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Tea Found to Enhance Insulin Activity
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist Richard Anderson found that
regularly brewed tea, when added to the fat cells of laboratory rats, increased
insulin activity by more than 15 times. Anderson is with the Human Nutrition
Research Center's (BHNRC) Nutrient Requirements and Functions Laboratory.
He noted that this increased insulin activity was found
with green, black, and oolong teas, regardless of whether caffeinated or
decaffeinated.
Ernst J. Schaefer, director of the HNRCA's Lipid Metabolism Laboratory,
completed a pilot study in 2003 during which 8 volunteers with type II diabetes
had lower blood sugar levels by 15 to 20 percent after drinking 6 cups of
tea per day for 8 weeks. Schaefer and Blumberg have since launched a 24-week,
randomized, double-blind study involving 40 male and female volunteers with
type II diabetes, not taking insulin. "We want to examine the effect
that green and black teas have on the glucose levels of the volunteers,"
says Schaefer.
Although further confirmational studies on tea and insulin
activity in relation to people are needed. Blumberg says consuming a variety
of tea types and preparations adds nutritional benefits to the diet. "The
beauty of tea is that it can be enjoyed in so many ways, depending on individual
tastes and preferences," he says. "My hope is that future
studies will be designed to accurately assess tea's polyphenol levels and
to measure tea's role in lowering the risk of chronic diseases."
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