Matcha.com claims: “With its unique combination of antioxidants, L-theanine, and gentle energy boost, matcha may help combat fatigue, reduce inflammation, and even stabilise your mood.”
Meanwhile, menstrual cup brand Lunette adds that drinking matcha during your period can ease period cramps, boost antioxidants, offer pain relief, boost your energy and reduce mood swings.
And, according to Asako Miyashita, a Japanese Registered Dietitian Nutritionist of the State of New York (MS, RDN, CDN), matcha ‘helps reduce cramping. It is good for your body, especially during menstruation’.
Ooika further notes that you shouldn’t feel any negative side effects from drinking a standard amount of matcha, adding that the ‘potentially troublesome’ compound people worry about in tea is caffeine.
How does caffeine affect the body during your period?
Caffeine stimulates your central nervous system and, when over-consumed, it could lead to disruption of sleep, feelings of anxiety and nervousness and mood swings.
And, as you’re on your period, you’re already prone to those symptoms, which could worsen due to caffeine. According to Flo, caffeine can also block a hormone, called adenosine, that can cause blood vessels to constrict, thereby slowing down blood flow.
However you’d apparently need to drink a whole load of matcha to feel any negative effects brought on by the caffeine, as the FDA explains that healthy adults can consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day (which works out as around four cups of coffee) without risk to their health.
One cup of matcha tea contains even less caffeine than a cup of coffee – around 25 to 70mg per cup compared to 70 to 140mg in a cup of coffee.
Additionally, caffeine in matcha doesn’t affect you the same way it does in coffee.
Now, that’s not to say Syah is completely wrong, as too much of anything is not good for your body – a principle that applies to all kinds of food and drinks.
