I started drinking matcha green tea only because i wanted to drink some tea, not because i thought of how it would help my mental health. I had remembered that green tea has l-theanine which is supposed to help with schizophrenia symptoms, however, that wasnt even a factor as to why i started drinking matcha. I had a canister of matcha on my pill caddy rack from months ago, and i started drinking some of it regularly(twice daily) over this past week. I now realize why ive been feeling so good(symptoms and cognition got better.) Matcha has 4x more l-theanine than regular green tea, and it has major heath benefits, including: brain and heart health, it promotes weight loss, and increases immunity to certain bacteria and viruses. On top of that, matcha has less caffine than a cup of coffee(but the cognition enhancements last much longer than coffee,) there is no crash, and the energy and mental clarity gained from it are night and day better than any suppliment ive taken to try to ease the side effects i get from my medication.
With all that said, there is one more reason, which is the main reason why i think everyone with schizophrenia should at least try matcha tea: to help aliviate symptoms of schizophrenia. I didnt know what was making my symptoms and cognition better. That is until tonight. I put two and two together tonight, as i was having an attack from the voices that im plagued with. I mixed half a teaspoon(2g) of matcha tea in 6oz of water, and literally 10 minutes after i drank it, i could barely hear the voices, nor was i even thinking of them. Its like they faded away without me even realizing what was happening. Right now, while im thinking of the voices, i can sort of hear them but they are distant, and they quickly fade away if i dont think of them. Matcha has a very strong calming effect to it, despite the fact that it has caffine, and it increases mental clarity and cognition passively(not just because of the caffine.)
Matcha is expensive, but you can buy 100grams of matcha(50 servings(25 days,) for 40$ on amazon, if you live in the united states. I bought, “crafti(the brand of matcha i bought,) cerimonial grade matcha” on the amazon online store. You can get a smaller amount of matcha from them for less money, if you just want to try it out for a short amount of time to see if it helps you. I just subscribed for monthly deliveries of their matcha because of the results that i just realized i was getting from it. However, Im assuming that most brands of matcha would be suitable to help with symptoms and side effects of schizophrenia. As of right now, im going through 2grams(1 serving) of matcha twice daily. Once in the morning, and then again in the evening. If you are looking for improvements in your mental health then i highly suggest you try matcha green tea. It helped better my schizophrenia symptoms, and improved my mental cognition, and it could help you as well. I got beneficial results from taking it for only a week, and i couldnt be happier that i found something that is helping me this much. I highly recommend matcha green tea for anyone with schizophrenia!
Matcha is amazing and at least in my case helps with a lot of things, including anxiety. But out of curiosity, have you tried a grain free diet? A lot of people say quitting grains, especially wheat helps a lot with the symptoms. Low carb works wonders, but grain free especially totally changes my brain. It’s probably different for everyone, of course. And when I added matcha in the morning, I was quite amazed, it was wonderful. So much energy, so alert, but in a calm way. I was afraid of matcha for a long time, because of the caffeine and I am sensitive, but it works very differently than coffee, because of all that l-theanine
I’m currently on a grain free diet it’s going OK so far. But it does mean I eat a lot of bananas… I just struggle with cooking for starters but maybe it’s good too to avoid it for me.
I ordered some caffeine free green tea. I have trouble with caffeine because of stomach issues, but there is a lot of healthy constituents in it, like l-theanine and tannins. Hopefully it will give me a boost.
Not for me. Tried it for six months. It actually made my symptoms a lot worse because it made me irritable and when I’m irritable it riles my positive symptoms. Don’t recommend this.
Helped with my weight loss, but, once again, didn’t do anything for my SZ. I refer you to what I said about being irritable making my symptoms worse.
I also find matcha to be disgusting to consume so I drink regular green tea and take L-Theanine as a supplement.
