For many years now, there has been an increased interest in the usage and drinking of matcha green tea. Once a product that was primarily used in the East, matcha has gradually been recognized for its spree of positive health benefits in the West. So, it’s for this reason that so many people are now addicted to a product that has scientific backing of its strength and power. Not sure if the matcha hype is real? Here are several reasons why matcha tea has become far more than just a new and passing trend.
One of the main reasons that people are falling in love with matcha is because it offers a strong weight loss solution. Numerous studies have been undertaken to help determine the credibility of green tea and its catechins as a natural weight loss strategy. Known as a powerful compound of antioxidants, catechins have been a source of study for some time now.
Studies have found that catechins do indeed have a natural propensity to combat weight loss. There is evidence Journal of Nutrition that a regular consumption of green tea could play an important role in helping to enhance weight loss.
The study showed that there was a link between consuming matcha and the rate that body reduced fat. While more studies will be needed, the findings were encouraging.
Another less known benefit of drinking green tea is its positive impact on gum and teeth health. The Journal of Periodontology carried out a unique study on the benefits of green tea consumption. They found that regular intake of green tea indicated that the antioxidants present in green tea may assist in reducing the rate of periodontal disease (infections of the structures around the teeth, including the gums, the cementum that covers the root, the periodontal ligament and the alveolar bone).
They found that drinking green tea improved all three major factors of dental decay – loss of gum tissue, bleeding, and pocket depth. Another benefit of eliminating these periodontal diseases is that you’re also reducing the risk of more serious diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular ailments.
An illness that we’ve found difficult to come up with solutions to solve in recent years has been gastritis. However, a UCLA-led study found that this might not be quite the issue it once appeared. It was the first study of its kind to show that green tea could help to prevent the onset of chronic gastritis. The UCLA School of Public Health and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center came wanted to find a definitive link between consuming green tea and decreasing gastritis – and the data was reassuring.
Gastritis also causes lesions in the stomach, which can be pre-cancerous. This means that the move from gastritis to stomach cancer can be slow and painful. However, the usage of green tea can slow down development of gastritis, thus posing a solution to help stop some types of stomach cancer at the source.
If you happen to be suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, then you must start drinking green tea now as this could be the solution that many people are hoping for. Arthritis can be a damaging and debilitating illness to live with, which is why the University of Michigan carried out an interesting study to investigate the link.
Indeed, they found that the EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) compound found in green tea could be a powerful solution to help calm joint damage and reduce inflammation. Given that no natural solutions exist otherwise; it’s hoped that further green tea research into the topic could help us find a preventative natural solution for arthritis.
Another powerful part of the research on green tea by the Mayo Clinic may have just found some very interesting link between green tea and combatting leukemia. A trail study showed that EGCG within green tea could also be a solution to help combat CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). Patients who used it in a phase II trial found that it made a big difference in destroying CLL cells.
After a successful phase I and II clinical studies that provided positive results from using green tea extract, they have arrived at the conclusion that green tea may be useful for alleviating and slowing down this form of leukemia. While much more work is needed to see how far solutions can be taken, leukemia might just find its biggest opponent is sitting on our shelves.
One of the most groundbreaking discoveries about the hidden power of green tea, though, stems from the fact that it could potentially be used to combat and even treat AIDS in the future. An American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) study found that there might be a correlation between EGCG in green tea and preventing the binding of HIV to human T cells (the first step in HIV infection). This is, in fact, the first step of getting an HIV infection, so it could be seen as a step in the right direction with regards to finding a genuine solution for preventing HIV infection.
The inhibitory properties of green tea catechins, EGCG, is responsible not only for the arthritic and leukemia-based solutions mentioned above but it could also play a role in helping to combat the effects of HIV, potentially helping to find a preemptive solution – the start of finding a long-term cure.
Green tea and heart disease have long been linked together, but a comprehensive study in the Annals of Epidemiology was carried out at Okayama University and what they found was pretty surprising – and impressive. They discovered that not only was heart disease reduced by regular green tea consumption, but it also showed positive signs in acting as a long-term solution to fighting against colon cancer. According to the study, drinking seven (7) or more cups of green tea a day, you reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by 75%.
While more conclusive studies are needed to prove once and for all about the power of matcha green tea, it cannot be doubted that matcha might just be a key to making major changes to our medical system.