Matcha has skyrocketed in popularity lately, with matcha shots, lattes, teas, and even desserts appearing everywhere from health stores to coffee shops. Matcha tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, same as green tea, the only difference being its unique nutrition profile, and it is grown differently. Matcha tea has several benefits as it has a more significant amount of antioxidants and caffeine as it has the nutrients from the entire leaf.Let us explore this article to know all the benefits of Matcha tea and how to incorporate it into your daily routine. Read on!
What is Matcha Tea?:
Matcha tea is powdered green tea that was discovered during the reign of the Tang dynasty in China. The popularity of this tea has increased rapidly as time passed. Japanese culture has been using Matcha tea for the past 100 years and has become an integral part of their culture.
Matcha tea has a more significant amount of caffeine and antioxidants than green tea, as it contains nutrients from the entire leaf.
Although Matcha is a green tea, the speciality lies in the processing. The Uji region of Japan produces the best quality Matcha tea plant. People in this region allow only 20 percent of sun rays to reach the plants by covering the tea plants with bamboo shades, increasing the leaf’s chlorophyll levels.
Benefits of Matcha Tea:
The sublime superfood properties and delicious and delicate flavour of Matcha tea make it one of the best additions to your daily routine. Take a look at all the health, skin, and hair benefits of consuming Matcha tea regularly and fall in love with this grassy brew. The components present in Matcha tea have unearthed tremendous health benefits, and drinking Matcha tea is not a Japanese cultural fad anymore. You can get a glimpse into the health benefits of this tea before giving it a place in your routine.
Health Benefits of Matcha Green Tea:
1. Protective Against Cancer:
Protection against cancer might be one of the significant matcha green tea benefits. It has a type of catechin that has potent anti-cancer properties called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) (1). The EGCG in Matcha has helped kill off prostate cancer cells as per one test-tube study.
Further human studies are needed to see how the test-tube and animal studies translate for humans as these studies search for specific compounds found in Matcha in a test tube and animal studies.
2. Reducing Oxidative Stress:
The effect of oxygen-free radicles is overwhelming on the human body as it can damage your body cells. Moreover, oxidative stress can cause a wide range of diseases like heart failure, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer.
Matcha tea helps neutralize the harmful effects of oxidative stress with the high amounts of antioxidants present in it. So, to keep oxidative stress in check, include Matcha tea antioxidants in your daily routine (2).
3. Protects the Heart Health:
For heart health, Matcha tea powder is much more effective than simple green tea (3). Therefore, you can significantly reduce the risk of having a stroke or heart attack by introducing Matcha tea into your regular diet.
Drinking Matcha tea helps detoxify your body, keeps you energized throughout the day, and maintains your cardiovascular health significantly. But only Matcha tea isn’t enough; make sure to have a well-rounded diet and a proper exercise routine.
4. May Help Lower Blood Glucose Levels:
Diabetes has many painful complications and can be a dangerous disease if you don’t take the necessary steps. The benefits of drinking Matcha might include regulating blood glucose levels with the help of the high amounts of antioxidants called polyphenols (4).
According to studies, people who consumed a minimum of six cups of Matcha tea daily had a 33% lower chance of type-2 diabetes than people who drank less.
5. Promote Clarity of Mind:
The combination of caffeine and l-theanine present in Matcha work wonders for concentration making it one of the significant health benefits of matcha green tea (5). This is because the production of alpha waves is boosted with the compound L-theanine. These alpha waves provide you with profound mental clarity and a more alert state of mind by encouraging relaxation.
6. High in Antioxidants:
Matcha tea has a proactive antioxidant called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), same as green tea, as both of them come from the plant Camellia sinensis. However, some scientists say Matcha has 137 times more EGCG content than Chinese green tea (6).
Unlike most other teas where you throw away the leaves after preparing tea, you can consume the whole leaves with Matcha.
7. Reducing the Risk of Liver Disease and Preventing Liver Damage:
The liver helps process nutrients, metabolizes drugs, and flushes toxins from your body, and Matcha might be good for the liver. In addition, matcha tea is found to prevent damage to both kidneys and livers, according to a study conducted on diabetic rats (7).
The elevated liver enzymes signify the damage in the liver, and consumption of Matcha tea significantly reduces these enzyme levels in your liver (8). Therefore, you can decrease the risk of liver disease by including Matcha tea in your diet.
However, more human trials are needed to confirm the beneficial effects of Matcha tea.
8. May Aid Weight Loss:
Weight loss can be another benefit of matcha tea increases the hormone CCK (cholecystokinin) with the help of EGCG(epigallocatechin gallate) present in it (9). Therefore, you can avoid the sneaky consumption of calories by drinking a sip of Matcha in between the meals.
