Nowadays, you can find just about any dessert or drink in matcha tea flavour. But what is the best way to drink matcha green tea to benefit weight loss?
Growing up I had the good fortune of drinking matcha green tea long before it became a health trend. My father practices the art of Japanese Tea Ceremony and I fondly remember going to events with my dad where he would perform the tea ceremony in front of an audience. I have to admit, I've become a bit of a matcha tea snob due to my upbringing, because I like to appreciate its full flavour in the original form, no sugar or cream added.
Matcha tea is sold in a powdered form in small batches, usually in a metal tin. I always buy organic brands to avoid ingesting the pesticides sprayed on tea leaves. There's a bit of a trick to making it smooth and not lumpy. If you've never made matcha tea before, check out this "how-to" video:
Matcha has tons of antioxidant power and contains a compound called EGCG which promotes thermogenesis ("create heat") to increase the body's ability to breakdown body fat. (The caffeine in it helps with that too. :))
When consumed daily, green tea or green tea extract (i.e. its supplement form) has also been shown to benefit your body's ability control blood sugar and lower risk factors for heart disease.
One of these risk factors for heart disease is LDL cholesterol. In a study from BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2018), participants with high LDL-cholesterol were given green tea extract supplements for 6 weeks. Blood tests at the end of the 6-weeks showed a reduction in LDL and an increase in leptin (a hormone produced in fat cells that controls appetite).
Here are the overall benefits of matcha green tea & green tea extract:
Increases processes that promote the breakdown of body fat
Improves your body's ability to control blood sugar
Reduces risk factors for heart disease such as LDL cholesterol
Increases leptin to control appetite
If you are working on improving your body composition, matcha green tea might be a great addition to your day! If you're not used to its taste, you could try a bit of unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk in it, but remember that it's always better to eat your calories than to drink them. :) Enjoy!
Be well and happy,
Ref: Diepvens K, Westerterp KR, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Obesity and thermogenesis related to the consumption of caffeine, ephedrine, capsaicin, and green tea. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2007 Jan;292(1):R77-85.
Huang LH, Liu CY, Wang LY, et al. Effects of green tea extract on overweight and obese women with high levels of low density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C): a randomized, double-blind, and cross-over placebo-controlled clinical trial. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2008;18:p294.
Thielecke F, Boschmann M. The potential role of green tea catechins in the prevention of metabolic syndrome - A review. Phytochemistry. 2009 Jan;70(1):pp22-24.