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Q: Is matcha healthy?
A: Walk into any coffee shop or health food store and you’re almost guaranteed to find this brilliant jade-colored powdered green tea. It’s mixed into lattes, milkshakes, sodas, hot chocolates, milkshakes, and even in desserts like sundaes and brownies. Many recommend it as an antioxidant-packed superfood that can prevent cancer, improve memory, and reduce stress and anxiety. That’s enough to persuade just about anyone to drink matcha. But does it really live up to the hype?
What is matcha?
Matcha is a type of powdered green tea that has traditional roots in tea ceremonies in Japan and has become popular in many Western countries. It comes from the same plant (Camellia sinensis) as other caffeinated teas and is grown in an unusual way: the tea plant is protected from excessive sunlight for much of its growing period so that it can produce more amino acids and biologically active compounds. active. such as chlorophyll and theanine. Once the leaves are harvested, they are ground into a fine powder.
[ Donal Skehan: I want to be a matcha man ]
Does matcha have health benefits?
While other green tea leaves are usually steeped whole in hot water, “matcha is much more concentrated in terms of ingredients because it’s made from ground whole tea leaves,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology and department chairman. in nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
And while the research on its health benefits isn’t definitive, experts say that matcha contains large amounts of potentially beneficial compounds.
Antioxidants: “As we age or are exposed to things in the environment, like ultraviolet light or carcinogens, we end up with reactive oxygen species and they do harmful things like damage our cell membranes,” says Jamie Alan, associate professor of pharmacology. and toxicology at Michigan State University.
Antioxidants, which are abundant in matcha, are substances that “neutralize” those harmful molecules, says Alan, preventing a “whole cascade of further damaging events.” Therefore, theoretically, the tea may help protect the body’s cells from damage and reduce the risk of certain health problems, such as heart disease or cancer, Hu and Alan say, although this has not been proven.
L-theanine: This unique amino acid, which can be found in green tea and certain mushrooms, is another component of matcha that experts highlight as having potential health benefits. However, the evidence on how it might do so is weak, says Hu. Some small placebo-controlled trials have suggested that L-theanine may improve cognitive performance and reduce stress. But there have only been animal studies and a few small human trials, both experts noted.
Caffeine: While most people may not think about the health effects of caffeine when they grab their morning cup of joe, the evidence for its health benefits is pretty strong, says Hu. Studies have found, for example, that caffeine can increase cognitive function and alertness and speed up metabolism. And regular consumption of coffee, the main source of caffeine for adults in the United States, has been associated with a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and age-related cognitive decline, says Hu.
[ Donal Skehan: Matcha green tea ice cream ]
So is matcha healthy?
Few studies have focused specifically on how matcha might benefit health, so it’s hard to say for sure. But scientists have a pretty good understanding of the benefits of green tea. “There is a lot of research on green tea and the general evidence indicates that it is a healthy drink,” says Hu. “We don’t have similar evidence for matcha, but since matcha has the same ingredients as green tea, just in much higher concentrations,” he continued, it’s probably safe to infer that it offers the same benefits.
Alan also stressed that while matcha is generally safe, certain people, including those who must limit their caffeine intake due to a health condition, should probably avoid it. “If you’re prone to arrhythmias or if you have heart disease, matcha could be bad for you,” he says. People who are sensitive to caffeine may also want to skip the matcha because it could cause anxiety and disrupt sleep.
Overall, Hu says, matcha can be a healthy addition to your diet, as long as you’re mindful of the amount of sugar and other unhealthy ingredients you’re consuming along with it. The amount of sugar and cream that people add to their daily coffee or tea “has become so enormous that it actually offsets the health benefits,” says Hu. And if you eat a lot of fast food or smoke cigarettes regularly, don’t expect matcha to counteract those unhealthy choices.
“If you develop the habit of consuming matcha regularly, you may get some health benefit in the long run,” says Hu. “But if you just sprinkle a little bit of matcha powder on top of the chocolate ice cream, then I don’t think it will do much.” — This article originally appeared on The New York Times
