The antioxidant-packed tea that kills cancer stem cells

At some point in your life, you’ve probably been told to “treat your body like a temple.”

And that’s good advice.

You only have one body, after all. And it has to last you for a while. So, why not treat it with respect and love?

You can do that by nourishing it with healthy ceremonies (aka habits) that contribute to its well-being. And do you know a great place to start?

With a matcha green tea ceremony.

What’s matcha, and what can it do for you?

If you’re not already familiar with matcha green tea, it’s a powdered version of classic green tea that’s super popular nowadays. People drink it, bake with it, cook with it and more.

But matcha green tea isn’t just some new fad, it has ancient roots in Japanese culture. It’s used in traditional tea ceremonies that encourage mindfulness and “present moment” awareness.

What better way to take care of your body than to turn down your cortisol levels with a stress-relieving mindfulness tea ceremony, am I right?

But stress relief isn’t all matcha has to offer. Sure, you can use matcha as a tasty form of meditation. But even if you don’t, it has some major benefits for your body.

Studies show matcha can protect you from premature aging, help you lose weight, give you an energy boost… and even kill cancer cells.

Matcha green tea vs. cancer

Researchers from the Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Salford recently found that matcha goes after breast cancer stem cells in some remarkable ways.

In case you don’t know, cancer stem cells are cells within a tumor that can reproduce, causing cancer to spread. But matcha green tea puts these cancer stem cells in their place…

Even at small doses, matcha green tea caused these dangerous cells to become dormant, so they couldn’t reproduce and spread.

“The effects on human breast cancer cells were very striking, the active ingredients in matcha having a surgical effect in knocking out certain signaling pathways. Our results are consistent with the idea that matcha may have significant therapeutic potential, mediating the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells,” said Michael Lisanti, professor of translational medicine at the Biomedical Research Centre.

Basically, matcha green tea reprograms cancer cells in a way that prevents them from refueling. Eventually, they become inactive and die. And, as we all know, the only good cancer cell is a dead one.

Making matcha a part of your life

Want to know where all matcha’s amazing benefits come from? From all it’s amazing antioxidants, of course!

Regular green tea is one of the most antioxidant-packed drinks around. But matcha tea has 137 times more antioxidants than the regular stuff.

Matcha also contains vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc, magnesium and the amino acid L-theanine, which promotes relaxation.

If you’re interested in the ceremonial side of matcha, here’s a video that shows you how to have a traditional Japanese matcha green tea ceremony.

Of course, you don’t need to have a traditional ceremony to nourish your body with matcha.

Just purchase some matcha powder (ceremonial grade matcha is best). Then, use a small sifter to put one to two tablespoons of matcha powder in a teacup. Pour in two ounces of hot water or milk and whisk until frothy. You can add a sweetener if you’d like, but a lot of people like matcha’s earthy flavor unsweetened.

If you’d rather eat your matcha than drink it, head to Pinterest and do a quick search for matcha recipes (and be sure to follow us!). You’ll find everything from matcha brownies to matcha rice. So, there are plenty of ways to get this antioxidant-packed tea into your tummy and take care of yourself.

Sources:

1. Are Stem Cells Involved in Cancer? — National Institutes of Health.
2. What Is Matcha Tea? — Prevention.
3. Matcha green tea kills cancer stem cells in tests — MedicalXpress.
4. Matcha green tea (MGT) inhibits the propagation of cancer stem cells (CSCs), by targeting mitochondrial metabolism, glycolysis and multiple cell signalling pathways — Aging.