What is Matcha Green Tea?

Have you ever heard about the health benefits of green tea? Green tea contains a lot of polyphenols, which are naturally-occurring chemicals that act as powerful antioxidants. They are so powerful, in fact, that they are being investigated for their role in cancer prevention and potential treatment. There have been many studies on the healing powers of green tea, but of course more need to be done. Isn’t that always the case?

There aren’t really many downsides to drinking green tea. It does contain caffeine, so you should consume it in moderation, but the benefits are much greater than most other caffeinated beverages (such as coffee). Now, wouldn’t it be great if you could get all the great antioxidizing benefits of drinking about 10 cups of green tea without all that caffeine? And, even better, by drinking just one cup? Enter matcha green tea.

Matcha is a specially-grown type of green tea leaf that is ground down into a powder. That powder is then added to lukewarm water to make a tea. Can you see the difference? With matcha, you’re actually consuming the leaf instead of just infusing some of its properties into your water. Matcha is believed to have about 10 times the antioxidant power of your standard green tea without the comparable amount of caffeine. Just to clarify: Matcha does contain caffeine, and more than standard green tea, but not nearly as much as if you were to drink 10 cups of standard green tea.

With matcha, you’re getting super-sized benefits with less of a caffeine jolt. Actually, matcha doesn’t give you a jolt per se, but it does awaken your senses. It makes you feel alert without feeling jittery, as coffee can make you feel.

A friend actually turned me on to matcha after I told her about my super-jittery experience from having too much coffee before a job interview. Needless to say, I was a awake and alert for my next one without actually sitting there and shaking in my chair. It can work for you too; just give it a shot. Whether you’re looking for a teaching career or a career in social services, a first impression really means a lot. With too much coffee in your system, you can appear overly anxious, which may send red flags to a potential employer.

Kicking the Coffee Addiction with Kombucha

There are a lot of stresses that students face in college, sometimes for the first time. For many students, this is the first time they are on their own, without any parental supervision. It’s a time when you have to start making decisions for yourself while living up to the expectations of your family. There are papers to be written, tests to be studied for, college scholarships to maintain and deadlines to meet. That’s why so many students rely on super-caffeinated coffee to keep them awake and alert for all-night study sessions and early morning classes. But coffee is addictive. It’s a lot like tobacco use in that way. Once you get started, it’s hard to stop. You’ll notice that you wake up every morning with an urge to brew a fresh pot. You’ll also notice that it gets harder and harder to function properly without it.

Avoiding the caffeine addiction is one of the best things you can do for your health. It’s not because coffee is the devil. It’s actually not the worst beverage you could become addicted to, but like any addiction, it’s much better for you if you don’t get started. When you feel you need an extra boost of energy, consider a healthier alternative, like kombucha tea. Kombucha is a fermented green or black tea, so there is some caffeine, but not much. The real energy boost comes from its live enzymes and probiotics. 

You’d be surprised how much of your body’s energy is tied up in digestion. Because of poor diets, many people have too few digestive enzymes, which means that the body has to work harder to digest any food you eat. By drinking this tea, you’re adding to your body’s store of digestive enzymes, and you’re also adding probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, which also help with digestion. In addition to freeing up energy, when your digestive system is working properly, you're more likely to absorb essential nutrients from food -- many of which help your body produce energy in the first place. 

Once some of the weight has been lifted off your digestive system, your body is free to use that energy for other things. You will actually notice a change in your energy levels. It doesn’t necessarily come as a boost, although it can, but it’s more of a balanced energy increase throughout the day. But you don’t have to take my word. Try it out yourself. For one week, drink kombucha tea in place of coffee and see how you feel.

If you do a search on the internet for kombucha, you might see some radical health claims about it curing disease and all that ails you. I don’t know about all those claims; sounds like hype to me. But I do know kombucha can support your digestive system – and that’s a pretty serious benefit.

You can make your own kombucha, but for your trial, I’d suggest buying the bottled kind. You can get it at your local health food store, or you can order it online. If you really can’t get kombucha, you can substitute with green tea and good probiotic and digestive enzyme supplement.