Getting Healthier with Matcha Green Tea
The history and cultivation of matcha green tea is exciting, but what matters most to most drinkers is its health-boosting effects. If you’re not taking matcha green tea regularly yet, you’re trailing behind the times!
The following are the main health benefits of this wonder beverage:
Cancer Prevention
In green tea are catechins, which are potent antioxidants that scavenge for hazardous free radicals in the body. According to a 2003 University of Colorado study, 1 cup of matcha green tea contains up to 137 times more EGCG antioxidants than there are in a cup of the typical green tea.
Anti-aging
Japan’s Okinawans are some of the oldest people living today. Their longevity has been attributed in part to habitual consumption of matcha green tea. While matcha green tea is already the most popular green tea in Japan, it is quickly becoming more popular around the world, thanks to its neutralizing effects on inflammation, oxidation, and aging.
LDL”BAD” Cholesterol Reduction
Based on a 2011 study, whose results were discussed in an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition issue, matcha green tea and other kinds of green tea or extracts, considerably lower LDL or bad cholesterol levels in the body when taken regularly.
Weight Control
A 1999 study featured in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that catechin-rich green tea extracts have thermogenic properties and enhance fat oxidation more than what the drink’s caffeine content could justify. More specificially, it was established that drinking green tea boosted thermogenesis, the body’s calorie-burning rate, from 8-10% to as high as 35-43%.
Yet another research demonstrated that drinking matcha green tea and exercising immediately after, led to 25% more fat burned at the end of the exercise. And here’s what – in both studies, it is suggested that matcha green tea can enhance not just the body’s fat-burning rate but also its resting metabolic rate!
Detoxification
As it is grown in the shade, matcha contains more chlorophyll than all other types green tea. Besides giving leaves their green color, chlorophyll also cleanses the body of an entire range of toxins and hormone disrupters.
Brain Power
Matcha green tea has up to 5 times more L-theanine, an amino acid known to fight stress, than the usual green tea. This allows the beverage to enhance focus and clarity of mind minus the jittery effects produced by coffee.
Healthy Bowel
Finally, matcha green tea leaves are rich in well-absorbed dietary fiber known for preventing constipation and stabilizing blood sugar. Dietary fiber benefits are many, but mainly, it works to promote healthy bowel movement and stabilize blood sugar levels in the body.
Who knows what other matcha tea benefits there are? Good thing the drink is now available in different convenient forms, such as matcha powder or teabags. For a fuller experience, you can even get a whole matcha tea set. Don’t forget to include a matcha whisk that does the job just right. Unless you try, you’ll never discover.