel energy without the dreaded side-effects of other stimulants like nervous jitters.

7. Detoxifies the Body

During the last three weeks before tea leaves are harvested to be made into Matcha, the leaves are covered to deprive them of sunlight. This causes a tremendous increase in chlorophyll production in the new growth of these plants. The resulting high levels of chlorophyll in Matcha green tea not only give this tea its beautiful vibrant green color, but also make it a powerful detoxifier capable of naturally removing chemical toxins from the body.

Cooking with Matcha

If you’re not a tea drinker, or don’t particularly like the grassy/earthy taste, you may find you want to add it to a smoothie or cook with the powder to mask the natural flavor while still reaping the benefits.

The powder can be added to a variety of recipes to boost nutritional value. If you consider yourself a little bit of a chef, you might want to play around and see what interesting and healthy concoctions you can come up with.

Final Thoughts

Matcha tea is a nutritional powerhouse that offers many health benefits. Yes, the taste is definitely acquired, but if the Samurais did it, so can you. It should be mentioned that Matcha does have a higher level of caffeine, so those who are trying to avoid caffeinated beverages should avoid it. For everyone else, drink up!

Resources:

[1] Singh BN, Shankar S, Srivastava RK. Green tea catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG): mechanisms, perspectives and clinical applications. Biochem Pharmacol. 2011 Dec 15;82(12):1807-21

[2]  Nobre AC1, Rao A, Owen GN. L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17 Suppl 1:167-8

[3] Thielecke F, Rahn G, Böhnke J, Adams F, Birkenfeld AL, Jordan J, Boschmann M. Epigallocatechin-3 gallate and postprandial fat oxidation in overweight/obese male volunteers: a pilot study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jul;64(7):704-13

[4] Nagao T, Komine Y, Soga S, Meguro S, Hase T, Tanaka Y, Tokimitsu I. Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan;81(1):122-9