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Matcha Green Tea for Weight Loss: Fact or Fiction?
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Matcha is a high-quality, powerful form of green tea with many health benefits. Many people wonder if weight loss benefits are among its many powers. Here you can discover all you need to know about drinking matcha for weight loss, including how it works, how much to drink, and 5 unique benefits.
Green tea is among the most healthy beverages on the planet. It is rich in numerous health-boosting compounds, including polyphenols that protect the body from disease.
Further benefits of green tea and green tea extract include improved brain health, increased fat burning, and blood sugar control.
As matcha is more potent than regular green tea, it may have even more positive effects on the human body. If you are currently tackling a diet, you’re probably wondering: is losing weight one of them?
Matcha Green Tea for Weight Loss: Does It Work?
Matcha green tea possesses natural qualities that have weight loss benefits. While drinking matcha green tea alone won’t lead to significant weight loss, it has the potential to enhance your efforts when incorporated into a healthy diet and fitness plan.
Green tea has long been associated with weight loss due to its high content of catechins – a class of plant compounds that serve as antioxidants. Consuming tea rich in catechins, like matcha, can reduce body fat and may be effective in treating obesity.
Most weight loss properties of matcha come down to the presence of powerful catechins. The combination of catechins and caffeine contributes to the potential anti-obesity effects of consuming matcha tea.
How Does Matcha Help to Lose Weight?
Matcha can aid weight loss in several ways.
As matcha tea is low in calories, drinking it as a substitute for other higher-calorie drinks can help you reach a calorie deficit. The fewer calories you take in, the more likely you are to lose body weight. One teaspoon of matcha powder has only 10 calories.
Green tea extract, like that found in matcha, enhances fat oxidation – the process of breaking down fats into energy. It is associated with increased weight loss as it increases the body’s thermogenesis – the body’s rate of burning calories through daily energy expenditure.
As an excellent source of the polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate, matcha may boost metabolism. A fast metabolism allows your body to burn more calories and prevents weight gain.
Matcha tea also contains caffeine, which can provide an energy boost. Increased energy levels can help you maintain an exercise regime that helps you burn more calories and promote muscle toning.
How Much Matcha Should I Drink to Lose Weight?
Most recommendations suggest that consuming 1–4 teaspoons of matcha green tea powder daily is an adequate amount to encourage weight loss. If you add 1 teaspoon per cup, that’s an intake of 1–4 cups of matcha per day.
Due to the caffeine content, however, it may be best to have no more than three cups of matcha tea per day. Moderation is always the best choice, as you can reap the benefits without experiencing potential drawbacks.
Remember that matcha tea powder contains more caffeine than regular green tea. Over-consuming caffeine can incur adverse side effects, so be mindful of how much and how often you drink matcha throughout the day.
5 Matcha Benefits for Weight Loss
Matcha has countless health benefits, perhaps even more than regular green tea. Its high antioxidant content fits the ideal label of a superfood – a food that provides maximum nutrition for greater health and well-being.
Here’s why you should be adding matcha tea to your weight loss diet.
#1 Promotes weight loss
As discussed above, weight loss is a potentially key advantage of consuming matcha tea regularly. It is a low-calorie drink with plenty of vitamins, antioxidants, and amino acids to boost your overall health and promote healthy weight maintenance.
Many studies acknowledge the weight loss effects of green tea and its associated drinks. Consumption of matcha alongside brisk walking can enhance exercise-induced fat oxidation, while high doses of green tea extract have been linked to significant weight reduction.
#2 Detoxifies the body
Matcha tea is loaded with antioxidants that help protect and detoxify the body from environmental toxins. The natural polyphenols support your body’s natural ability to detox by supporting the liver and fighting free radicals.
Matcha also supports the digestive system by reducing inflammation and improving the gut microbiota. Matcha is an excellent choice if you want to shed some pounds and cleanse the system with a detox plan, such as the 3-day detox.
#3 Good for heart health
Matcha may be good for heart health, based primarily on the beneficial effects of green tea. Drinking green tea may lower blood pressure, reduce blood sugar levels, and aid weight loss. These are critical factors for protecting against the development of heart disease.
Tea consumption, in general, is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.
#4 Increases energy levels
Matcha contains caffeine, a natural stimulant that provides an almost immediate energy boost. The average content of caffeine in matcha is between 18.9 and 44.4mg per gram.
Additionally, drinking matcha may improve mood and cognitive function as it contains the amino acid L-theanine. L-theanine reduces stress and improves sleep quality – two factors that may contribute to an energy boost.
#5 Helps prevent cancer
Some compounds present in matcha green tea may reduce cancer risk. Primarily, the most abundant catechin in green tea, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), plays a substantial role in cancer prevention.
Furthermore, matcha green tea’s natural compounds may inhibit cancer stem cell development.
FAQs
The catechins in matcha have properties that may speed up the fat-burning process. In doing so, consuming matcha may lead to overall fat loss, including a reduction in belly fat. It’s important to note that no single source can target fat loss in a specific body area.
Preparing matcha tea using only hot water is best to promote weight loss. Many add milk, sugar, and syrup to sweeten the beverage, but these extra ingredients contain calories. The calorie count of matcha is extremely low, but drinking too much of the sweetened variety may lead to weight gain.
You can drink matcha tea at any time of day, but you may benefit from enjoying matcha first thing in the morning. It can kickstart your day by cleansing the digestive system, detoxing the body, and supplying an energy boost to help you power through a weight-loss program.
A Word From a Nutritionist
Matcha tea comes from the same plant as green tea – the Camellia sinensis plant. However, it follows a different growing process and is prepared differently from your usual cup of green tea. Essentially, matcha is processed green tea leaves.
Matcha contains the nutritional content of the entire tea leaf, making its antioxidant and nutrient profile more potent, as well as the caffeine and amino acid content. Its impressive concentration of antioxidants has many advantages for human health.
It’s now popular to drink matcha tea as a weight-loss aid because it boosts the metabolism and increases thermogenesis in the body – the metabolic process that burns calories to produce heat. Increasing thermogenesis helps drive the fat-burning process.
Preparing matcha tea is easy. Simply sift your matcha green tea powder into a cup. Then, add hot water and whisk until foamy, ideally with a bamboo whisk per the traditional method. If you prefer, you can add almond milk to create a creamy matcha latte.
You can even add fine matcha powder to your protein drink or green smoothies for weight loss. If you are practicing fasting, you might be interested to know that drinking matcha and green tea won’t break a fast.
Just remember to prepare matcha tea with hot water only and without sugar.
Conclusion
So, is matcha good for weight loss?
The answer: absolutely. There are many benefits of matcha that can support your weight loss journey. From detoxing the body to boosting metabolism, matcha tea accumulates many factors with powerful fat-burning effects.
Remember, you’re not going to lose 20 pounds in a month relying solely on matcha tea. Successful weight loss and sustainable weight maintenance come down to an effective exercise routine and a balanced diet rich in whole foods.
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