Learn about the cardiovascular system and how green tea can synergistically work with it for long-term health and performance...
With all of the concern, both rational and hyped, surrounding the novel coronavirus, it is important to remember that life must go on in some capacity, even as we continue to adapt to a new normal. We have recently put a high level of focus in our podcasts and articles on strategies to help prepare our immune systems for a possible encounter. Let’s take a quick aside to remind you that these additional strategies will do little to nothing if you are not maintaining your baseline health. Hygiene comes first, but right behind that should be the basics: adequate sleep, hydration, nutrition, and physical activity. Let’s take a few minutes to focus on the latter…
KEEP YOUR FLUIDS MOVING!
Let’s put physical activity into two categories: (1) basic movement to support organ function and circulation, and (2) purposeful training to increase cardiovascular and/or muscular fitness. The original activity of human beings was movement for the purpose of living: walking, running, lifting and carrying, etc. Because of our current modern lifestyle where most professions do not require much movement, our activity has to be planned, hence the creation of the concept of “exercise” as we know it: planned physical activity. However you organize your day, movement has to be present in order for things to just work. Exercise goes hand in hand with matcha as a healthy daily practice.
The recommended amount of exercise is about 30 minutes of moderate activity or more per day, according to the American Heart Association. This baseline requirement is not really for you to burn more calories, per se, but more for the movement of blood and lymph. These fluids are responsible for bringing nutrients to cells, carrying away waste products, and harboring immune cells. The large skeletal muscles of the lower body are primarily responsible for pumping blood and lymph around and back to the heart (Verma et al, 2017). This means that if you don’t get up and move around, you will be indirectly weakening your immune system – we can all agree that that wouldn’t be a smart idea during these challenging times…
MAINTAIN YOUR HEART
The strength of your heart, blood vessels and lungs is quintessential not only for athletic performance, but also for activities of daily living (ADL). Those that have a maximum aerobic capacity, or VO2 max, below a certain MET (metabolic equivalent) level are at much higher risk for comorbidities and opportunistic infections.
We often think of our skeletal muscle as being the organ that we train, but the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and nervous system all need some “toning” from acute stressors to stay at their best as well. Perhaps it is better to expand our definition of “training” to include all organ systems of the body. Training the heart goes right along with the conventional definition of aerobic exercise – the myocardium is indeed a special type of muscle and works our entire life. You will train your heart through all movement, but particularly through medium to intense activity. Over time, the left ventricle can increase in overall expanded volume (diasystolic dimension) from the fluid dynamic effects of exercise, leading to larger stroke volume (Lee and Oh, 2016); this is more efficient for the heart. An efficient heart is key to longevity and resilience. Matcha can be a helpful
MAINTAIN YOUR BLOOD VESSELS
Total body health also depends on the integrity and adaptability of your blood vessels. During exercise, particularly aerobic, the vessels feeding the heart, muscles, and skin will dilate, while the vessels of the gut will constrict (McGill University). This shift is mediated by the sympathetic hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, which mobilize to give the body more energy for exercise (or fight or flight when the fear response is triggered). The ability of blood vessels to contract or relax in response to temperature, physical or emotional stress is called “vascular reactivity”. Short-term studies have shown that drinking green tea may improve this metric (Harvard Health, 2015).
Blood vessel adaptability is important for both the short-term, as well as for longevity. The development of atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness is associated with many other comorbidities. The lining of the blood vessels, the endothelium, is intimately related to the level of systemic inflammation. When harmful levels of oxidized fats, glucose or pathogens come in contact with the endothelium, they can cause a free-radical cascade leading to injury. Plaque formation at the site of the injury is an initial fix, but down the road can lead to progressive inflammation, stiffening, and narrowing of the arteries, increasing the risk of a blood clot. Exercise and nutrition are key to mitigating this risk. Exercise can increase levels of HDL, the lipoprotein that scavenges LDL. Certain plant compounds have long been known to help with vascular health, too. The catechins found in matcha green tea are well studied for their antioxidative, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-thrombogenic, and lipid lowering effects (Velayutham, 2008).