We also overeat when we are cranky or sad. Matcha tea helps you maintain the relaxed mode, which further reduces the consumption of junk.
9. Boost the Immune System:
Who loves being sick? Nobody does. A robust immune system is essential to protect your body from thousands of viruses and bacteria present in the environment. Matcha tea helps fight bacterial and viral infections by effectively strengthening your immune system as it has a particular catechin antioxidant called EGCG (10). These antioxidants help inhibit many disease-causing microorganisms by binding themselves to the cells in the body.
Skin benefits of Matcha tea:
10. Reduce Premature Skin Aging:
Ageing skin is a living nightmare for every woman, and we are always searching for natural remedies to deal with it before too late. Improving skin elasticity and protection against UV damage are significant benefits of matcha green tea for the skin. In addition, it helps protect your skin from the free radicles, adds volume by stimulating elastin production (11).
11. Helps with Inflammation:
The anti-inflammatory properties of the antioxidants, especially EGCG present in Matcha tea, helps reduce inflammation associated with certain skin conditions. In addition, it gives your skin a soothing relief and is gentle on all skin types (12). You can walk out of your house with confidence as this green tea reduces the redness significantly.
12. Help to Reducing Puffiness:
Matcha tea is loaded with antioxidants that play a crucial role in keeping your skin healthy and giving it a unique glow. These antioxidants prevent cell damage under the delicate under-eye areas, which is better for immunity (13). Using Matcha tea regularly will help fight free radicles in your body, reducing the puffiness under your eyes as it has anti-inflammatory properties.
13. Treat Dark Circles:
Dark circles have become a common issue among both men and women, and among many reasons, slower blood circulation is the prominent one. Consuming Matcha tea helps improve circulation and help constrict blood vessels as it contains caffeine. You can relieve the appearance of dark circles by using Matcha tea regularly.
14. May Help to Reduce Acne:
Acne is yet another issue faced by people of all ages, irrespective of gender, and we all are in search of natural remedies. Acne is a common sight for people with oily skin. Matcha tea reduces the production of oil and shrinks pores, thereby reducing the appearance of acne with the help of the tannins present in it.
Hair Benefits of Matcha Tea:
15. Improve Hair Growth:
Matcha tea offers exceptional benefits for hair as it has high amounts of antioxidants. It helps faster hair growth by stimulating dermal papilla cells and hair follicle growth with the help of the antioxidant EGCG (14). In addition, using Matcha tea reduces the compound responsible for hair loss as it has a good amount of catechins, thereby promoting hair growth significantly.
It also decreases the number of split-ends with its polyphenol content that helps fortify hair roots and follicles.
16. Helps Improve Blood Circulation to the Scalp:
Matcha tea helps promote hair growth by improving blood circulation to the scalp as it has high amounts of vitamin E. This antioxidant supports new hair growth by protecting, strengthening ad nourishing your scalp and hair thoroughly. In addition, matcha tea gives your scalp an added protection with its anti-inflammatory properties (15).
What is the Difference: Matcha Tea vs. Green Tea:
If you still have a nagging question whether which is better, Matcha tea or green tea?
- When compared to green tea, Matcha tea has ten times more antioxidants.
- Moreover, Matcha tea tastes excellent and uses the whole leaf.
- But that doesn’t mean green tea is not good. On the contrary, both Matcha tea and green tea are good for your health.
- However, if you want quick results, Matcha tea is the one you need to pick.
Matcha tea is quickly gaining popularity among health enthusiasts because of its concentrated antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds compared to green tea, making it a healthier option. This article presents you with all the benefits of consuming Matcha tea and how easy it is to incorporate into your diet. We hope you found this article helpful, and we steered you in the healthier direction for tea.
Disclaimer: The tips and suggestions mentioned in this article are for informational purposes and not a replacement for professional medical advice. It is always safe to consult a doctor or dietician before trying out anything new.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are there any side effects of drinking Matcha tea?
Ans: Although Matcha tea has several benefits, you might experience the following side effects if you drink more than five cups of Matcha tea in a day.
- Constipation.
- Anxiety.
- Nausea.
- Headache.
- Insomnia.
- Heartburn.
- Diarrhea.
2. Can anyone drink Matcha tea?
Ans: Although it is safe to drink Matcha tea in moderation, it is safe to consult your doctor before consuming this green tea, especially if you are pregnant or have pre-existing medical conditions.
3. Can we prepare Matcha tea using cold water?
Ans: To prepare Matcha tea, you can use both hot and cold water. But if you want to prepare hot matcha tea, make sure to keep the water below the boiling point.
