11 Proven Benefits of Matcha Green Tea for Weight Loss

Does matcha tea help to lose weight? How many cups should I drink to take advantage of the benefits of matcha green tea for weight loss? Read on to know.

Matcha weight loss is another new fad in the market. A bright green powder from Southern Asia is being the top news of the world for losing extra calories and helping with weight management. 

Weight loss is a common and most talked about health and beauty concern that is linked to many severe health conditions. It is now creating new markets for herbal supplements, drinks, foods from different parts of the world across the globe. In which herbal teas from Asia are highly raving around people. 

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In the list of popular Asian teas that have been recently added to western culture like Ashwagandha herbal tea, Tulsi herbal tea, Moringa herbal tea, and Turmeric herbal tea, now it is time for Matcha green tea.

Matcha tea is used in place of plain Green tea for the same benefits with added nutrients. It may be new to the western world, but Matcha tea has been used in Eastern countries for hundreds of years. 

The benefits of matcha tea for weight loss, heart health, stress relief, and metabolism is not just for the trend, but it has science-backed evidence for the claims.

What is Matcha Tea?

Matcha has been found on shelves in health stores, supplement stores to coffee shops. Also, Matcha green tea, matcha lattes, matcha shots, smoothies, desserts, and many other dishes were created by incorporating matcha.

Matcha comes from the Camellia sinensis plant where we get green tea. 

Most people think that matcha is a powder form of green tea, but it is not completely true.

Matcha tea and green tea may be the same but not equal. Matcha tea involves different growth and harvest methods and has unique nutrition values.

Unlike green tea, for matcha tea, the plants are covered for 20 – 30 days before harvest to avoid direct sunlight. This method increases the production of chlorophyll, amino acids contents, and gives the vibrant green color.

After harvesting tea leaves, the stems and veins in the leaves are removed. Later the leaves ground to a fine powder which we call Matcha.

Matcha has a nutrition profile of the entire leaf with a high amount of antioxidants like 10 times, plant compounds, and caffeine.

Matcha powder is mixed with water for tea or other drinks unlike steeping green tea leaves, so matcha tea contains all the goodness of the plant as you are drinking the entire leaf. 

For a traditional matcha tea, the powder is mixed with a bamboo whisk. You will know why in the history of matcha tea below.

History of Matcha Green Tea

Green tea is recently incorporated in western parts but it originated from Asian countries including China and Japan. Matcha tea is closely linked to Japan, they have had this tea in cultural ceremonies for centuries.

China is the origin of matcha tea but there is also a belief that it was brought to China by the Buddist monks. It helped them keep energy and meditate well. 

It could be Roughly 1000 years since matcha tea has been used in Japanese tea culture. The premium matcha tea is exported from Uji, Japan.

The tea plants are allowed to get only 20% of sun rays by covering them with bamboo shades. In this way, chlorophyll, a plant pigment that is responsible for its dark hue is increased. It gives the powder an attractive color of nature. That’s why all the matcha tea photos we see on Instagram make us look extra.

Matcha tea is popular in Chinese traditional tea ceremonies like the Chado ceremony where they prepare two types of matcha called Koicha (thick drink) and Usucha (thin drink).

During the ceremony, they prepare these two grades of matcha tea in a traditional method using a bamboo whisk.

How does Matcha tea taste?

Matcha tea is taken from the same plant as Green tea so it has a similar taste but with extra earthy notes which fall somewhere between green vegetables like cucumber and wheatgrass. It gives a grassy aftertaste to the tea or drinks which includes matcha.

Matcha tea provides a richer taste than regular green tea. Matcha is often mixed with jasmine, coconut, lavender, and other ingredients for flavor.

Compared to other caffeine, matcha tea is thick so it is best to prepare smoothies or mixed with your favorite yogurt.

But, does matcha tea help with weight loss? The one loud answer is YES. Let’s see how the benefits of matcha green tea for weight loss are real.

How does Matcha tea help with Weight Loss?

Matcha green tea is considered an herbal diet booster, Catechins in tea contribute to this fact. The benefits of matcha green tea for weight loss and skin are high due to the thermogenic effect of catechins in matcha.

Based on a study, the number of specific catechins in matcha is 137 times higher than in other types of green tea.

