Green tea leaves are steamed and dried before being sold in tea bags or as a loose leaf tea, while matcha is finely pulverized and sold as a powder.
Matcha green tea vs green tea
Both matcha and tea come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, but the two have different properties, due to how they’re processed. “Tea leaves are picked and are allowed to oxidize (ferment), which is what causes leaves to blacken and changes the type of antioxidants found within the tea,” explains Robin Foroutan, RDN, a replacement York City–based integrative dietitian and spokesperson of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. While black and oolong tea are fully and partially oxidized, respectively, tea is picked then steamed and dried before oxidation occurs.
Matcha, says Foroutan, comes from the same leaf but is grown within the shade, increasing its chlorophyll content. The leaves are then pulverized into a powder, which is used to make the matcha drink. As a result, another key difference between tea and matcha is that you simply simply consume the entire leaf once you drink matcha tea, which has important nutritional implications. Let’s get to know about “Matcha vs green tea”.
Both Matcha and tea Carry Nutrition and Health Benefits
Per the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1 cup of tea contains about 2 calories. The number of calories in matcha may vary slightly by brand, but according to the USDA, matcha generally contains around 5 calories per serving. Both tea and matcha are low-calorie drinks — it’s only when you add milk, cream, sugar, sweeteners, and each one among your other matcha latte favorites that the calorie count starts to creep up (but more thereon later).
In general, tea drinkers may enjoy longer lives. People who drink it regularly had a anticipation that was 1.26 years longer compared with people who avoid the brew, likely because of the heart-healthy benefits of tea, according to a study published in January 2020 within the ecu Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Also Read “ 3 Easy Smoothie Recipe for Weight Loss”
Green tea especially is known as a healthy beverage, because it contains catechins, which supply antioxidant properties. According to a bit of writing published in April 2018 in Molecules, the catechins in tea can help protect against oxidative stress and its associated diseases. There are several catechins in tea , but the foremost abundant one is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). It’s this antioxidant that has been credited as giving tea its health properties, which include anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties also as cardiovascular protection, notes a review of research on the health benefits of tea published in January 2017 within the journal Beverages.
Matcha contains a minimum of three times the number of EGCG as popular kinds of tea (and up to 137 times the number of EGCG compared with certain brands of green tea), according to research, says Foroutan. That’s because matcha tea is made when the matcha powder dissolves in water, so you’re consuming the entire leaf and each one its nutrients. “Matcha could also be a supercharged version of tea ,” she says.
Matcha and tea May Help Reduce Inflammation
“Inflammation is probably the sole most significant thing to debate when talking about disease prevention and overall health,” says Foroutan. Inflammation is your body’s response to an injury or invader (think splinters, viruses, or bacteria), according to Harvard Health Publishing. Inflammation should decrease once the threat is over and your body returns to baseline. What’s more, she explains, the body’s built-in antioxidant system exists to help protect cells from damage from the inflammatory cascade. Enjoying a bevy of antioxidant-rich plant foods and beverages, including tea and matcha, can help support your body’s natural defenses against inflammation.
Both Matcha and tea Can Fit Into a Weight Loss or Weight Management Plan
A review of randomized, controlled trials concluded that tea induced “a small, statistically nonsignificant weight loss in overweight or obese adults.” In other words: it’s unlikely to be the X belief helping someone lose or maintain a weight loss.
There could even be something to the thought that matcha could enhance weight loss, though. A little study published in September 2018 within the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that when the 13 female participants consumed a matcha drink before a brisk walk, that they had improved fat burning during that walk. Other research has suggested a link between EGCG and increased fat oxidation in men; although this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, it involved only six people and happened over just two days.
Keep in mind that these are two very small, very short-term studies. More research is required to prove any definite connection, and thus the researchers cautioned against overstating the metabolic effects of matcha and tea .
