Study suggests drinking dark tea every day may help control blood sugar to reduce diabetes risk

Consuming darkish tea on daily basis might assist to mitigate sort 2 diabetes danger and development in adults by higher blood sugar management, suggests new analysis offered on the Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Hamburg (2–6 Oct).

The examine, by researchers from the College of Adelaide in Australia and Southeast College in China, discovered that in contrast with by no means tea drinkers, each day customers of darkish tea had 53% decrease danger for prediabetes and 47% lowered danger for sort 2 diabetes, even after taking into consideration established risk factors recognized to drive the danger for diabetes, together with age, gender, ethnicity, physique mass index (BMI), common arterial blood stress, fasting plasma glucose, ldl cholesterol, alcohol consumption, smoking standing, household historical past of diabetes and common train.

“The substantial well being advantages of tea, together with a lowered danger of heart problems and sort 2 diabetes, have been reported in a number of research over latest years, however the mechanisms underlying these advantages have been unclear,” notes the examine’s co-lead creator Affiliate Professor Tongzhi Wu from the College of Adelaide and The Hospital Analysis Basis Group Mid-Profession Fellow.

“Our findings trace on the protecting results of ordinary tea ingesting on blood sugar administration through elevated glucose excretion in urine, improved insulin resistance and thus higher management of blood sugar. These advantages have been most pronounced amongst each day darkish tea drinkers.”

These helpful results on metabolic management might lie within the distinctive approach darkish tea is produced, which entails microbial fermentation, a course of which will yield distinctive bioactive compounds (together with alkaloids, free amino acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and their derivatives) to exhibit potent antioxidant and anti inflammatory results, enhance each insulin sensitivity and the efficiency of beta cells within the pancreas, and alter the composition of the micro organism within the intestine.

The most recent cross-sectional examine included 1,923 adults (562 males,1,361 girls aged 20–80 years) dwelling locally throughout eight provinces in China. In complete, 436 contributors have been dwelling with diabetes and 352 with prediabetes, and 1,135 had regular blood glucose ranges.

Individuals included each non-habitual tea drinkers and people with a historical past of ingesting solely a single sort of tea. They have been requested in regards to the frequency (i.e., by no means, sometimes, usually and on daily basis) and sort (i.e. inexperienced, black, darkish, or different tea) of tea consumption.

The researchers examined the affiliation between each the frequency and sort of tea consumption and excretion of glucose within the urine (assessed by the morning spot urine glucose-to-creatine ratio [UGCR]), insulin resistance (measured utilizing the triglyceride and glucose index [TyG] derived from fasting plasma glucose and fasting triglyceride ranges), and glycemic standing (outlined as a historical past of sort 2 diabetes, present use of antidiabetic medicines, or an irregular 75g oral glucose tolerance check).

Individuals with diabetes usually have enhanced capability for renal glucose reabsorption, so their kidneys retrieve extra glucose, stopping it from being excreted in urine, which contributes to the upper blood sugar.

After accounting for variations in age, intercourse, and scientific and way of life elements, the evaluation discovered that ingesting tea on daily basis was related to a rise in urinary glucose excretion (UGCR by 0.11 mmol/mmol) and a discount in insulin resistance (TyG by -0.23), in addition to 15% decrease danger for prediabetes and 28% lowered danger for sort 2 diabetes, in contrast with by no means tea-drinkers.

These favorable well being results have been most strong for darkish tea drinkers, with consumption of darkish tea related to a rise in UGCR by 0.16 mmol/mmol and a discount in TyG by 0.31.

In keeping with Affiliate Professor Wu, “These findings counsel that the actions of bioactive compounds in darkish tea might instantly or not directly modulate glucose excretion within the kidneys, an impact, to some extent, mimicking that of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, a brand new anti-diabetic drug class that isn’t solely efficient at stopping and treating sort 2 diabetes, but additionally has a considerable protecting results on the center and kidneys.”

Co-lead creator Professor Zilin Solar from Southeast College provides, “Our findings counsel that ingesting darkish tea on daily basis has the potential to reduce sort 2 diabetes risk and development by higher blood sugar management. While you have a look at all of the totally different biomarkers related to ordinary ingesting of darkish tea, it might be one easy step individuals can simply take to enhance their food plan and well being.”

Regardless of the promising findings, the authors warning that as with all observational examine, the findings can’t show that ingesting tea on daily basis improves blood sugar management by growing urinary glucose excretion and lowering insulin resistance, however counsel that they’re more likely to contribute.

They’re at present conducting a double-blind, randomized trial to analyze the advantages of darkish tea on blood glucose management in individuals dwelling with sort 2 diabetes to validate their findings. As well as, they can’t rule out the likelihood that residual confounding by different way of life and physiological elements might have affected the outcomes.