A recent study showed that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is significantly reduced if you eat breakfast before 8 a.m. But this study did not specify whether it was better to have tea or coffee with breakfast. This is an oversight corrected since researchers at the University of Adelaide (Australia) discovered that drinking a cup of black tea every day reduces the risk of diabetes by 28%, thanks to better blood sugar control.
Tea reduces risk of diabetes and prediabetes
For this study, researchers followed 1,923 people aged 20 to 80 living in China. In total, 436 participants lived with diabetes, 352 with prediabetes, and 1135 had normal blood sugar levels. The scientists examined the association between the frequency and type of tea consumption and the excretion of glucose in urine as well as insulin resistance.
The analysis found that daily tea consumption was associated with increased urinary glucose excretion and reduced insulin resistance as well as a 15% reduced risk of prediabetes and a reduced risk of 28% type 2 diabetes, compared to people who never drink tea.
Black tea better than green tea
However, these favorable effects of tea on health are more marked among black tea drinkers.
We know that the main antioxidants in tea, catechins, reduce bad cholesterol and lower blood sugar levels. One of these catechins, EGCG, also burns fat reserves, including those most dangerous for the heart, located particularly around the waist. According to Professor Tongzhi Wu, lead author of this study, the beneficial effects on metabolic control lie in the unique way in which black tea is produced, which involves microbial fermentation, a process that can produce unique bioactive compounds that improve both insulin sensitivity and pancreatic cell performance.
Source : Study presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
