Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases that pose severe health threats to individuals. A rapid boost in the sugar level creates insulin resistance in your body, making you vulnerable to Type 2 Diabetes.
What might be the solution? A balanced and healthy diet will improve your condition, and tea is one of those natural ingredients to decrease your sugar level.
However, being at the peak of the list of most popular beverages, conventional tea with milk and sugar will only deteriorate your diabetic symptoms.
Some specific types of tea are truly beneficial for lowering your blood sugar level. We’ve conducted thorough research to give you a proper idea about the most effective tea types for diabetic people.
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Teas to Balance Your Blood Glucose Levels
Some types of teas have proven health benefits, including improving insulin sensitivity, which is a much-needed benefit for diabetics. The following are some of the varieties of tea to help you maintain a balanced sugar level.
Green Tea
The tea variety that comes first while focusing on minimizing sugar level is green tea. Enriched with antioxidants named polyphenols, of which catechins are a beneficial subset, green tea serves as a crucial dietary element in treating diseases like arthritis, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some others.
While obesity and diabetes have a close connection with each other because of their shared links with metabolic disorders like lower HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) and increasing fasting blood glucose, green tea has been proven to improve the LDL to HDL ratio and decrease total lipid levels.
Diabetes is also a product of insulin resistance and reduced insulin production. Green tea helps in this regard by increasing insulin receptor sensitivity and stimulating insulin secretion.
Why it works: As we eat carbohydrates or starch, an enzyme called amylase breaks down the sugar into simple sugars and it gets absorbed in the bloodstream. The polyphenols in green tea obstruct amylase activity, reducing the chance of insulin resistance.
Black Tea
Second to green tea, black tea also has large-scale benefits for people with diabetes.
Like green tea, black tea contains polyphenols as the prime element. Black tea extracts hinder carbohydrate absorption and keeps the blood sugar balanced after meals.
You may not like the taste of black tea, but the effect it has on lowering your blood sugar is worth the compromise.
Why it works: As black tea is processed, the flavonoids called catechins transform into more complex flavonoids like thearubigins and theaflavins, which contain anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, and blood sugar level reducing properties. It will also incentivize the optimum level of insulin secretion as it protects the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas.
Oolong Tea
Similar to the previously discussed green and black teas, Oolong tea is derived from leaves of the plant named Camellia Sinensis.
The tea has its origin in China’s Fujian province. Though it’s not a very widely consumed type of tea, the health benefits attached to it makes it worthwhile to drink.
Why it works: Oolong tea’s contribution to sugar level reduction is not well established like that of green or black teas. But the polyphenol antioxidants in the tea have been proven to lower blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity for a limited period.
Chamomile Tea
Among the number of health benefits that Chamomile tea has, maintaining a balanced blood sugar level is noteworthy. Alongside controlling blood sugar, the tea also has the potential to protect against oxidative stress and keep you from being diabetic.
Why it works: Research shows that Chamomile tea intake increases the level of a special kind of antioxidant named glutathione peroxidase, which fights against oxidative stress.
Dandelion Tea
The Chinese started the use of the dandelion herb in brewing tea to cure a cold. In recent times, it turned out that dandelion tea is quite useful in improving your diabetic condition. It keeps your body’s glucose level at a moderate level.
Why it works: The diuretic properties of dandelion tea help remove the extra sugar stored in your body. It also stimulates insulin production from the pancreas, which makes the tea a great natural remedy for diabetes.
Cinnamon Tea
Cinnamon is a spice extracted from trees of the genus Cinnamomum. Consumption of cinnamon tea gives you blood sugar-stabilizing ability as it regulates the transportation of glucose to your body. It, along with other herbs and spices, can enhance the health of those with diabetes.
Why it works: Cinnamon tea helps lower blood sugar levels, increases insulin sensitivity, and slows down the sugar release into the bloodstream. It also regulates the production of hormones like adipokines which are created by fat cells to control blood sugar levels.
Turmeric Tea
Due to its medicinal benefits, turmeric has been used for improving several health complications. The antioxidant properties make it suitable to be used for brewing tea for diabetics.
Why it works: Turmeric includes curcumin, which is a yellow chemical that leads to a lower blood sugar level. As curcumin decreases sugar and lipid levels in the blood, turmeric tea can be a good option to minimize the risks of diabetes.
Ginger Tea
Ginger tea is the most easy-to-make tea variety with extraordinary health benefits. Ginger has been proven to reduce the average blood sugar level in diabetics. Research also suggests that ginger can also ensure better glycemic control for diabetics who are not taking insulin.
Why it works: Ginger prevents enzymes that influence carb metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Gingerols present in ginger improves glucose uptake into muscle cells, making the use of insulin redundant. As a low glycemic ingredient, ginger is a must addition to the tea served to diabetics for naturally lowering their blood sugar level.
Bottom Line
The varieties of teas discussed above do have the potential to keep your blood sugar level checked. Taking a proper dosage of some of these types can even keep you away from the pain of injecting insulin in your body.
Considering all the beneficial impacts of tea in lowering blood sugar, drinking tea alone won’t bring any long-term benefit. In addition to a healthy diet and regular exercise, you may consider taking blood sugar supplements and multivitamins made specially for diabetics.
You can have teas to improve your diabetic condition, but you should consult your doctor for your daily routine and balanced diet to reap the benefits of tea consumption.