To explain, the thermogenic effect of the tea helps to stimulate the fat-burning process in the body. As you know, fat burning is the main part of shedding weight.

Compared to regular green tea, drinking matcha green tea increases fat burn by 20%. Green teas and matcha teas can help to reduce the ratio between the waist and hip.

In addition to fat ratio and waist to hip ratio, matcha green tea showed a reduction in body weight, mass index, fat mass, and many weight factors in a study.

But, the participants in that study are already green tea users so it shows those studied people may make a healthy lifestyle thus effectively showing its benefits. It is not magic that you can drink a cup of matcha green tea and lose a pound of weight.

For weight loss, consumption of green tea about 1 to 2 cups a day is required. The combination of potent antioxidants is 108 mg in one cup, now you can think how much you can get from 2 cups daily for a week.

Antioxidants not only aid weight loss but also fight diseases, protect the liver, improve gut health, reduce cholesterol absorption, prevent cell damage, and so on.

Let’s learn them deeper below.

Nutritional Facts of Matcha Tea

Pure matcha powder with no added sugar and ingredients have below nutritions in serving of 2 grams.

• calories – 5 (cal)
• protein – 1g  (2% daily value, or DV)
• carbohydrate – 1g  (.33% DV)
• dietary fiber – 1g  (4% DV)
• iron – 0.36 mg (2% DV)
• vitamin C  – 1.2mg (2% DV)
• vitamin A – 200 IU (4% DV)

11 Benefits of Matcha Green Tea for Weight Loss

Let’s see how the nutrition values give hand to the benefits of matcha green tea for weight loss and related health factors. 

Low Calories

Unlike most healthy drinks we drink, matcha is very low in calories. In a serving, matcha has only 3 calories so it is the perfect herbal drink to support your weight loss journey.

Buy the pure form of matcha green tea with no processed sugars, added calories, or any other high-calorie ingredients.

Boosts Metabolism

Matcha is great at boosting metabolism. Powerful antioxidants in matcha called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) have the credit of improving the body’s metabolism and pushing it to shed excess fat. 

EGCG has anti-inflammatories thereby it reduces inflammation and increases the speed of metabolic rate cells which means when you are ideal, matcha helps burn extra calories from the body.

Prevent Cravings

Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) in matcha reduces inflammation and boosts metabolism which in return cuts your extra food cravings between meals.

Our digestive system absorbs fat in the food for its survival so we have a gut that only allows healthy fats and nutrients. That’s why gut health is important in weight loss and digestion problems. Matcha tea satisfies both.

Matcha green tea has been found to help regulate the production of Leptin which is a hormone that is released in hunger. But sometimes with less or more probability, this hormone leaks into the body at unexpected times. Drinking matcha green tea can prevent this and keep Leptin in check.

Burns Fat

Our body burns fat which creates a biochemical process to break down large proteins into small triglycerides which can be easily processed.

Catechins help this process. Overall, this process when done properly will eventually increase thermogenesis of the body to 4 times higher than usual.

Matcha has a high amount of catechins. Consuming matcha green tea helps to easily break down fats and utilize them for energy. 

Balances Glucose Levels

Peaks in blood sugar levels are not only possible in diabetes. But it also affects those who have balance problems in the body.

Blood sugar spikes are common for everyone once a while. Eating high-fiber foods reduces overeating and helps balance glucose levels. So, matcha with high fiber can help type 2 diabetes but it is not only limited to insulin problems or diabetes, but anyone can get the benefit of matcha tea for balanced glucose levels.

Stress Relief

No one can escape stress, it is an inevitable part of human life now. Sadly, stress is the main factor linked to weight gain. It could influence the person’s sleep to eating habits. You can see people say that food is their instant medicine when they are stressed.

Fortunately, herbal teas are great at relieving stress, with no exception to matcha green tea. The main reason for the benefits of herbal teas is the high profile of antioxidants they contain.

In the case of matcha green tea, it has an antioxidant called L-theanine. It helps to regulate cortisol levels, a hormone responsible for stress.

By keeping stress at bay, matcha green tea helps with weight loss and improves the quality of life.

