Matcha is having a moment. What are the health benefits of this green tea drink?

If you’re not already into the hobby, matcha is the powdered version of green tea. On the café’s menu, you might see hot or iced matcha lattes or even matcha-flavored cakes or pastries. A quick Google brings up countless recipes including matcha, both sweet and salty.

Retailers and cafe owners offered The main reasons for matcha’s popularity are its Instagrammable appearance and purported health benefits.

But what are the health benefits of matcha? That’s what the evidence says.

Firstly, what is matcha?

Matcha is a finely ground powder of green tea leaves obtained from the plant Camellia sinensis. This is the same plant that is used to make green and black tea. However production process Distinguishes matcha from green and black tea.

To prepare matcha, the tea plant is grown in the shade. After the leaves are collected, they are steamed and dried, and the stems are removed. The leaves are then thoroughly ground at a controlled temperature to obtain a powder.

production process It’s easier with green tea. The leaves are collected from unshaded plants, heated and then dried. We then immerse the dried leaves in hot water to make tea (whereas in the case of matcha, the entire leaf is consumed).

After picking, black tea leaves are exposed to air, which leads to oxidation. This turns the leaves black and gives the tea a different taste.

Source of Phytonutrients

Phytonutrients chemical compounds found in plants which have a number of benefits for human health. Matcha contains several types.

Chlorophyll gives plants such as Camellia sinensis their color is green. There is some evidence that chlorophyll may have health benefits – including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-obesity effects – due to its antioxidant properties. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, unstable molecules that harm our cells.

Theanine has been shown to improve sleep And reduce stress and anxiety. The only one other famous A dietary source of theanine is mushrooms.

Caffeine is a phytonutrient we know well. In addition to increasing alertness, caffeine has also demonstrated antioxidant effects and some protection against a range of chronic and neurodegenerative diseases. However, too much caffeine can have negative side effects.

Interestingly, shading plants while they are growing appears to change the composition of the diet leaves and may result in higher levels of these phytonutrients in matcha compared to green tea.

Another compound worth mentioning is called catechins, of which there are several different types. Matcha powder also has more catechins than green tea. They are strong antioxidants that were shown have a protective effect against bacteria, viruses, allergies, inflammation and cancer. Catechins also found in apples, blueberries and strawberries.

What are the real health benefits?

So we know that matcha contains a lot of phytonutrients, but does it provide any noticeable health benefits?

A review published in 2023 found only five experimental studies who gave matcha to people. In these studies, participants were given about 2–4 g of matcha per day (equivalent to 1–2 teaspoons of matcha powder) compared to a placebo in the form of capsules, tea, or food. Matcha reduces stress and anxiety, improves memory and cognitive function. There was no effect on mood.

A more recent study showed that consuming 2 g of matcha in older adults aged 60 to 85 years improved sleep quality. However, in young people In another study of ages 27 to 64, matcha had little effect on sleep.

A study in obese people found no difference in weight loss between the matcha group and the control group. In this study, participants were not randomized and people knew which group they were assigned to.

It can be assumed that if you consume the whole leaf, and levels of some phytonutrients may be higher due to growing conditions, matcha may have more nutritional benefits than green tea. But to my knowledge, there has been no direct comparison of the health effects of green tea with matcha.

There is a lot of evidence in favor of green tea

Although only a limited number of studies have looked at matcha to date, and none have compared matcha and green tea, there has been quite a bit of research done on the health benefits of drinking green tea.

A systematic review of 21 studies Drinking green tea has shown similar benefits to matcha for improving memory, as well as evidence of improved mood.

There is also evidence that green tea provides other health benefits. Systematic reviews have shown that green tea leads to weight loss in obese peoplelower levels certain types of cholesterolAnd lowering blood pressure. Green tea can also reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.

So, if you can’t get your hands on matcha at the moment, drinking green tea may be a good way to get your caffeine fix.

Although the data on green tea gives us some hints about the health benefits of matcha, we can’t be sure that they will be the same. However, if your local coffee shop has a good supply of matcha, there is no reason to believe that you should not continue to enjoy matcha drinks.

However, it may be best to save the matcha croissant or cronut for special occasions. When matcha is added to foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat, any health benefits that may be attributed to matcha may be negated.

Evangeline ManziorisDirector of the Nutrition and Food Sciences Program, Accredited Practitioner Dietitian, University of South Australia

This article has been republished from Talk under Creative Commons license. Read original article.