What is Matcha Tea?
Have you recently asked what matcha tea is? Matcha tea has been exploding in popularity throughout the health and nutrition communities in recent years. While many people still haven’t heard about it, those who have are quickly becoming strong advocates of this incredible tea. It can provide you with a wide range of different health benefits, and help you to improve your overall well-being. Whether you’ve enjoyed it in the past or you’re just hearing about it for the first time, this is one health drink you will want to take advantage of right away.
What Exactly Is Matcha Tea?
Matcha tea is finely ground powder made from organic green tea. When you brew tea with matcha, you are getting the full tea leaf rather than just what the hot water can extract when you use tea bags. Imagine, if you can get incredible health benefits just from soaking tea leaves in hot water, how much more powerful it would be if you consume the entire leaf!
That is what matcha tea does. The tea plant used for matcha tea is grown in a highly shaded area, which helps increase the total amount of chlorophyll as well as amino acids within the leaves. This process helps improve the overall health benefits that you’ll get from drinking the tea. (Article continues below)
What Nutrients are Found in Matcha Tea?
Matcha tea is a more potent form of green tea, but what does that mean when it comes to overall nutritional value? To put it simply, you’re going to be getting many times more vitamins and minerals in this type of tea than you could with regular green tea. Each serving is loaded with vitamins A, B, C, E, and K and many other trace minerals. It also has tons of antioxidants such as polyphenols, catechins, and chlorophyll. The amino acids L-theanine and theophylline are also there at high levels. To sum it up, experts say that you would have to drink about ten cups of green tea to get the same nutritional benefits as one serving of matcha tea.
What Health Benefits Does Matcha Tea Provide?
Given the nutrition you will get from this type of tea, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that there are many amazing health benefits associated with it. Adding even just one cup of matcha tea to your daily routine can give you some incredible benefits that simply aren’t possible with almost any other foods or drinks.
Matcha Tea Boosts Your Immune System
The antioxidants found in this tea boost your immune system, which means you won’t be as susceptible to getting common colds, the flu or any other common illnesses. Even more serious illnesses are going to be resisted more so you won’t get sick nearly as often. When you do get sick, the illness will likely be less severe and won’t last nearly as long as if you were not getting these nutrients.
Avoid Type-2 Diabetes
If you are at risk for type-2 diabetes, this tea is an excellent way to reduce your risk. The antioxidants found in this tea have been
shown to reduce the hepatic glucose content in diabetic individuals and linked to preventing it as well. It also helps support your kidneys. Kidney function is closely related to diabetes.
Heart Health Benefits
If you’re looking for a great way to strengthen your heart, you’ll want to consider adding this tea too. A study found that the epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that is contained within this type of tea can help fight cholesterol. So, whether you’re looking to keep your heart healthy or your doctors have warned you about high cholesterol levels, matcha tea might be a great, natural way to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Energy Booster
If you ever need a boost of energy, but don’t like the jittery feeling that caffeine gives you, matcha tea is an excellent option. The caffeine in this tea is a different type than the one found in coffee and does not cause the jitters or raise your blood pressure. You’ll just get a nice and even boost of energy that can keep you going for hours. You’ll also get the mental alertness that many people love about
coffee, but again, without the unwanted effects that some may get.
Great for Fighting Cancer
The high levels of antioxidants found in this type of tea make it one of the best anti-cancer beverages possible. Research has shown that consuming this tea can help dramatically to reduce the risk of
bladder cancer as well as
colorectal cancer. While additional study is needed, there is widespread belief that the antioxidants in this tea can help to fight virtually every other type of cancer as well.
Adding Matcha Tea to Your Diet
If you’re interested in adding this tea to your diet, you’re in luck. It is incredibly easy to do. First, you can brew it, just like normal tea in hot water. Either use a filter for a cleaner tea (with slightly fewer nutrients) or mix it directly into the water. In addition to that, you can also add matcha tea to a variety of recipes to add a mild flavor that most people enjoy. It can also be mixed into smoothies, baked into cakes or candies, added into ice-cream and much more. Some have even mixed it into alcoholic beverages! There are many ways to add matcha to your day without having just to stick to drinking the tea and enjoy all of the wonderful benefits.
