Type 2 diabetes is a condition that results in the body struggling to produce enough insulin. When this occurs, blood sugar levels can rise to a dangerous level. If high blood sugar levels are left untreated, a few complications can occur, including kidney problems, nerve damage and even heart attacks. Fortunately, a few simple lifestyle changes can make all the difference and keep blood sugar levels in check. This hot beverage has been proven to help lower blood sugar levels and could even prevent the condition. What is it?
Tea is one of the healthiest drinks one could consume, according to research. However, research notes that some of the benefits are best experienced in you drink it without milk.
Tea has been proven to help improve insulin sensitivity, maintaining healthy blood pressure, prevent blood clots, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, reducing risks of developing cancer, and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes.co.uk said on their website: “Teas such as black tea, green tea and oolong tea contain polyphenols which researchers believe may increase insulin activity.
Polyphenols are known to have anti-oxidative properties which can help protect against inflammation and carcinogens.
In other words, the properties in tea can help to prevent type 2 diabetes as well as cancer.”
In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, black tea was investigated to determine how it could help prevent type 2 diabetes.
As part of the research, black tea and green tea were given to diabetic rats for three months.
Alongside inhibiting diabetic cataracts, the tea was found to have a blood sugar-lowering effect.
The researchers wrote: “Black tea represents a potentially inexpensive, nontoxic, and, in fact, pleasurable blood sugar lowering agent.
“Tea may be a simple, inexpensive means of preventing or retarding human diabetes and the ensuing complications.”
Another study has claimed that people who drink at least three cups of black tea each day could be lowering their risk of developing conditions such as diabetes and heart attacks.
The research found that three cups of tea per day could reduce the risk of heart attack by up to 60 per cent and substantially lower the chances of people getting type 2 diabetes.
Given the available evidence, regular black tea intake is linked with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes
Carrie Ruxton
The study, which assessed data potentially linking the consumption of black tea with disease prevention, revealed that black tea helped to produce a significant protective association in the majority of cases.
The benefits came from a range of positive factors in black tea, including antioxidant flavonoids and thiamine, which work to control levels of blood pressure and maintain the production of nitric oxide production and therefore the health of arteries, as well as inhibiting platelet aggregation, a main cause of blood clots.
Co-leader of the research, Carrie Ruxton said: “Given the available evidence, regular black tea intake is linked with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
“Three to six cups of black tea a day appears to contribute to cardiovascular health.”
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