Want to ‘shrink waistline’? Doctor advises drinking matcha to lose an inch of your belly

Matcha is a fine powder of green tea leaves. Its antioxidant content makes it good for weight loss and other health issues. Here's how to use it in your diet.

Matcha, a finely ground green tea powder, has been touted for its potential weight loss benefits. A doctor has now given a breakdown of its potential. In a January 2, 2025 episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, physician William W Li shared 'groundbreaking insights from 30+ years of research on the connection between food and health'. Among other things, he highlighted how ‘powerful’ matcha is for weight loss.

Matcha's weight loss properties

He said, “Matcha is one of my favourite ways of having green tea. Now we know green tea, so you have it in a tea bag and the tea leaves are steeped in the hot water and the polyphenols, the catechins come dissolving out of that into the water and you sip it and you get the good stuff, the catechins, which by the way turn on your brown fat to trigger down and burn harmful white fat. But, matcha is a lot more powerful than tea in a bag because match is the entire tea leaf ground into a powder. Now you get 100 percent of the polyphenols; there is nothing left inside a teabag; the whole shebang is in there, and the dietary fibre is good for your gut microbiome. So if you want a dose of polyphenols from tea, drink matcha. You get the fibre, 100 percent of the polyphenols. It's super powerful and that's been shown to burn down harmful body fat. How do we know it burns harmful body fat? It is because it actually shrinks your waistline. You can actually lose an inch of a belt by drinking matcha and that's been studied by researchers in Japan in clinical research.”

How to drink matcha if you don't like the taste

There are many ways to enjoy matcha. Traditional matcha tea is made by sifting 1–2 teaspoons of matcha powder into a cup, adding hot water, and mixing it together with a bamboo whisk. If you don't like the taste of matcha, William shared how it is easy to incorporate matcha into your diet.

Asked if it was okay to add a little sugar to the drink as 'matcha tastes like dirty grass at times' and if that would 'kill all the benefits', William said, “If you are struggling with the taste of matcha... listen, the reason it tastes like grass is because it is a whole leaf in there. So here is what you do – make a smoothie or a shake and just pour it (matcha) in there and it will just disappear right in the background. It is the simplest way.”

What is matcha?

According to a February 25 article in Healthline.com, matcha, a popular type of tea available as matcha shots, lattes, teas, and desserts, contains the nutrients from the entire tea leaf and contains more caffeine and antioxidants than are typically present in green tea. Like green tea, matcha comes from the camellia sinensis plant. However, it’s grown differently and has a unique nutrient profile.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.