Green tea is a very popular drink in Asian countries which has several putative health benefits. I recently had a conversation with an individual who asked me what effect green tea has on glucose tolerance. The results of this relatively recent study suggest that green tea may have some beneficial effects on glucose tolerance.
“BACKGROUND: Green tea is widely consumed in Asian countries and is becoming increasingly popular in Western countries. Epidemiologically, it has been suggested that green tea consumption prevents type 2 diabetes. The present study was aimed at providing evidence of improvement in glucose metabolism in diabetic mice and healthy humans upon green tea consumption.”
“RESULTS: Green tea promoted glucose metabolism in healthy human volunteers at 1.5 g/body in oral glucose tolerance tests. Green tea also lowered blood glucose levels in diabetic db+/db+ mice and streptozotocin-diabetic mice 2-6 h after administration at 300 mg/kg without affecting serum insulin level..”
“CONCLUSION: The present study provides evidence that green tea has an antidiabetic effect. “
- Green tea may actually have an antidiabetic effect which suggests that people who do have diabetes or are borderline diabetic may want to consider drinking a cup or two of green tea each day.
- Considering that blood sugar levels rise following a meal, it may be optimal to try drinking green tea either just prior to eating a meal or during a meal–then see if it helps you to control your blood sugar.
Reference:
Tsuneki H, Ishizuka M, Terasawa M, Wu JB, Sasaoka T, Kimura I. Effect of green tea on blood glucose levels and serum proteomic patterns in diabetic (db/db) mice and on glucose metabolism in healthy humans. BMC Pharmacol. 2004 Aug 26;4:18.
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5 Comments
May 14, 2008 at 3:13 pm
The results of this recent study support Green Tea Extract’s beneficial effects on glucose tolerance and also fat oxidation.
“BACKGROUND: Green tea consumption is reportedly associated with various health-promoting properties. For example, it has been shown to promote fat oxidation in humans at rest and to prevent obesity and improve insulin sensitivity in mice.”
“OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of acute ingestion of green tea extract (GTE) on glucose tolerance and fat oxidation during moderate-intensity exercise in humans”
“CONCLUSIONS: Acute GTE ingestion can increase fat oxidation during moderate-intensity exercise and can improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in healthy young men.”
Venables MC, Hulston CJ, Cox HR, Jeukendrup AE. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):778-84.
June 21, 2008 at 8:43 am
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Lectureship!
July 6, 2008 at 9:05 am
how many tea bags of green tea( or cups of green tea) does a human need to consume in order to experience the glucose lowering effect of green tea?
thanks.
July 6, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Pit, thank you for your question. I should have made this clearer. Moderate consumption of green tea or 1-2 cups per day should be enough to help non-obese people lower their blood glucose levels.
Polychronopoulos E, Zeimbekis A, Kastorini CM, Papairakleous N, Vlachou I, Bountziouka V, Panagiotakos DB. Effects of black and green tea consumption on blood glucose levels in non-obese elderly men and women from Mediterranean Islands (MEDIS epidemiological study). Eur J Nutr. 2008 Feb;47(1):10-6. Epub 2008 Jan 18.
November 7, 2008 at 7:50 pm
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