Recent research reveals that black tea has potential benefits for managing blood sugar in diabetes patients. In this video, Darria Long-Gillespie, MD, talks about how black tea is able to stabilize blood sugar.
Hi, Dr. Darria Long Gillespie here. I've got some good news if you're a tea drinker. There're powerful little compounds in tea called Polysaccharides, it may help lower your blood sugar, and one of the best ways to get them, in black tea. People in Japan and China have long touted black tea's blood sugar benefits. When researchers extracted the polysaccharides in black tea, they examined their effects on a cellular level, something interesting happened. The black tea polysacarides exhibited blood sugars stabilizing properties, even more so than those in green and oolong teas. Researchers suspect that there maybe something unique about the chemical composition of the black tea polysaccharides, they boost the blood sugar benefits.
Now, because the researchers were doing a cell study, it's not clear if drinking root tea will have the same benefits for your blood sugar, but pour yourself a cup of black tea won't hurt, and experts already know that black tea is a great source of anti-oxidant flavonoids that help fight heart disease and cancer.
I'm Dr. Darria, for more ways to nourish your good health, watch all our smart tips.
Managing your blood sugar or blood glucose levels is the key to preventing most diabetes-related complications. Learn more about how to manage blood glucose levels when you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
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