Got allergies? Trendy drink could help you stop sneezing, says new study

Nypost · Apr 16, 2026 · 563 words · By Emma Glassman-Hughes

Natural Remedies Health and Wellness Scientific Research Alternative Medicine

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What to know about Natural Remedies

Trendy drink could help you stop sneezing, says new study Have sneezing fits finally met their matcha?

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 3

Topics 4

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Trendy drink could help you stop sneezing, says new study Have sneezing fits finally met their matcha?

Why it matters

With a particularly spicy allergy season brewing, people are looking for effective ways to control their symptoms.

Common ground

They might soon be swapping their visits to the pharmacist for stops at the neighborhood cafe.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole, Thought-Terminating Cliché: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Natural Remedies story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that matcha had the greatest effect on the nervous system — in particular, the part of the brainstem that houses the sneezing reflex?
How does this story connect Natural Remedies with Health and Wellness over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/16/health/got-allergies-trendy-drink-could-help-you-s…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Thought-Terminating Cliché 90% confidence

Using a trite phrase to end debate ('it is what it is', 'agree to disagree').

Why it matters: Recognizing thought-terminating cliché helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: “matcha had the greatest effect on the nervous system — in particular, the part of the brainstem that houses the sneezing reflex.”

CORROBORATED

Two separate web search results explicitly state that matcha suppressed brainstem neuronal activation linked to the sneezing reflex.

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web search NEUTRAL — The photic sneeze reflex manifests as uncontrollable sneezing in response to a stimulus that would not produce a sneeze in people without the trait. The sneezes generally occur in bursts of 1 to 10 sn…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photic_sneeze_reflex

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web search NEUTRAL — Instead, it strongly suppressed brainstem neuronal activation linked to the sneezing reflex,” Dr. Kaminuma said. The matcha used in the study was extracted using hot water at about 149 degrees Fahrenh…
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/mar/13/new-herbal-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The sneeze reflex can be influenced by either the autonomic nervous system or nerve activity. This provides one possible explanation for how matcha could affect the response.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/could-hot-cup-matcha-sto…

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Claim 2: “Dr. Sebastian Lighvani, an allergist at Northwell’s Lenox Hill Hospital”

CORROBORATED

Multiple professional listings confirm Dr. Sebastian Lighvani is an allergist affiliated with Lenox Hill Hospital at Northwell Health.

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web search NEUTRAL — Dr. Sebastian Lighvani is a Allergist-Immunologist in New York, NY. Find Dr. Lighvani's phone number, address, insurance information, hospital affiliations and more.Lenox Hill Hospital at Northwell He…
https://health.usnews.com/doctors/sebastian-lighvani-472901

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web search NEUTRAL — About Dr. Sebastian S. Lighvani. Professional Statement. Dr. Sebastian Lighvani is a board-certified Allergy & Immunology specialist and the Director of Allergy Experts, the premier allergy practice i…
https://www.castleconnolly.com/top-doctors/sebastian-s-lighv…

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web search NEUTRAL — Dr. Sebastian S Lighvani, MD is a health care provider primarily located in New York, NY. He graduated from medical school in 1995 and has 31 years of experience. His specialties include Allergy & Imm…
https://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Sebastian_Lighvani.html

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Claim 3: “Osamu Kaminuma, study co-author and professor at the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Osamu Kaminuma is a professor at the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University and a co-author of the study.

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web search NEUTRAL — Professor Osamu Kaminuma, from the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University in Japan, was particularly interested in matcha’s effects in people with allergic rhini…
https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/news/96099

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web search NEUTRAL — Osamu Kaminuma, study co-author and professor at the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University, spoke about the study with Food & Wine.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/16/health/got-allergies-trendy-dr…

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web search NEUTRAL — Osamu Kaminuma's 235 research works with 2,729 citations, including: Synergistic and additive effect of costimulatory signal and kinases on T cell-dependent steroid-resistant asthma.
https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Osamu-…

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Claim 4: “the mice were given about 10 times the amount of matcha extract than what you’d find in a standard cup.”

