Matcha “Magic”: The Health Benefits of Matcha
If you’ve found yourself clicking on this page, you obviously have some sort of affinity with matcha tea. From beginner matcha drinker to connoisseur, it is beneficial to know how matcha can improve your health on a day to day basis. Powdered matcha contains antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that deliver health benefits no other food, drink, or traditional green tea can.
It is well known that green tea is good for you, but matcha takes it to another level. When you make conventional green tea, you steep the leaves in hot water and discard most of the nutrients that the leaves contain. Matcha is the product of dried green tea leaves that are ground into a fine powder. Since matcha uses the entire leaf and none of the nutrients are lost, matcha has many health benefits.
Matcha benefits were first realized thousands of years ago in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Recently, in the past decades, matcha has been introduced into the mainstream as a superfood and has been proven by studies to have many health benefits. Some research specifically has measured matcha powder as the ultimate carrier of health benefits, where since the entire leaf is consumed, you get the full power of key vitamins, minerals, amino-acids, and antioxidants. Some of these benefits caused by these nutrients are reduced stress, higher energy, better cognitive and emotional health, healthier skin and teeth, and disease and environmental protection.
Some cognitive advantages of matcha are the effects of reduced stress, heightened focus, and increased cognitive and emotional health. Japanese Zen monks were some of the first to learn about the high concentration of the amino acid L-theanine, which reduces stress, and promotes a sense of peaceful focus which has long been the perfect aid to meditation. The average person may be able to use matcha to their benefit as a combatant for the stress of every-day life. The energy you get from matcha is also much more calm and less anxiety-inducing than for example, coffee or espresso. This is very beneficial especially to those who are sensitive to caffeine. It gives you an even, steady climb of energy without the crash. This calming effect does not induce drowsiness but instead a clear and alert mind with greater focus.
Active amino-acids like L-theanine and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) are concentrated in matcha. They have positive influences on neurochemistry because they act on serotonin and dopamine systems, and are likened to increase a sense of wellbeing and happy outlook. Compared to coffee, matcha doesn’t have any empty calories that can make anxiety worse due to an excess of caffeine. The neuromodulating properties of matcha make for a cleaner source of energy that may even improve symptoms of depression. Naturally, the nutrients in matcha gives your brain a chance to create more neurotransmitters.
Matcha not only benefits your cognitive health, but your physical health as well. When you consume matcha before a workout, it can increase blood flow to muscles, protect the heart, and increase the availability of the critical muscle fuel called glycogen. Also, when taken before or after workouts, the potent antioxidants reduce exercise-induced oxidative stressors. These stressors make recovery take longer, and can be difficult on your body to tackle on its own. This means that matcha will make you feel better before, during, and after your workout!
Lastly, matcha protects against disease and environmental pollution. Matcha contains catechins, a family of polyphenols known to assist in our bodies’ antioxidant activities. This group also contains the well-known epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). As one of the world’s most potent antioxidants, EGCG is suggested to reduce inflammation and protect the heart and brain from disease, and is potentially promising in studies against cancer. EGCG is also instrumental in protecting your body from the damaging effects of air pollution, harmful UV radiation, and chemicals used in our daily environment.
Matcha tea actually has many naturally occurring antioxidants, not just EGCG. These work together to protect against a host of illnesses and common health problems. Most importantly, these include cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease,Parkinson’s disease, and other degenerative issues.
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Sources:
https://matcha.com/pages/matcha-health-benefits