Ordering a matcha latte is all the rage, but did you know that it is also healthy? These are the health benefits of the green powder.
Matcha
What exactly is that green stuff? Matcha is a special type of green tea that comes from Japan. The tea leaves are dried and then ground into powder. If you dissolve the powder in hot water, you get that bright green drink. If you add frothed (vegetable) milk to it, it is known as a matcha latte. This type of tea contains much more caffeine than other types of tea.
Caffeine
The green substance contains more caffeine than other types of tea: while a normal cup of green tea contains about 20 grams of caffeine and black tea contains about thirty grams of caffeine, the two grams usually used for a cup easily contain between thirty-eight and eighty-eight grams of caffeine. That is about as much as in coffee, which amounts to a total of sixty grams of caffeine per cup.
Health benefits
The amount of caffeine in a cup may scare you, but it’s not quite as bad as you might think. The caffeine works in a different way than in coffee. What does this entail, and are other health benefits? You can read that below:
- Caffeine: The substance in coffee gives an energy peak that lasts two to three hours. This is useful if you need to be alert for a while, but it can also cause nervousness and cause an energy dip later. The combination of caffeine and L-theanine in matcha provides a more stable type of energy, without making you nervous or causing an energy dip. This can take six to eight hours.
- Calming: L-theanine has a calming effect: your heart rate calms down and stress and anxiety are reduced. The substance stimulates the production of neurotransmitters in your brain, allowing you to be relaxed and alert at the same time.
- Good for your figure: The green substance keeps your blood sugar level in balance, so you are less likely to suffer from sugar peaks and valleys. You will then feel less like snacking, which is good for your figure.
- Resistance: Matcha contains a lot of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and potassium, so you boost your resistance when you drink the green drink.
- Detoxes: The leaves contain chlorophyll: a natural color pigment that causes the green color and makes photosynthesis possible. This substance allows your body to bind and remove harmful metals. This has a detoxifying effect.
- Antioxidants: Antioxidants help fight free radicals that can damage tissues and cells. There are many antioxidants in matcha that can help prevent cardiovascular disease in the long term.
