Matcha Tea & Weight Loss

There are numerous studies emerging now that confirm the powerful effect that drinking green tea can have on losing weight.

Due to the fact that matcha green tea is a “turbo-charged” version of regular green tea, the ability of matcha to facilitate weight loss is much greater. When you consume a cup of matcha you consume approximately 6 to 10 cups of regular green tea, making it the ideal product to facilitate natural, healthy weight loss in an effective way.


The following is a brief overview of the mechanisms by which green tea (matcha) can accelerate weight loss. Green tea has been proven to have several benefits in the area of weight loss. It helps to speed up metabolism thereby causing the body to burn more calories, it helps to keep the body from storing calories as fat and can help suppress the appetite. Green tea and losing weight is also made easier by the fact that green tea is naturally nearly calorie-free itself. Burn more calories, lose more fat. Research done in Switzerland in the 1990s showed that overweight subjects taking a green tea supplement while eating a normal diet burned more calories than those not taking the green tea. Green tea accomplishes this by increasing the rate of metabolism in the body, called thermogenesis. When using green tea to lose weight one tends to lose more fat than you would if you were not drinking green tea. The most obvious thing you need to do when using green tea and losing weight is to eat less food, like with any diet plan. Unlike most other plans, green tea will help you with this, as it acts to naturally control your appetite by telling your brain that you are full after you have eaten food instead of leaving you wanting to overeat.

Replace Other Drinks with Green Tea and Lose Weight Faster. An obvious benefit of this plan is that you can just replace the drinks you normally drink with green tea and losing weight will be easy! The average coffee shop drink contains many more calories and a gram of fat than you should be drinking just to get the benefit of the caffeine in it. Green tea also contains caffeine, although not in as large a quantity as coffee this is another reason that makes green tea healthier. But it does contain enough to give you a little boost of energy to get you through your morning meetings. Unsweetened, green tea has no calories, and like all teas does not contain fat.

Aiya America, one of the largest matcha manufacturers in the world published a press release announcing the profound impact drinking matcha tea has on losing weight.

(See below)

For Immediate Release, January 12, 2006

Losing weight may be only a teacup away

(Vancouver, B.C.) For those looking to shed a few pounds post-holidays, pre-bikini or simply making healthier lifestyle choices, the solution may be found within a daily cup of matcha green tea. A part of Zen Buddhist culture for well over 800 years, matcha is a fine tea powder that is blended and consumed in a drink rather than steeped and discarded like tea leaves.

Clinical research has shown matcha increases metabolism, offers a huge antioxidant hit and gives a gentle stimulating effect superior to steeped teas.

Weight Loss:

“We are investigating the action of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), one of the antioxidants in matcha, for its potential as an obesity therapy with promising results,” said Dr. Clifton A. Baile, the CEO of AptoTec, Inc., and a Distinguished Professor of Animal Science and Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia. “Our research has shown that EGCG helps cause weight loss and reduce body fat in mice. There is no magic weight loss solution but, when combined with a healthy lifestyle, drinking matcha could make losing weight easier.”

Published in Obesity Research in June 2005, this study, with mouse fat cells showed that EGCG, found in matcha, helps cause fat cells to store less fat, and eventually, to self-destruct. In a follow-up study not yet published, EGCG fed to mice caused weight loss and reduced the amount of body fat.

Antioxidants:

The benefits of antioxidants are well known and may include the increased immune function and disease prevention. In 2005, testing on matcha revealed that the tea powder contains the highest levels of antioxidants per gram over any other fruit or vegetable including other green teas. The Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) test conducted by FDA approved labs in Massachusetts discovered that one gram of matcha has approximately 1384 ORAC units. As a benchmark for comparison, blueberries, long considered the gold standard, contain 1344 ORAC units per serving (24 berries per gram). Nutritionists suggest that people should consume 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units daily in order to garner the greatest health benefit.

“Flavonoid-rich and virtually calorie-free, matcha is an ideal choice for those looking for a delicious drink that fits perfectly into a healthy diet,” says Brian Takeda, regional director, Aiya Corporation. “In fact, research indicates the concentration of catechins available in matcha is 137 times greater than the number of catechins available in regular green tea.” Catechins are flavonoid compounds found predominantly in green tea and have significant antioxidant qualities.

The Matcha Alternative:

Matcha green tea production ensures drinkers consume the entire tea leaf itself, not just the brew. This allows an exponential increase in any health benefits offered. For example, one cup of matcha tea is equivalent to ten cups of steeped green tea.

Finally, most of us have heard of the positive effects red wine can have on a fatty diet and its healthful benefits on heart disease. High amounts of catechins and polyphenols (eg. EGCG) are present in green tea, particularly matcha tea. Matcha has twice as much resveratrol as red wine, making it a powerful weapon towards lowering cholesterol, inhibiting blood clots and negating the effects of a fatty diet.

EGCG is also used to treat diabetes and is reported to have glucose-lowering effects. In addition, glucose can cause a person to feel hungry, and by controlling insulin levels, you control appetite. Try drinking a mug of matcha green tea at the first hunger pangs, and you are well on your way to managing your appetite!

In summary, the word thermogenesis literally means heat generation. Green tea increases thermogenesis in the body, becoming a potent appetite suppressant and increasing fat oxidation, helping the body to use fat as an energy source. This means the body is preferentially burning fat over protein.

Green tea also raises metabolism, increasing the rate at which calories are burned. In a recent study, the combination of green tea and caffeine burned more calories than those given a placebo.

Due to its potency and additional health-promoting properties, matcha green tea is the perfect addition to any weight loss diet or program, in order to shed pounds in a healthy and effective way.