The Many Health Benefits Of Matcha

Matcha is very popular.  From drinking it in teas, lattes, or even baking with it, matcha not only is popular but it also has lots of health benefits as well. 

Matcha is made from green tea leaves, the difference of the matcha leaves than other green teas is that the plants are shaded or covered for about twenty days before harvest.  This increases the chlorophyll levels which in return allows the plant to produce more amino acids.  Matcha when prepared also uses the entire leaf which gives more nutrients as well.  

Matcha is considered a superfood.  You can find it in tea form, powders, shots, or lattes.  It is being highly used in baking and adding to smoothies, or even sprinkling a little on top of oatmeal or granola.  The problem some people find with matcha is that it does have a bit of a grassy taste and smell, so use sparingly so that you aren’t overwhelmed by that.  

Health Benefits Of Matcha

One of the biggest benefits of matcha is that it is extremely high in antioxidants.  Antioxidants help stabilize harmful radicals in your body and help prevent chronic diseases. 

It is a great immune booster. 

Matcha has been shown to help inflammation, slow down cartilage breakdown. 

It also increases your insulin sensitivity which helps with hormone imbalances or PCOS. 

The catechin antioxidant that matcha contains is EGCg (epigallocatechin gallate).  This catechin can help lower blood pressure as well as lower cholesterol.  Lowering your cholesterol can promote good heart health.  EGCg can also help lower triglycerides.  To gain the full benefits of EGCg you should be consuming about 100-200mg a day, which can be from about 2-5 cups of matcha tea daily.  

Matcha can boost brain function.  It can help with your attention, reaction time, and even help your memory.  Matcha is higher in caffeine than other teas, but it doesn’t cause you to feel jittery after drinking it.  

Another benefit of matcha is that it can help you lose weight.  The tea helps speed up metabolism, and increases your fat burning.  Adding it to a smoothie during the day can actually help you shed some of the excess weight you may have. 

You may also notice that your dental health is better after adding in matcha to your daily diet.  This is because it isn’t acidic.  So it leaves the acid levels in your mouth more balanced, than if you drank a coffee every morning.  You may also be getting some fluoride from off the leaves as well as fluoride from your water giving you a double boost. 

Not only may it benefit your teeth, but it also is good for the skin.  You can treat yourself to a matcha face mask to help slow down signs of aging.  

Matcha has also been studied in helping the body defend against cancer.  Studies have shown that matcha may stop the growth of cancer cells.  In one particular study it was even shown that a tumor shrunk after matcha was consumed daily.  

Though matcha is high in caffeine, it increases the amount of serotonin and dopamine that your body produces to help aid sleep.  

Matcha also contains vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin C, vitamin F, and vitamin P.  All of which are needed vitamins. 

Preparation & Consumption

Matcha is easily prepared, even adding powder to a smoothie or other drink.  There are lots of ways you can use it in baking, lattes, or traditional tea.  Since the whole leaf is consumed you get a whole lot more antioxidants that other teas, as well as it being considered a superfood.  If you decide to go for matcha in a powder form, be careful of the kind you buy.  Quality is key to keeping it to it’s healthiest potential.  As well as double check that the powder you are buying isn’t sweetened.  The taste of matcha is not for everyone but to get the best from it, you want it as organic as possible.  

Read More:  Is Green Tea Good For Me?

Final Thoughts

Matcha can help boost immunity, help lower blood pressure and cholesterol and lots of other health benefits.  Be careful with how much you drink if you respond to the caffeine negatively.  If you drink more than one cup and feel jittery afterwards you may want to stick with one cup a day.  How matcha is grown and that the whole leaf is consumed makes it packed with all those antioxidants more so than other teas.