I have never tried Matcha but I take L-Theanine at bedtime mixed into my green tea and it helps me fall asleep without dealing with noises and voices. I use this in conjunction with a keto diet(also grain free if I stay away from keto packaged treats)
I’ve never tried a grain free diet but have done several different types of diets over the past 10 years to try to shed the 100 pounds i gained while i was on depakote, and I’ve been slowly losing weight since then. I’m no longer drinking caffeinated coffee, only decaf. I’m trying to restrict my caffeine intake but I’m still drinking some caffeinated soda pop from time to time. No energy drinks for sure.
Regarding green tea/matcha: After being on matcha and green tea for the past month now, i can say that i cant function without it. It’s almost like it’s medicine in itself and that my psyche med is just a maintenance med that i take on the side. I’ve never had results like this for my schizophrenia and I’ve had schizophrenia now for 14+ years. I thank God that He created green tea! I heard it said once, “Let my medicine be my food”. Well, for me, that is true when it comes to green tea and schizophrenia.
Have you tried matcha shots or matcha lattes? For the shots, just heat up 2 ounces/59ml of water, mix 2g of matcha into it, and down it. It’s a similar method to taking some strong cough syrup or something like that. Or you could mix the matcha with some heated milk and sugar. I personally don’t like the fishy taste i get from matcha but i have grown to not mind it. The benefits are worth the taste imho.
If I’m going out for a while, ill boil some water, drop 3 green tea bags into my thermos with a little bit of sweet 'n low, and take it out and about with me.
I’ve been grain free since 2012, but I have a few relapses. I had to move for a project to another city this April and ate wheat 5-6 times in a week or two, because I was under a lot of stress. I also have prediabetes, so I started feeling unwell and went grain free again. 4 weeks later, when my brain cleared up and I felt sooo much better again, I realized(again) I should never eat grains or at least wheat, ever again. It gives me so many health problems, including mental problems, I don’t know why I relapse.
I basically eat very simple - meat at lunch time, with some veggies, fruit, real sheep or goat yogurt and nuts during the day, meat+veggies for dinner and a banana before sleep. It took years, but my taste preferences changed(my health kinda forced me) and now I like it very simple.
My boyfriend is off grains too, because he wanted to lose weight and it worked very well, but the last kilo or two he lost thanks to Matcha and now he wants his Matcha every morning - lots of energy and a fat burner, what not to like
But yeah, wheat is a huge no no(it’s not about gluten, it’s a lot of things, modern wheat is too modified), corn is a no no, rice is not that bad in small doses, although I do skip it. I’ve had problems since I was 20, so I’ve been reading and trying stuff for around 20 years. Now on a relatively low carb diet(+ matcha and oolong teas, and probiotics) I feel the best.
Sorry for the long answer, but it’s been a bumpy ride and I hope people skip some of it
I was irritable at first, but I added enzymes, probiotics and found balance with fruit. No fruit at all doesn’t work for me. I also get very irritable even now, if my meat/fish is not fatty, there has to be animal fat or I also still feel very hungry. But this is what works for me, we are all different.
About Matcha it’s not just the l-theanine for me, as nicGeorge said it’s medicine, it helps me a lot. But again, different people, different effect. Maybe try Oolong tea, something like DongDing or similar is very light and very pleasant.
I have tried all of the fad diets for SZ at some point and they generally have little effect on my symptoms. I have had very good results from probiotics, but notthing so profound that I am going off my meds. I started taking them for diverticular disease and discovered they help level me out mentally, so that was a plus.
A healthy diet (Mediterranean), avoiding processed foods, and regular exercise have really helped. Some supplements are helpful, but most are garbage. Therapy and maintaining a recovery centered mindset are huge. And, of course, being med compliant with my APs.
I have also tried a ton of fad diets and boatloads of different supplements which cost me more money than I want to think about. Different things are going to work for different people.
I’m fasting at the moment, and need to take advise from you and your bf. It def helps to eat relatively healthy, and the only caffeine im trying to drink is the caffeine from green tea/matcha. Caffeine is a psychoactive which is the same type of drug as marijuana and is worse than eating unhealthy for me. I’ve also quit smoking as well which was a long process.
and I hope people skip some of it