Gives Energy

It is not always about quantity, sometimes it should be about quality. The energy given by matcha is not about the amount but it is about the type. The truth is coffee has more caffeine than matcha. Drinking a cup of coffee gives energy but the caffeine goes to peak and creates instant awakeness with unhealthy crashes in the body.

In matcha, essential amino acids prevent this instant awakening and crash. It avoids a quick burst of energy that could collapse a person, instead, matcha creates a sustained energy flow for a long time so you feel full and don’t go for cravings that could be an added advantage.

Detoxifies Body

We need antioxidants in the body not only for preventing cell damage but also for removing harmful toxins from the body. An excessive build-up of toxins can reflect a bad lifestyle and weight gain. The main benefit of drinking tea is toxin removal. It is suitable for all tea varieties. 

But what is special with matcha green tea? It has a lot of them. Yes, matcha tea has a lot of powerful antioxidants that flush out free radicals, toxins, and excessive fats. It will eventually help with weight loss, improve digestion, avoid constipation, boost immunity, and increase the overall quality of life.

Reduces LDL

LDL (low-density lipoprotein), simply called bad cholesterol, is also a reason for belly fat. Again antioxidants play the main role in reducing LDL. As matcha contains EGCG antioxidants that may help with managing and reducing bad cholesterol levels.

An animal lab study that tested rats feeding EGCG for 30 days found it reduced LDL in the subjects. The results concluded that EGCG may inhibit bad cholesterol absorption in the rats.

Improves Sleep

People with sleep disorders often encounter weight problems. Why? It involved various mechanisms.

First, While sleeping, our body releases human growth hormone which burns fat. This helps for a healthy body. It is not a myth that sleeping helps babies grow.

Another mechanism is green teas are great in suppressing the appetite as they influence leptin levels to increase while reducing ghrelin levels.

A study found green tea extract can regulate sleep disorders. The result suggests that EGCG and L-theanine in green tea help improve sleep quality by inducing GABA levels. GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)  is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for stress relief and relaxation which are important for having a good sleep.

Matcha tea is easy to prepare

Enjoying the benefits of matcha green tea for weight loss is simple. 

To make a traditional Chinese style matcha green tea, mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of matcha powder into 2 ounces of hot water, blend the ingredients using a bamboo whisk.

Based on the consistency and taste, you can alter the matcha powder and water.

If you prefer thinner tea, take one gram of matcha powder and 3 ounces of hot water.

For a concentrated drink, mix 2 teaspoons of matcha with one ounce of water.

You can create different matcha drinks like matcha lattes, smoothies, puddings, and add them to your favorites recipes.

In terms of herbal intake, moderation is vital. Let them have dozens of health benefits, it should be taken in moderation under dosage. It is not exceptional in green tea.

The maximum intake value of matcha powder or tea is not yet derived. However, as far as we know, sticking with 1 to 2 cups in a day is safe. Buy the certified tea varieties to take advantage of the health benefits of matcha tea without side effects.

The possible side effects one can get when consuming more than 5 cups a day are,

• Nausea
• Constipation
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Headache
• Diarrhea
• Heartburn

Precaution of Drinking Matcha Green Tea

Matcha has caffeine with maybe fewer side effects, but it is STILL low, NOT no.

A healthy adult can have 400 mg of caffeine a day. One gram of matcha powder has 35 mg of caffeine. So, 5½ teaspoons of matcha are the safest serving of caffeine you can have in a day which equals 10 cups of matcha tea.

Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should not have caffeine of more than 200 mg per day. So, you can have 3 teaspoons of matcha. High caffeine teas are not good for children.

As we always say, make a call or book a consultation with your doctor to talk about your idea of adding matcha green tea to your daily diet and its possible dosage for your body. It avoids possible risks of side effects.

Matcha Weight Loss Is Real

The benefits of matcha green tea for weight loss and related health factors are promising and witnessed. Even many studies prove them with science-backed facts and evidence.

Matcha has caffeine with low side effects that give the right type of energy. It cuts extra cravings, suppresses appetite, burns fat, regulates hormones, and improves the metabolism of the body: overall supports your weight loss routine.

If you can get much more than a refreshment from a cup of tea, why not have it? Try replacing your morning coffee with a cup of hot matcha green tea, see the changes.