Planet Organic Matcha 100g
Premium Japanese certified organic Matcha green tea powder.
Weight: 100g
1. High in Antioxidants
Antioxidants help prevent free radicals from damaging our cells. This is necessary to prevent disease, as well as to stay youthful. The ORAC value refers to the in vitro antioxidant capacity of a certain food. (1,2,3)
Matcha green tea powder has an incredibly high ORAC value at 1,384 per gram. As you use approximately one gram per cup, this is how much you get when drinking a cup of matcha!
2. May Help Protect Against Bad Cholesterol
Matcha tea powder may be able to help increase your levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-Cholesterol), while decreasing your levels of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-Cholesterol). In other words, matcha might help increase the levels of good cholesterol and decrease the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood. (4)
3. Might Help Lower the Glucose Level in Your Blood
Blood glucose has been linked to diabetes, so you want to keep your levels down. An aide in doing so, might be consuming green tea powder. Different studies on rats found it significantly lowered blood sugar levels. (4) (5)
4. May Help Reduce Stress
One study carried out on both mice and people found that: “High contents of theanine and arginine in matcha [exhibit] a high stress-reducing effect.” In plain language: the two amino acids found in matcha have a stress reducing effect. (6)
5. Matcha Is Probably Good for Your Liver
If you are suffering from a non-alcoholic fatty liver, or want to prevent getting one, matcha green tea could be your new best friend! A study showed that it can help reduce liver enzymes. A high level of liver enzymes is a sign something is wrong, so this is very good indeed! (7)
Another study that compared 15 studies done on green tea and various liver diseases, found that the occurrence of liver disease was generally lowered by drinking green tea. So, in other words, drinking matcha appears to protect your liver in more ways than one! (8)
Yet another study found that matcha can help protect the liver in patients — or this case, rats — with diabetes. (5)
6. Will Give Your Brain a Boost and Help You Stay Alert
Coffee has been known to be a student, or shift worker’s best buddy because of its caffeine content, However, a cup of java leaves many people feeling jittery side effects once the high is over, followed by a sharp crash. (9) (10)
A gram of good quality Japanese matcha contains about the same as half a cup of coffee, but it also contains L-theanine, a rare amino acid which helps prevent you from crashing after a caffeine high. It also promotes relaxation, as well as alertness. This is the reason matcha has often been used for meditation — you want to remain alert, but also relaxed. Or as one study put it: “L-theanine significantly increases activity of alpha waves which indicates that it relaxes the mind without inducing drowsiness.” (11) (12)
The fact that matcha green tea makes you feel relaxed, at the same time as it improves your alertness, is one of the main reason it’s become so popular in the Western world. People who want to avoid the jitters they get from coffee, as well as the caffeine crash, but still want to feel energised and alert, often switch to drinking matcha.
7. Help Cognitive Functioning
If you’re worried about what will happen to your brain function as you age, you will want to consider drinking matcha. Matcha might help improve cognitive functioning in the elderly (or prevent cognitive dysfunction). This might also be because caffeine consumption, in general, improves cognitive performance. (13) (14)
8. Cancer
Various studies have found that EGCG found in green tea may help inhibit cancer cells, as well as reduce the size of tumours. While these potential health effects of EGCG from green tea are promising, a lot of these findings have been from in vitro' and animal studies with a more recent 2020 systematic review concluding there was 'limited evidence for the beneficial effect of green tea consumption on the overall risk of cancer'. It’s also important to note that some of the studies used extracts from green tea (in high concentration), as opposed to just drinking a cup of green tea. (15) (16) (17) (18) (19)
The active compound that helps prevent and inhibit cancer, appears to be EGCG (a.k.a. the green tea catechins — the antioxidants). Interestingly, one study combined the EGCG with ascorbic acid (found, amongst other places, in lemon juice) with great effects. (19)
9. Heart Disease and Stroke
As mentioned earlier, green tea is good for cholesterol levels, which may translate into having benefits for heart health. Studies have also shown that it’s good for overall heart health and can, possibly also reduce stroke risk. However, studies have sometimes been contradictory where stroke is concerned. (20) (21)
10. Matcha and Weight Loss
Studies have shown that green tea extract can help you burn fat during exercise, increase overall energy expenditure and help with weight loss and maintenance. (22) (23) (24)
A 2008 study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also found that green tea extract caused an increase in energy expenditure, and increased metabolism rate (fat burning).
11. Matcha and Improved Sleep Quality
In one experiment, boys with ADHD were given L-Theanine twice daily. This led to improved sleep quality compared to a placebo. For those who suffer from sleep problems, but love caffeine hits, matcha may be the perfect coffee replacement! (25)
12. Green Tea Appears to Lower Blood Pressure
An analysis of 25 different studies, found that the consumption of green tea can lead to reduced blood pressure. This is great news for anyone suffering from hypertension. (26)
13. Improves Oral Health
If you fear having bad breath on a date, try drinking a cup of matcha tea. The polyphenols in tea help killing off bad smelling bacteria and green tea also appears to have a deodorizing effect. The effect is immediate, but does not last for longer periods of time, so sipping a cup of tea just before a kiss, is a great idea! (27)
As green tea helps inhibit bacteria, it also seems able to help prevent cavities. In fact, toothpaste companies have started catching up on this! Expect to find lots of very green toothpastes with matcha powder in them soon… (28)
14. Improved Skin Health
Green tea has shown promise, both when it comes to preventing skin cancer and preventing and treating acne. It can also help reduce oil production. Thanks to the many antioxidants and polyphenol found in matcha, both drinking it and applying it directly on the skin may help improve skin health. (29) (30)
As will be discussed a bit further down in this article, matcha also had anti-inflammatory properties. As acne is an inflammation, green tea could possibly help because of this as well.
That means that next time you’re making a face mask, you should consider adding some matcha powder!
16. Matcha and Your Immune System
When talking about the health benefits of matcha tea, many people refer to an improved immune system. This is because matcha contains EGCG, which has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. This means that it might help prevent fungal infections, like candida, viral infections, like herpes, hepatitis and influenza, and bacterial infections, such as staph infections. (31)
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614697/
- https://www.superfoodly.com/orac-values/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14518774
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26448271
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19735169
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213777/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4763469/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4538013/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22992376
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5107567/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18296328
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28784536
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25268837
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15723227
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11500915/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17998943/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15938647/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18426555/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14998086/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11470725
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19228856
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18326618
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16176615
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19597519
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22214254
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/effects-of-tea-intake-on-blood-pressure-a-metaanalysis-of-randomised-controlled-trials/AD10B8AF38E3184FCFDDC9778F833835
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18388413
- https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Dental_Caries_Prevention_by_Camellia_sinensis#Effects_of_Tea_on_Dental_Caries
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28036057
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390139/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3594666/
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