Drinking dark tea daily may help reduce diabetes risk; do not confuse with black tea

Most of us find it difficult to go on with our day without that morning cup of hot tea. Did you know that there are certain kinds of teas that come with incredible health benefits?

One such is dark tea, which can help manage blood sugar and diabetes. This claim comes from new research from the University of Adelaide in Australia and Southeast University in China, shared at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Hamburg.

Dark tea is a kind of fully oxidized tea that has undergone microbial fermentation. It’s called ‘dark’ tea because the leaves are oxidized and change color. A common type of dark tea is Pu-erh from China

Dark tea is different from black tea. Black tea is highly oxidized, green tea is unoxidized, yellow tea is slightly fermented and dark tea is post-fermentation.

Researchers found that compared with never tea drinkers, daily consumers of dark tea had 53% lower risk for prediabetes and 47% reduced risk for type 2 diabetes. Established diabetes risk factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and body mass index (BMI) were taken into account.

It is important to not add sugar or sweetener to your tea or you may not be able to reap the above mentioned benefits.

The cross-sectional study included 1,923 adult participants – 436 of them were living with diabetes, 352 had prediabetes, and 1,135 had normal blood glucose levels. The participants included non-habitual tea drinkers and those with a history of drinking only a single type of tea.

The researchers examined the association between both the frequency and type of tea consumption and the excretion of glucose in the urine, insulin resistance, and glycaemic status, reported Healthline.

According to the study, drinking dark tea may contribute to a reduction in diabetes risk for two reasons. Firstly, it improves insulin resistance so your body is able to better control your blood sugar. Secondly, it contributes to increased glucose excretion in your urine. This means there is less blood sugar to actually control.

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While drinking unsweetened dark tea regularly can help, no single thing can completely improve your health. You need to monitor everything you consume in your daily diet. Along with such beneficial teas, it is important to reduce your overall sugar intake, including the one through refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta.

Limit and try to cut out all kinds of ultra-processed foods. These are high in fat, sugar, salt and can increase inflammation in your body. Lastly, eat natural and whole foods such as veggies and fruits. These are high in fiber, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds. Drink plenty of water as dehydration will increase your blood sugar levels.