Besides being delicious, tea is also very beneficial to our health. From reducing the risk of cancer and helping manage diabetes, to improving sleep and boosting creativity, there are many reasons why we should get into the habit of drinking a little tea every morning as a brief self-care ritual to start the day.
As of June 2022, when the findings are published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition, we have another reason to stick with green tea: Consumption of green tea has been shown to be due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Can lower blood sugar levels, reduce intestinal inflammation and permeability. The latter is a factor involved in "leaky gut syndrome," which is based on the concept that a hyperpermeable gut can allow toxins or unwanted substances to enter the bloodstream.
So, what did this green tea study find?
Researchers from Penn State and The Ohio State University were curious if green tea extract could help reduce the risk of health factors associated with metabolic syndrome -- a group of disorders that often occur together and increase the risk of heart disease risk of disease, diabetes, stroke, etc. The Mayo Clinic explains that the more "markers" you can check for metabolic syndrome risk factors, the more likely you are to develop serious health problems later in life. Here are the four main disorders associated with metabolic syndrome:
Blood pressure above 130/85 mmHg
Excess body fat around the waist; some define a waist as more than 38 inches for men and 32 inches for women
Fasting blood glucose of 100 mg/dL or higher or A1C reading of 5.7% or higher.
Fasting triglyceride levels above 150mg/dL and fasting high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the "good" type) cholesterol below 40mg/dL in men or 50mg/dL in women
According to a May 2015 report by JAMA Network, approximately 35 percent of U.S. adults and 50 percent of Americans age 60 or older meet the hallmarks of being diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.
So in this study, Ohio State University senior study author Richard Bruno, Ph.D. and professor of human nutrition, and his team wanted to delve into the main areas of his research over the past 15 years— — Green tea, to see how it affects cardiometabolic health and its link to gut health — something he had previously noticed in mice.
Dr. Bruno and his team interviewed 40 participants, 21 of whom met criteria for metabolic syndrome. Everyone was given gummies containing catechins (natural polyphenolic phytochemicals found in tea, beans, red wine, strawberries and select other plants). The amount of catechins in each gummy is equal to that in five cups of green tea. Individuals were instructed to consume one gummy per day for 28 days. They took a month off, and each took a placebo for the next 28 days.
Throughout the study, because green tea is rich in polyphenols, individuals were instructed to eat a diet low in polyphenols, which otherwise could lead to incorrect findings (e.g., eating a lot of berries, apples, and grapes).
Scientists measured each participant's fasting blood sugar, insulin, lipids (cholesterol) and dietary polyphenol levels before the start of the study and on days 14 and 28 of the gummy intervention and placebo phases. They also asked for stool samples to study intestinal inflammation.
Results: Green tea extract was shown to lower blood sugar while reducing intestinal inflammation and permeability in people with and without metabolic syndrome.
"The importance of gut health to humans is exemplified by our research and shows that dietary factors rich in catechins, such as green tea, can help reduce glucose intolerance by limiting gut inflammation and improving gut integrity risk," Dr Bruno told reporters. "Our study suggests that regular consumption of green tea has the potential to be part of the solution to managing metabolic syndrome risk."
Next, Dr. Bruno and other researchers will take a deeper look at how green tea affects the microbes in the gut, hoping to find out whether green tea can boost beneficial bacteria while helping reduce the number of less beneficial bacteria in the gut.
This new green tea study found that ingesting catechins from green tea extract -- about the amount of five cups of green tea -- can lower blood sugar and increase gut health.
It's worth noting, however, that this finding came from using the extract, not the green tea itself. More research is needed to determine whether we can avoid supplements and promote gut health and manage chronic inflammation and blood sugar by drinking five cups of tea.
Oh yes, five cups of tea is indeed a lot. Drinking too much caffeinated tea may cause nausea, heartburn, feelings of nervousness, or difficulty sleeping. In fact, even one cup a day, combined with a balanced, whole-food-rich diet, can have great benefits for your good gut bacteria, blood sugar, and overall body.
If you want something different, you can also:
try iced
Add something to green tea: like citrus or ginger
Add green tea to smoothies
Keep it in an eye-catching water bottle as a reminder to drink more tea
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