Can Matcha play with your iron levels? Here’s what you need to know

With its charming green shade and its earthy flavor, Matcha tea has become a star of the coffee menus and publications on social networks. But online, some creators sound the alarm that Matcha drinkers could put themselves at risk of anemia.

Matcha – A type of green powder tea – has been a basic food from Japanese cuisine for centuries. But the drink has experienced a major increase in popularity in the West in recent years; The United States is now one of the best matcha importers worldwide, sales reaching more than $ 10 billion in the past 25 years.

But now there is a rumor circulating on Tiktok according to which drinking tea or slats for matcha could reduce iron levels, which causes iron ferres anemia.

“Anemic and anxious, ignoring that Matcha has more caffeine than coffee and blocks the absorption of iron,” wrote the creator Yumi in a February video viewed 775,000 times.

In a video with 2.8 million views, Tiktker Kacey Ondimu said that she went from Matcha to Moringa tea after discovering that the first “provoked” [her] chronic iron deficiency. »»

Even professionals accredited on Tiktok like Kunal Sood, MD, say that “drinking matcha just after an iron -rich meal can reduce your absorption of iron”.

So, your favorite green drink puts you at risk of anemia? Here is what the experts had to say about the link between the levels of matcha and iron.

Matcha is a finely ground powder based on dried and cultivated green tea leaves. Unlike loose tea, the matcha powder shape allows a quick and easy mixture – no soaking required.

Although it is more popular as tea or latte, you can find matcha in all kinds of recipes and prefabricated foods such as ice cream, cheese cake, pancakes and cookies.

From a nutritional point of view, Matcha is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory plant compounds, and has a “unique pavement of caffeine and the-the-the-the-the-the-best”, which provides “calm energy and dietitian and a doctoral student of Sapna Peruvemba, MS, RDN, dietitian and nutritional sciences recorded in California.

Essentially, “Matcha offers a soft boost without the tremors or accidents you could get coffee,” she said Health.

There are about 70 to 80 milligrams of caffeine in a teaspoon of matcha powder, which is the typical quantity used for a cup of tea, said Peruvemba. A cup of coffee contains approximately 90 milligrams of caffeine.

The concern about matcha and iron has to do with one of the compounds found in the powder: tannins.

Tanins are one of the many types of antioxidant compounds present in matcha and are studied for their potential role in the prevention of diseases such as cancer.

However, tannins also restrict the body’s ability to absorb iron, which increases the risk of iron ferres anemia. This condition can cause symptoms such as fatigue, stunning, headache, shortness of breath and more.

Matcha is not the only food source of tannins – they are also in chocolate, some green green vegetables, coffee, other teas and nuts. But the tannins are particularly concentrated in matcha powder. An older study revealed that the concentration of a type of tannin, the Gallate d’Espigallocatechine (EGCG), was 137 times higher in matcha than in standard green tea, for example.

This means that there is something in the theory of Tiktkers on matcha and iron problems, explained Kirbie Daily, MS, RD, deputy director of Olympic nutrition at the University of Memphis (and passionate about Matcha).

“Matcha himself does not intrinsically provoke the anemia of iron deficiency,” she said Health. “But this can have an impact on your body’s ability to effectively absorb iron if it is consumed too close to a meal.”

Matcha consumption with (or immediately after) a very rich iron meal makes iron less bioavailable or harder for the body to absorb, in the gastrointestinal tract, she explained.

This means that if consumed in large quantities, green tea could cause low iron levels over time.

However, Peruvemba said that the effects of matcha on iron levels are probably minimal for most healthy people. Regular consumption of green tea is rarely linked to high rates of iron ferres anemia.

But Péruvemba warned that if you are already more at risk of iron ferres anemia, you may want to be a little more caution. This includes any pregnant and breastfeeding person, people with heavy periods, those who recover from surgery, vegetarians and vegans, and people with gastrointestinal diseases such as celiac disease or inflammatory intestine diseases.

According to daily, Matcha consumption safely comes down to timing.

“Drinking matcha with or immediately after meals will have a stronger inhibitor effect on the absorption of iron than to drink it between meals,” she said. “I recommend that you give you at least one to two hours between your meals or iron supplementation, and have your matcha.”

Of course, the amount – and the type – of the matcha that you consume are also important.

“Matcha ice, for example, is very weak in real matcha compared to drinking a matcha tea,” said Megan Byrd, RD, creator of the Coffee Copycat blog, said Health. “The more the matcha consumed daily, the higher the supposed risk.”

For this reason, Byrd does not recommend more than one Matcha cup per day for anyone concerned about their iron levels.

Also, don’t forget that matcha is just a piece of the food puzzle for iron absorption. Rather than focusing on a single drink, focus on your diet as a whole.

“It also helps to look at the situation as a whole,” said Peruvemba. “Do you eat enough food-rich foods?” Try a plant-based plant … [iron] Sources with vitamin C to stimulate absorption? »»

Eating food such as red meat, fish, lentils, oats, quinoa and nuts can help you get more iron in your diet. And associate these foods with other rich in vitamin C – such as broccoli, mango, peppers or strawberries – can make absorption even better.