‘Keep calm and drink matcha’ Japanese superfoods that can help you study
Helping you stay focused, relaxed and alert. Mia Castagnone investigates the health benefits of drinking the Japanese superfood matcha green tea as well as some other useful Japanese food trends
We all know that snacking throughout the day is bad for us. But can we help it? Lately we’ve been spending much of our time at home, whether it’s studying or just enjoying the time to ourselves. The lack of movement has left us reaching for those extra “feel-good snacks”. We know the habits we have as young adults at university aren’t always the best and while we can’t be perfect, a few simple Japanese health tips may help us bring back balance to our daily lives.
So, what is the magic secret? The answer is drinking matcha. I’m not talking about a sugar fuelled matcha Frappuccino from Starbucks, I’m talking pure, delicious, rich matcha green tea.
Turns out the benefits of matcha are almost endless: from improving gut health, promoting weight loss, waking us up, tasting delicious and promoting overall cognitive brain function- just to name a few.
“Keep Calm and Drink Matcha” is one of the mantras of Sydney-based Japanese chef Yoshiko Takeuchi.
Yoshiko is an author, chef, mentor, and matcha enthusiast, who explains that matcha green tea not only allows us to feel awake and alert, but it takes away the nervous edge that we can feel from coffee. She advocates for healthy lifestyles through high quality food, balance and simply ensuring we eat a diet of variety.
I had the chance to meet her at her Randwick home-office for a cup of warm matcha green tea, and a chat about why the Japanese diet is so good.
Matcha Green Tea. Source: Yoshiko Takeuchi
“Matcha is just amazing. The catechin EGCG [a natural antioxidant] promotes weight loss, reduces inflammation, prevents heart disease and is found in high concentrations in matcha. Inside matcha is L-theanine [an amino acid], which is what makes the body feel calm and focused after drinking matcha.”
As well as having some amazing health benefits, it tastes amazing! Before my chat with Yoshiko, I had never tried matcha or had any idea about L-theanine. Matcha is a whole-leaf powder of green tea that has high concentrations of amino acids that promote relaxation in the body
“Matcha wasn’t always a common drink among Japanese people. It was normally kept for tea ceremonies while regular tea like green tea is drunk daily.”
Matcha isn’t the only reason why Japanese are so healthy- their diet is rich in fish and fermented foods, all of which promote a strong immune system, a healthy gut and good digestion.
“Our diet isn’t that perfect. Take our rice for example- we add more sugar into our rice than any other Asian country. But when we have a meal, we include a healthy miso soup with that rice, as well as side dishes that are all vegetables, like seaweed, natto [fermented soybean] and kimchi [spicy fermented cabbage]. These all have so many health benefits- particularly fermented foods, which are amazing for your gut health and digestion.”
When it comes to eating healthily, Yoshiko’s main philosophy is that if you “make it colourful” it’s bound to be healthy.
“When you make a meal think: does it have something green, red and brown? This can be your green veggies, next to red tomato next to your brown carbs- rice, potato, pasta.”
After all, we eat with our eyes and adding a bit of colour could be the simple hack needed to improve your diet. I know I for one can be lazy when it comes to cooking a balanced meal, but this food hack is definitely something even the worst of cooks can adopt.
Japanese superfoods like matcha, seaweed, miso as well as the philosophy to eat less meat, more vegetables, could give your body the healthy energy boost it needs to get through the semester. Next time you go to order your iced latte, think about trying out an iced matcha instead!