Why Everyone Should Be Drinking Matcha Green Tea
Matcha, matcha, matcha madness, everywhere has gone matcha crazy. From matcha tea, smoothies, bowls of matcha, matcha cookies. So what is matcha? And why has everyone gone crazy about it?
What is Matcha Green Tea?
Matcha is a special powdered green tea. You can buy it in shops, find it in coffee shops and buy foods containing matcha. Historically, it is used in a Japanese tea ceremony. But in Japan it is not just a case of sitting down for a cuppa in front of the T.V. It’s more of a ritual ceremony. The host known as the ‘machiai’ will set up the room and wait for the guests to arrive. The guests themselves have to walk across dew covered ground to remove any dust and impurities, where the host will greet them with a bow on entering the room. The guests also wash their hands and rinse their mouths out with water from a stone bowl, before the ritual begins. The host moves with grace and certain hand movements as he/she performs the ritual. The focus is very much on mindfulness and being in the moment.
Benefits of Drinking Matcha Green Tea?
Matcha is ground up which means you get the same benefits from actually eating a green tea leaf. Matcha has a much higher concentration of epigallocatechin gallates (EGCG) when compared to other green teas. EGCG is a phytochemical compound that acts like an antioxidant to fight cancer, viruses and heart disease.
Matcha Green Tea To Help Prevent Cancer
Matcha Green Tea is thought to have anti-carcinogenic effects due to its free radical scavenging capability.
A meta-analysis of multiple observational studies found that women who drank the most green tea had a 22 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer. Also, they had a lower chance of breast cancer consuming green tea compared to consuming black tea.
Other studies also showed that people who drank matcha green tea had a lower incidence of bladder cancers, prostate, colon and rectal cancers.
The National Cancer Institute states the following:
- Tea polyphenols may protect against damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) B radiation (13, 15), and they may modulate immune system function (16).
- Furthermore, green teas have been shown to activate detoxification enzymes, such as glutathione S-transferase and quinone reductase, that may help protect against tumour development
A study in mice also suggests that ECGC’s (present in green tea) may also help with chronic fatigue, see study here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20088847
Other studies suggest that green tea may help boost energy, help you lose weight, and speed up post exercise recovery.
How Can I Add Matcha Green Tea Into My Diet?
Here are five ways that you can add Matcha Green Tea into your diet:
- Drink matcha by mixing the powder with hot water and drinking as a tea instead of your morning coffee
- Add 1-2 tsp of matcha powder to your porridge or other cereals for breakfast
- Mix matcha powder to your bakery goods such as bread dough or cake batters
- Make homemade popcorn and add matcha powder instead of salt
- Add 1-2 tsp matcha to your yoghurt and mix with some berries for added antioxidants
Kathy YL Chan a tea writer, importer and Matcha expert drinks Matcha Green Tea every day. She thinks that matcha should be sipped from a bowl, not a cup or a mug. The dome shape of the bowl allows you to take in the fumes of the tea, which should be part of the ritual of drinking. She also thinks that you should drink matcha by just adding the powder and hot water with a special type of whisk. By adding milk and other sweeteners that you often see in coffee shops, you miss out on the flavour of the matcha. A study also suggested that you absorb less of the catechins if you add milk.
There is no denying that matcha green tea certainly looks interesting from a health perspective, and I have enjoyed sipping my matcha green tea recently. I like the idea of using tea as more of a ritual and maybe that’s something that more us should do, mindfulness meets tea parties. Getting together with family and friends, savouring the moment, and enjoying the moment and sampling some delicious matcha green tea. I can see how most people could only benefit from drinking matcha green tea, if only to replace their usual latte.
If you aren’t sold on the tea. I am going to start cooking with matcha, so look out for some of the recipes on my site soon, so you too can experience the benefits of matcha.
Have you been cooking with matcha? drinking matcha tea? I would love to hear your views and any recipes that you would like to share?
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14518774
http://epicmatcha.com/matcha-health-benefits/
http://www.prevention.com/food/matcha-tea-recipes
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/tea-fact-sheet#q3
https://draxe.com/matcha-green-tea-burns-fat-and-kills-cancer/
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