My favorite drink from Starbucks is the Iced Matcha Green Tea Latte. Like, I love the stuff. Maybe a little bit too much. It's becoming addictive, but with summer literally in full swing and my vacation to Florida around the corner, I can't afford to gain 100 pounds from the sweetly bitter beverage. So yes, maybe I'm writing this article to make myself feel better, but I decided to do a little research to see if the drink that I'm obsessed with has any benefits.

First of all, what is Matcha? Matcha is a shade-grown green tea that is steamed, dried, then ground into a powder. Growing in the shade actually increases the chlorophyll content in the leaves. It is farmed in a unique way in that the stems and the roots are cut off during processing, which is seen as a way to purify the plant. Popular in Japanese and Chinese traditional ceremonies, this ingredient has been around for centuries, allowing time for us to discover the many benefits of the powder.

The reason Matcha is much more healthy than other teas is that the entire leaf is used and dissolved rather than just steeping the leaves and then throwing them away. You are losing many antioxidants by just throwing away the leaves. Matcha posses 10 times more antioxidants than regular tea, which is a huge boost. One special antioxidant, catechins, searches for and destroys free radicals in the body. Recall that free radicals are unstable, uncharged molecules that are searching for an electron to become stable. They will "steal" an electron from a stable molecule, turning it into a free radical. It begins a chain reaction, and it results in a disrupted and damaged cell. Antioxidants neutralize the effects of the free radicals by donating one of their own electrons so that the stable cells go unharmed. It is for this reason that they are powerful anti-carcinogens.

Matcha is also known for lowering bad cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol. LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein, and high levels of it can cause the clogging of your arteries. Drinking matcha green tea regularly can prevent this from happening. Though there are countless other benefits, one significant benefit that is worth mentioning is that matcha green tea can improve your mind. What does that really mean?

According to Bodybuilding.com, Matcha possesses an increased amount of L-theanine, an amino acid that is responsible for alpha wave activity in the brain that combats too many beta waves. Alpha waves evoke the feeling of deep relaxation, while increased amounts of beta waves are caused by stress. If you have more alpha then beta, your mind will be less cluttered and you will be able to focus on tasks at hand. Being more relaxed is the first step to improving your mental health.

So while there might be a surplus of calories in your drink, you can rest easy knowing that you are getting a world of benefits by consuming one of the best kinds of tea that we have.