Many of us know that certain foods are good for us, but most of us don't really know exactly why or how they serve our health and wellbeing.
Below is one kitchen staple that I incorporate regularly a) because I enjoy it and b) because I know how it supports my body, mind, emotions and overall quality of health. If this one sounds interesting to you, try it out yourself! As with everything I share, please don't just take my word for it.
If it works for you and you love it, great. If not, you never have to have it again. What's important with any new health experiment is that you take inventory of your current state, habit, pattern etc. and you try something new. You don't have to commit to something new for any delineated lengthy amount of time. Just try something new, see how it feels and continue on. If you stay curious and keep checking in with yourself, the good shit will stick.
I used to think that matcha tasted like dirt. I now know that I was drinking low quality product and I was making it wrong. So, the following benefits didn't mean anything to me because I wasn't enjoying drinking it. Though annoying at the time, there is an important lesson here: if you're not genuinely receiving pleasure, joy, good feelings, tastes etc. from something that you are consuming, the chances of you staying consistent are very low. If you're still curious and open, keep reading.
Matcha is abound with health-promoting antioxidants. Specifically, a class called
catechins, which help reduce oxidative stress and disrupt free radical chain reactions from forming (or continuing to form) in the body.
Recent studies suggest that matcha may have cancer-fighting effects, reduce inflammation, aid weight loss, and help prevent heart and brain disease. It's also been shown to help reduce blood sugar and cholesterol, while potentially helping to improve your mood and increase focus.
It contains vitamin C, chromium, magnesium, selenium and zinc, and IMO truly
tastes great when you mix it with your favorite unsweetened plant-based milk and a drizzle of maple syrup (recipe linked above).
For me, all of the aforementioned components of health were compelling forces that motivated me to switch it up. But what made it stick and made the biggest impact was the fact that I started to ask myself each morning something I had never asked myself before: Does my body want coffee? Does my body want matcha? Or does my body just need water?
Regardless of what I chose, I never used to even ask this question. I just woke up and I had coffee. But now with matcha in the mix 3-4 x per week, I regularly ask my body what it needs - and get this, I actually listen. It feels so much better for so many reasons and I wish I'd started earlier.
So, if you're a go-to coffee drinker, consider this an invitation. See how matcha falls into the mix and give my recipe a try above. Or maybe just start asking yourself in the morning, what you actually need and what's just a learned pattern of behavior.
