Dark tea helps control blood sugar levels, Tianjin Key Lab s

Dark tea helps control blood sugar levels, Tianjin Key Lab studies

Dark tea may help control blood sugar levels, according to a research from Tianjin Key Laboratory


Whether it is hot or cold, there is no doubt about it tea is one of the best things you can drink; but which tea is better - black or green? As we all know, green tea is a force to be reckoned with; but what about black tea? Does it also offer the same health benefits? After all, both green tea and black tea come from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis. The leaves are simply processed differently, as green tea leaves are withered and steamed, rather than fermented while black tea leaves undergo a fermenting and crushing process.

For starters, what makes green tea so powerful? The answer: catechins! Green tea is loaded with catechins, a type of polyphenol and a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants destroy free radicals, which damage the body at the cellular level leaving us more susceptible to cancers, heart diseases, other degenerative diseases, and may even make us look older. Catechins also prevent viral infections, such as the common flu, and fight off bacteria in the stomach that cause food poisoning (one of the reasons sushi bars often serve green tea after the meal).

Within green tea there are several different types of catechins: epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which makes up about 10-50% of the total catechin content in the tea and appears to be the most powerful of the catechins as its antioxidant activity is 25 to 100 times stronger than vitamins C or E. In fact one cup of green tea has more antioxidants than many of the fruit and vegetable heavy weight champions, including broccoli, spinach and strawberries.

So what about black tea? Unfortunately the fermentation process converts the catechins into other compounds - theaflavins and thearubigins. While these compounds are not catechins, they are still antioxidants and new research has shown that they do more than just contribute to the tea's dark color and distinctive flavor. Both compounds are believed to have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy properties, which is beneficial for someone who suffers from environmental allergies or from arthritis. However, that's not all black tea does. Research from the Tianjin Key Laboratory in China, published in The Journal of Food Science, has shown that this dark tea may help control blood sugar levels. The naturally occurring polysaccharides in the tea, which are at a much higher level than in green tea, have been shown to slow and even to reduce the absorption of glucose from recently eaten food, which can greatly benefit diabetics and people who are prone to the disease.#p#

Beside antioxidant levels, there are other factors to consider when choosing tea, such as caffeine. While both black and green teas have lower caffeine levels than coffee or soda, green tea has about half the amount of caffeine as black tea. In fact, the levels of caffeine in green tea are so low, that it does not affect most people's sleep. So unless you are after that wake me up effect, green is probably the way to go.

While green tea still comes out ahead, black tea's health benefits are certainly impressive and should not be easily dismissed.（SOURCE:www.jpost.com）