Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic… tea’s health benefits are numerous. And if the results of a new study are to be believed, tea could also help reduce the risk of diabetes. Here’s the lowdown.
Tea, a hot beverage that lowers blood sugar levels
According to a study presented at the annual congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) last September in Stockholm, drinking tea daily may help reduce the risk of diabetes.
To reach this conclusion, researchers at Wuhan University in China carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 studies from 8 different countries. In all, over a million people were studied.
According to the results, drinking black, green or oolong tea lowers blood sugar levels.
Drinking 4 cups of tea a day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by around 17%.
In detail, the study reveals that each cup of tea consumed per day reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by around 1%.
And the more you drink, the greater the effects! In fact, researchers have found that drinking one to three cups of tea a day for 10 years reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 4%.
As for those who drink at least four cups of tea a day, their risk of developing type 2 diabetes is reduced by 17%.
The association between tea consumption and reduced risk of diabetes was observed for all three types of tea (black, green or oolong).
While no causal link has been established, scientists believe that it is polyphenols, a component present in tea, that lead to lower blood sugar levels.
» Our results are interesting because they suggest that people can do something as simple as drinking four cups of tea a day to potentially reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes , » concludes Xiaying Li, lead author of the study.