Diabetes & the Health Benefits of Green Tea

The compound in question is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which was found to decrease reactive carbonyls in a dose-dependent manner -- meaning that the more EGCG added, the lower the levels of reactive carbonyls in the final beverage.

- naturalnews.com, Green Tea Nutrient EGCG Blocks Diabetes-Promoting Effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup

Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Type 2 Diabetes
A study published in the August 2004 issue of BMC Pharmacology, in which oral glucose tolerance tests were given to healthy humans after they consumed green tea, showed that it increased the body's ability to utilize blood sugar.

One of the mechanisms through which green tea improves insulin sensitivity has recently been identified in laboratory studies that show that epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG) does a good deal more to prevent type 2 diabetes than lower the production of free radicals. EGCG also works on the genetic level, causing a reduction in the number of messenger RNAs that direct liver cells to produce the enzymes involved in the creation of glucose (sugar).

-www.whfoods.org

Green Tea May Prevent & Slow Progression of Type 1 Diabetes
Green tea has been used traditionally to control blood sugar in the body. Animal studies suggest that green tea may help prevent the development of type 1 diabetes and slow the progression once it has developed. People with type 1 diabetes produce little or no insulin, a hormone that converts glucose (sugar), starches, and other foods into energy needed for daily life. Green tea may help regulate glucose in the body.

-University of Maryland Medical Center

Green Tea Can Help Battle Diabetes
A compound found in Green Tea, epigallocatechin gallate (ECGC), was found to help moderately diabetic mice produce insulin and battle sugar levels. Though less potent than prescribed drugs, ECGC was able to register effects to produce beneficial results.

-China Post, September 2007

Green Tea Improves Glucose Levels in Rats 
Recent research suggests that if you have diabetes, then green tea just might be your drink-at least if you're a rat. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden compared the effects of EGCG with those of the antidiabetes drug Avandia in rats with diabetes. EGCG improved the animals' glucose levels as well as the amount of insulin they made in response to a glucose load. EGCG wasn't as potent as Avandia, but it did have some of the same beneficial effects.

-Discover Magazine, October 2007

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