CATECHINS: A BLOOD VESSEL’S BEST FRIEND
The mechanisms by which green tea catechins can improve vascular health are numerous. One of the most interesting is the ability to induce nitric oxide release from the endothelium (Velayutham, 2008). Nitric oxide is a gas hormone that helps vessels dilate and can lower blood pressure if the effect is large enough. It is naturally released during aerobic exercise. Considering that both matcha green tea and exercise have this effect, having a warm bowl of matcha about 1 hour – 30 minutes prior to exercise might help prime the vessels to be relaxed and low resistance, anticipating activity (like a pre-workout, but without the extra caffeine and sugar).
Green tea catechins have also been shown to directly hinder the progression of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is in essence started by micro-injury to the endothelium from oxidized lipids, followed by a cascade of pro-inflammatory signals that worsen the original issue if not soon turned off. Catechins have actually been shown to improve this from several angles. Acting early, catechins limit intestinal absorption of lipids from the diet, meaning there will be lower levels of circulating lipids in the bloodstream. At the site of injury, catechins are able to downregulate inflammatory signaling molecules, as well as suppress platelet aggregation which is involved in blood clot formation (Velayutham, 2008). Long-term consumption of green tea has also been shown to decrease levels of fibrinogen, a protein component of blood clots (Vinson et al, 2004). A Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis conducted on white, Chinese-American, black, and Hispanic populations showed that habitual tea drinking (≥1 cup/day) could inhibit the progression of coronary artery calcification, which led to a decreased cardiovascular event incidence (Miller et al, 2017). It is worth mentioning that all of these pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidative processes have a place in the body for healing acute injury – the danger is in an acute situation morphing into a chronic situation. This is why integrative health has such a focus on anti-inflammatory foods and habits, to help shift the balance in that direction. Matcha tea is one such tool consistent with a lifestyle that works with the body’s mechanisms.
It is of note that those on blood thinning medications (i.e. Warfarin or Coumadin) should be moderate about green tea consumption for two opposing reasons: (1) matcha green tea in particular has high levels of vitamin K, which are pro-clot formation and could counteract the medicine, and (2) green tea has other blood-thinning effects that could thin the blood too much when combined with the medicine. There are many plant compounds that have these effects in large doses (i.e. turmeric), so always check food interactions with your medications if you are unsure. Plants are powerful, and that’s good! Just make sure you understand the ramifications of your particular situation.
MATCHA AND METABOLISM
We’ll look at one more angle of matcha’s benefits in regards to cardiometabolic health. As already mentioned, matcha green tea (and some other teas) has the ability to prevent some dietary fat from being absorbed into the small intestine, thus curtailing circulating lipid levels, when consumed around the same time as a meal. This can be of some benefit for long-term health, helping to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated that tea consumption is inversely associated with cardiovascular disease risk (Cao et al, 2019), whether that is from the tea itself or from the associated healthy habits like exercise. There is also some modest research showing that matcha tea consumption can elevate metabolic rate. A study of women who consumed several 1-g servings of matcha on the day previous to and the day of a brisk 30-minute walk showed slight elevation of fat oxidation levels, compared to an internal control of the same participants’ own levels without consuming matcha (Willems et al, 2018).
The contribution of matcha should not be overstated, but simply considered as a useful tool in combination with a healthy diet, adequate physical activity and sleep. After all, at the end of the day, losing weight, gaining fitness, or increasing immunity is never about any one thing – it’s about the grand total of all habits and the way that you live your life. Everything that you eat, drink, think and do affects you in the moment, and down the road via gene expression. High quality matcha green tea can be a catalyst to promote intelligent habits in all aspects of your life. Cheers to staying healthy during a pandemic, and every other time of your life!
© Sabine Harrington 2020, all rights reserved.
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