Can Matcha Green Tea Really Help ADHD?

“Oh special for ADHD,” the Starbucks barista commented, and I turned to see who she was talking to. I also heard the order. Chai latte with two tablespoons of matcha powder. I raised an eyebrow because now I’ve heard it in two places: people were treating ADHD with matcha green tea. The first person was my therapist and I was surprised when she recommended him; she was not inclined towards alternative medicine. However, I wrote it off. But after hearing the barista now explain to her colleague “Special Offer for White Girls with ADHD”, I wondered if there was anything to it?

This topic has been covered in TikTok, Reddit and Facebook groups for ADHD. The claim is simple: green tea, or matcha in particular, has some of the same benefits as Adderall, but in a milder, cheaper, and more accessible form.

Why do people look for alternatives to Adderall

Approximately 10% of children in the US and 8% of adults in the US are diagnosed with ADHD, and if you feel like you’re noticing that more and more people you know are getting diagnosed, it’s not an algorithm. From 2007 to 2016 , the number of diagnoses increased by 123% and it continues to grow.

Although there are a number of ADHD medications, including Ritalin and Vyvanse, Adderall continues to be the most popular. Beginning in October 2022, production delays resulted in Adderall shortages that persisted through the winter and spring. Combined with increased demand, this spelled disaster. Recruiting psychiatric dosages is a long and tedious process for patients, and for many, these medications mean being able to do their job or household chores competently. They play an important role in personal and professional relationships. If you cannot find your cure, you are desperately looking for an alternative.

What is the difference between Adderall and matcha?

Adderall , the most popular drug prescribed for ADHD patients, is a central nervous system stimulant that should help by improving task focus and reducing the impulsiveness to change that many with ADHD experience. It is a serious drug, its main components are amphetamines, which also explains why Adderall is so often abused. It has become quite popular on college campuses to help students learn.

Adderall has some side effects that some people tolerate better than others: feeling like your heart is beating or real heartbeat, restlessness, sweating, headaches, dry mouth, and more. We are also experiencing such a severe shortage across the country that ADHD forums are chock full of people asking for advice on how to manage work, school, or relationships without medication.

Matcha is simply ground green tea . Green tea is not much different from any other tea; they are simply the unoxidized leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Brewed green tea doesn’t taste much different from other teas, but matcha, as a concentrate, has a rather grassy taste and turns most drinks a delightful greenish yellow.

The green tea hype centers on two compounds: caffeine and L-theanine , a non-essential amino acid. While you can get caffeine from a variety of sources, there is no L-theanine in coffee. L-theanine is called a nootropic, a cognitive enhancer, and you can buy supplements with it separately, forgoing matcha entirely. In fact, many people simply add L-theanine to their coffee.

Does green tea really help with ADHD symptoms?

There have been studies on caffeine, L-theanine, and their effects on ADHD, but these findings are difficult to extrapolate to suggest that matcha is effective. The reason is simple: when people drink matcha, they use it in varying amounts rather than a constant amount, each body metabolizes the components of matcha differently, and the amounts of caffeine and L-theanine are negligible compared to therapeutic ones. doses of Adderall or similarly prescribed medications. In short, comparing apples to oranges.

However, there are potential benefits: A 2021 study found that matcha as a caffeine supplement in large amounts (nine tablets per day) had a small positive effect on work performance and attention in stressful situations. Compared to that, drinking a cup of matcha is just a microdose. You’ll need many cups (one study suggested eight) to get a therapeutic dose of the compounds in matcha.

Instead of drinking matcha, the individual components themselves may be promised: caffeine and L-theanine , both of which are available as supplements on their own.

Can caffeine and L-theanine supplements help?

In 2021 , researchers reviewed studies over the past 20 years that have examined these compounds and ADHD. They used the following criteria: cognition, reaction time, concentration, headaches, fatigue or alertness.

Although the side effects of caffeine in particular included some of the same Adderall side effects such as migraine and heart problems, there was a net positive improvement in short-term sustained attention and general cognition in adults. In fact, “After reviewing the studies, we found that the combination showed favorable clinical significance in the areas of attention, memory, cognition, and hyperactivity. Overall, we concluded that the combination of L-theanine and caffeine is likely to be a safe and effective cognitive enhancer. “

Before you get too excited, they noted that more research is needed, probably because the research has been very limited and inconsistent in their dosages. The conclusion does not quantify how much caffeine and L-theanine helped, nor does it compare those results to Adderall’s or more traditional treatments. Finally, it should be noted that collective studies were conducted on a small number of participants.

It should also be noted that caffeine and L-theanine have their own side effects: withdrawal headache and increased blood pressure or tachycardia. High doses of L-theanine cause nausea.

Bottom line: don’t expect much

In short, while caffeine and L-theanine may hold some promise, their effects are still not well understood. Most people who use matcha therapeutically are probably doing it at much lower doses than what is needed to see any effect, and if they did, they would have some of the same side effects that are seen. in people taking prescribed medications.

On the other hand, in small doses, such as a cup of matcha, these compounds also have very little negative effect. They are unlikely to cause harm and may have a placebo effect.