Green Tea and Diabetes

[brlarson]

I have a friend who has just been diagnosed with diabetes. She has been pre-diabetic for years but, even though she has lost weight and has been eating healthier foods, her blood sugar and triglyceride levels have risen enough so she is now considered diabetic.

I did a little online research and found two articles at a reliable site that suggest that green tea can help control blood sugar and triglyceride levels,
http://www.livestrong.com/article/24640 ... de-levels/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/31949 ... d-glucose/
These articles also warns that

The University of Maryland Medical Center cautions that green tea is known to interact with several medications, including certain antibiotics, heart medications, beta blockers to lower blood pressure, cholesterol-lowering medications and chemotherapy agents.

My friend doesn't like green tea, so I ordered a three month supply of high quality Matcha capsules for her to take (two per day) on the chance that it might help to bring her back out of the diabetic zone. Stricter control over diet and more excercise are her primary strategy for regaining normal blood sugar levels, but we are hoping that this powdered green tea will help a little bit.

Have you heard any stories about folks who have used green tea as part of a strategy to control diabetes?

[alan logan]

my 2 cents, not w much content, but in case it can help you find info:
to my knowledge green tea extracts are not priority for blood sugar control in case the sugar is beyond "normal" limits, but as they have a role in limiting inflammation they can be of some help. (and I am far from having deep knowledge on such matters)
here are 2 links with some supplements that you may find interesting to look up:
http://www.nutranews.org/theme.php3?id_ ... 9&idmot=14
(in french but w google translate you may get something; from a lab that also sells supplements, so the publications are likely to make room for the interesting effects one can expect...)
http://www.medic8.com/complementary/dia ... ements.htm
(this page suggests supplements have their limits, but hey we all know that anything has its limits...)
you can also google w "diabetes & supplements", you will certainly stumble upon publications.

one thing that is interesting to look up is insulin index (a notion that appeared efter that of glycemic index and seems to prove more relevant)

[brlarson]

Alan, thank you for your response.

I will follow up your suggestion to look for more information on regulating insulin levels. Your second reference emphasizes that you should follow traditional treatment and should clear any supplementary treatments with your doctor (not a problem, my friend is a doctor). Also mentioned is a reinforcement that Omega-3s have been proven to help manage triglycerides (also true for Omega-6s).

I don't want to get too far off of the tea track.

I did read one caution about ingesting matcha. It mentioned that you need to know your source. If pesticides are used in farming of the tea bushes they will remain in the leaves and they will be ingested by the TeaVictim. That sounds reasonable. Organic matcha is one alternative; finding a trusted source is another. I'm going with a trusted source.

Thanks again for your response.

[Chip]

TeaVictim!

Where from? I know maiko has the capsules filled with matcha, but clueless on whether it is organic.

[alan logan]

Briarson, you are most welcome

as for pesticides, as well as for additives btw, they are not entirely desirable (huh, in fact I am strongly against them ), and much less in case of medical condition, so I would believe the best strategy would be to avoid them as much a possible. In the US it seems to me there is a real "culture" of nutritional supplementation, so I think it will not be very difficult for you and your friend to find a lab that offers quality and standardized extracts.
Because standardization is a way of sustaining and optimizing level of active substances in a supplement, I would pay attention to green tea extracts bought from a lab with the adequate tech.

[brlarson]

TeaVictim!

Where from? I know maiko has the capsules filled with matcha, but clueless on whether it is organic.

I ordered the Matcha capsules from Maiko. I'm not worried about pesticides being problematical from them. I was trying to keep my post from sounding like a Maiko ad

[Chip]

TeaVictim!

Where from? I know maiko has the capsules filled with matcha, but clueless on whether it is organic.

I ordered the Matcha capsules from Maiko. I'm not worried about pesticides being problematical from them. I was trying to keep my post from sounding like a Maiko ad

... then you did well.

[puerhking]

My father used to inject insulin until he started drinking tea everyday. Oolongs mostly but some greens and puerh. Any of them will pull your sugar down.

When he told his nurse he was drinking a lot of tea...she said be careful...that really pulls down your sugar levels.....lol. Perhaps the drug companies would prefer that didn't get out.

He has never had to inject since....which was about two years ago.

[brlarson]

That's encouraging. I hope that taking a couple of matcha caps per day will provide some relief for my friend.