Matcha

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Green tea and liver health²

  In people and animals, matcha and green tea seemed to help body weight, cholesterol and liver, but more research is needed.

• Benefit

  Muscle strength after training³

  In untrained men doing weights, matcha drinks may help leg strength and muscle gains.

• Open question

  Attention and memory⁴

  People who drank matcha tea were a bit faster at attention tasks, but matcha did not change mood.

• Benefit

  Focus and work under stress⁵

  In people, drinking matcha with caffeine improved attention and work output under stress better than caffeine alone.

• Benefit

  Memory in older women⁶

  In elderly women, a daily matcha drink may help thinking, the study suggests.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Weight and blood sugar¹⁰

  In animal studies, matcha lessened weight gain and improved blood sugar and fats in animals fed a high-fat diet.

• Benefit

  Gut barrier protection¹¹

  In lab studies, matcha with a probiotic yeast helped protect the gut lining, though this has not been tested in people.

• Benefit

  Brain inflammation and obesity¹²

  In animal studies, matcha reduced weight gain and brain inflammation in mice fed a high-fat diet.

Study type not stated

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria and health⁷

  Matcha's fiber-bound phenolics may boost how much the body absorbs and help gut bacteria.

• Benefit

  Brain function and health effects⁹

  Matcha has caffeine and other compounds that may support brain function, but studies on matcha are still limited.

How it’s made and used

• Health effects in food⁸

  How matcha is processed and mixed into foods changes what the body actually gets from it.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.