CORROBORATED

The web search result 'Tired of Sneezing?' explicitly quotes Kaminuma stating the amount administered to mice corresponded to roughly 10 times the amount typically consumed in a standard cup.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of decimal numeral systems, the most common systems for denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. The Engl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 10-10-321, 10-10-345, 10-10-220, and 10-10-987 are United States long-distance phone services best known for their prolific television and direct mail advertising in the late 1990s. 10-10-321 was the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10-10-321

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ten or The 10 may refer to: The Ten (film), the 2007 American film The TEN, an international athletics meeting and 10,000 m race The Ten American Painters, an American Impressionist artists' grou…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ten

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “Dr. David Corry, professor of immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including the Baylor College of Medicine official site, confirm Dr. David Corry is a professor of immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Steel Corporation is a Japanese-owned American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Steel

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article lists notable people associated with Stuyvesant High School in New York City, organized into rough professional areas and listed in order by their graduating class.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Stuyvesant_High_School…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of multiple births, consisting of notable higher order (4+) multiple births and pregnancies. Twins and triplets are sufficiently common to have their own separate articles. With the use…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_births

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “The extract interfered with the receptors that kick off the involuntary response to a sneeze”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that matcha reduced sneezing by suppressing neuronal activity in the brainstem sneezing center, which is the mechanism for the involuntary response.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Matcha, a traditional Japanese tea, has been implicated in various health effects. Herein, we investigated the impact of Matcha on allergic rhinitis by employing an allergen-induced nasal inflammation…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41786771/

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web search NEUTRAL — Matcha tea reduced sneezing frequency in a mouse model of allergic rhinitis by suppressing neuronal activity in the brainstem sneezing center.
https://www.medindia.net/news/healthinfocus/matcha-intake-li…

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web search NEUTRAL — More information. Sawako Ogata et al, Matcha alleviates sneezing response in a murine model of allergic rhinitis, npj Science of Food (2026).
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-hot-cup-matcha-dial-a…

info

Claim 7: “Three doses of the green powder per week over five weeks, plus an extra helping in the minutes before an allergen exposure, had a significant impact on the hay fever symptoms of the mice.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim discusses general hay fever treatments (Mayo Clinic, NHS) but does not contain the specific dosing schedule (three doses per week for five weeks) for the matcha study.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — There's no way to avoid getting hay fever. If you have hay fever, the best thing to do is to lessen your exposure to the allergens that cause your symptoms. Take allergy medicines before you're expose…
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hay-fever/sym…

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web search NEUTRAL — In one trial, hay fever sufferers who started using intranasal corticosteroids four weeks before pollen season did better than those who started using the spray only on seeing symptoms, for example.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260423-hay-fever-nine-t…

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web search NEUTRAL — Hay fever can last for weeks or months, unlike a cold, which usually goes away after 1 to 2 weeks. How to treat hay fever yourself. There's currently no cure for hay fever and you cannot prevent it. B…
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hay-fever/

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Claim 8: “researchers in Japan were pleased to see that high doses of matcha extract suppressed sneezing in a set of mice engineered to exhibit the symptoms of seasonal allergies in humans”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Japanese researchers found matcha extract suppressed sneezing in mice engineered with allergic rhinitis (hay fever) symptoms.

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web search NEUTRAL — Typical allergy medicines suppress the body’s natural immune response in an attempt to limit its reaction to allergens like dust and pollen. The researchers suspected that some component of matcha was…
https://nypost.com/2026/04/16/health/got-allergies-trendy-dr…

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web search NEUTRAL — They found that when mice were experiencing hay fever, the expression of the c-Fos gene increased, but treatment with matcha reduced expression levels almost back down to normal. The next step is to s…
https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/news/96099

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web search NEUTRAL — The study used a large amount of matcha to achieve this anti-sneezing effect. “In our experiments, the amount of matcha administered to mice corresponded to roughly 10 times the amount typically consu…
https://health.yahoo.com/conditions/immune-system/allergies/…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.