Green Tea And Diabetes:  Is There A Connection?

Diabetes is estimated to affect twenty six million people in the US.

Previously, Diabetes was a considered a disease of the elderly, however, more and more young children and young adults are developing Diabetes, especially type-2.

In fact, research suggests, that one-third of children who are diagnosed will have type-2 diabetes.

Diabetes is estimated to cost one hundred and seventy four billion dollars, and that ninety-seven percent of that number will be associated with type-2 diabetes.

For many years, green tea was seen a way to control diabetes.

The exact reason why green tea benefits people suffering Diabetes is not been known.

However, current research could shed some light on how the polyphenols found in green tea could have positive effects when dealing with type-two diabetes.

Let me explain…

ECGC and Diabetes

ECGC is a powerful polyphenol found in green tea, which has shown benefits for improving blood pressure, slowing down the aging process, and improving symptoms associated with type-2 diabetes.

Researchers aimed to determine how green tea can positively affect mice which are genetically modified to have type-2 diabetes.

The seven week old, genetically modified mice were randomized into one of three groups: a control group, a green tea group, and a rosiglitazone group for 10 weeks.

Rosiglitazone is a commonly used diabetic medication.

They noticed the mice in the control group gained more weight than both experimental groups (ECGC and Rosiglitazone), however, the green tea group showed lower weight than both the control and the rosiglitazone group.

They noticed that the green tea group showed improved glucose tolerance and increased glucose stimulated insulin secretion, which was similar to the rosiglitazone group.

They also noted significant changes to the cells of the pancreas responsible for insulin and glucagon secretion.

The islet of Langerhan, which are specialized cells in the pancreas, which when stimulated (the alpha or the beta) produce and secrete glucagon or insulin..

In type-1 Diabetes, the beta cells of Islet of Langerhan are destroyed by an autoimmune process, which then prevents the production and release of insulin.

However, in type-2 Diabetes, the beta cells decline over time, which research suggests, could lead to insulin resistance and could be characterized by lower insulin levels or a much weaker insulin signal.

The researchers noted that mice in the green tea group, showed a significant reduction in the number of damaged Langerhan cells and also an increase in the number and the size of the Langerhan cells.

They also noted an increase in the pancreatic endocrine area (area where hormones are produced), and lower oxidative stress levels of the islet endoplasmic reticulum.

The researchers attributed the lower oxidative stress to the antioxidant power of the ECGC contained in green tea.

They concluded that ECGC could preserve the structure of the Islets which has the potential to improve the mice’s tolerance to glucose, which could improve Diabetes.

Power of Green Tea

Green tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world next to water, and contains powerful polyphenols, which, according to research, could have the ability to improve a number of different health conditions.

The powerful polyphenol, ECGC has been shown to lower blood pressure, improve heart health, reduce damage to DNA, slows down the aging process and potential improvements in Diabetes care.

Due to the powerful antioxidant capabilities of ECGC, this could reduce oxidative stress in specialized cells of the pancreas, which could improve insulin secretion.

Researchers conclude that including green tea, with the polyphenol ECGC, could be a potential new strategy for dealing with type 2 Diabetes.


NEXT: Here Are More Powerful Benefits Of Green Tea >>