Coffee tends to get all the hype in cafes and even among workers who need that energy boost early in the morning, but tea drinkers know that their favorite drink can do just the same work as coffee. Tea has been proven to have more health benefits, especially green tea called matcha.
Matcha has been a lot popular lately, from shots and lattes to puddings and cakes. It has also been circulating on Tiktok and YouTube since you can prepare it in so many ways.
Aside from its popularity, you might also love its variety of benefits. If you are eyeing to try something different, matcha may be the best bet.
Matcha is a healthy and popular kind of green tea that originated way back in the Tang Dynasty of China. The farming techniques of the tea were perfected in Japan for many years ⏤ it is why Japan is known to produce the best matcha.
People usually add milk or a bit of sugar to enjoy it. They also add ice since some prefer it cold.
Here are the health benefits of matcha:
1. Matcha Improves Your Heart
A cup of matcha green tea contains vitamins E and C, which help prevent heart diseases. Vitamin E helps the heart by detoxifying free radicals that may damage the artery walls, while vitamin C aids in the prevention of plaque build-up in the arteries.
It also has potassium, which is known to regulate blood pressure. And magnesium, which protects the heart from stress due to exercise.
2. Matcha Can Give You Energy
Matcha powder contains an amino acid called L-theanine. A 2016 study showed that drinking a beverage with 25 mg of L-theanine can effectively reduce stress and can even increase the gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid that functions as a neurotransmitter, in the brain.
Unlike coffee, drinking matcha doesn’t give you sudden dizziness or even a caffeine crash. Matcha also contains polyphenols that boost the alpha waves in your brain responsible for soothing the mind and allowing you to focus with ease.
3. Matcha Is Beneficial to Your Skin
Matcha contains a high level of vitamins B and C that can be good for your skin. The former can promote healthy skin cell turnover, while the latter can stimulate collagen production. If you have specific skin concerns but still need caffeine to function throughout the day, better switch from coffee to matcha tea. You will see changes and maybe even a glow.
4. Matcha Is Rich in Antioxidants
Matcha contains catechins, a class of plant compound that acts as a natural antioxidant. The number of catechins in matcha is 137 times greater than any other type of green tea. Matcha also contains vitamins, including vitamins A, B, C, E, and K.
The catechins can help prevent high cholesterol and bacterial infection. It can also save you from numerous diseases like coronary heart disease, stroke, and even meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).
However, matcha cannot provide the same results as modern MGD treatment options would have with your dry eye syndrome and MGD since they offer external examination and suitable treatment. Still, consuming matcha can prevent you from having MGD.
5. Matcha Can Make You Smarter
This may seem like a surprise, but matcha can also make you more intelligent! Many green tea components are proven to enhance cognitive performance. How so? Matcha’s caffeine typically has a higher concentration than that of green tea.
Each gram of matcha powder contains 35 milligrams of caffeine, and the stimulating effect provided by this can be heightened: increased attention span, enhanced memory, and even a quicker reflex.
6. Matcha Improves Your Oral Health
Because of its antioxidants, matcha can also get rid of the bacteria that grows in your mouth. These bacteria, which can stay in your mouth, causing bad breath, cavities, and tooth stain, can badly affect your oral health.
With matcha’s antioxidants and antibacterial properties, you can surely improve your mouth and suppress the growth of said bacteria, giving you healthier and fresher gums and teeth.
7. Matcha Can Help You Lose Weight
Matcha can be a natural way to speed up your metabolism. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition proved that green tea with caffeine significantly lowers your body weight and body mass index (BMI) compared to green tea without caffeine.
8. Matcha Boosts Your Immune System
Due to its antiviral and antibacterial properties, matcha can boost the immune system that protects you against flu and colds. Besides its high antioxidant contents, it has catechin called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) that assists the body’s production of T-cells which fights against pathogens and reduces inflammation. Matcha is quite known to contain ten times as many antioxidants as a regularly brewed green tea.
With all these listed benefits, matcha can surely help you in having a very healthy lifestyle. It is a better alternative to coffee and can help your mood, have a pleasant state of mind, lose weight, and encourage you to consume healthy food. Begin your matcha journey today and start brewing.