Experts are always looking for something natural which can treat this extremely complicated disease, diabetes. Although one you have caught the disease, it becomes almost impossible to eradicate it completely, the same can be controlled to a great extent if a healthy lifestyle is followed.

One such approach is the regular consumption of green tea. The drink is a rich source of several essential vitamins, amino acids, polyphenols, alkaloids, etc. due to which the drink is no less than a miracle. It treats heart and kidney related diseases, has a stimulating effect, helps control bad cholesterol and even high blood pressure. Treating diabetes could be extremely tricky as it comes along with several other complications such as cardiovascular and kidney-related diseases, diabetic eye, leg swelling, high blood pressure, amongst a host of other complications.

In this article, we shall try to explore the various benefits of green tea that the drink has for a diabetes patient.

Some Facts Related to Green Tea

In order to understand the effect of Green Tea on diabetes, we first would want to know more about the drink.

Green tea has long been considered as the healthiest plants that mother nature has offered the human beings.It has been known to be the cure of a lot of diseases and as a drink, it is popular not only in India but in other parts of the world as well. As we progress further into the article, we will find out that the regular consumption of green tea is good for even patients suffering from diabetes.

Some facts related to the drink which lends the drink its popularity include the following:

• The presence of the antioxidant, EGCG lends the various healing effects to green tea.
• Green tea is known to contain caffeine too.
• Green tea is known to be a very rich source of several amino acids such as the anine, etc. which makes the drink a very healthy one and lends it the healing properties.
• The drink is very rich in a number of vitamins namely vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B3, vitamin B2, vitamin C, etc.

In the following paragraphs, we determine and analyze more carefully how the popular green tea is useful in the treatment of diabetes.

Effect of Green Tea on Blood Sugar Level

Blood sugar, as we know, plays a huge role in diabetes and the various other related complications that come with the disease. It is important to keep the blood sugar level under control if you want a proper treatment of the disease. This is how green tea helps in maintaining the blood sugar level and in turn, the blood pressure.

The polyphenols present in the drink are known to have healing properties because of the antioxidants present herein. The main polyphenol, EGCG is known to help accelerate the process of metabolism which helps to reduce and breakdown sugar in a better way. This, in turn, goes a long way in preventing type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Benefits of Taking Green Tea for Diabetes?

As discussed in the above paragraphs,drinking Green Tea offers a huge number of benefits and advantages when drunk regularly by those who suffer from diabetes and its various related complications.

Following are some of the benefits of the green tea which help in the treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes:

• One of the major benefits of green tea stem from the fact that the regular consumption of the drink helps to boost metabolism in the patients suffering from diabetes.
• Research conducted by experts have found out that people who drink green tea regularly stand a lower chance of gaining or contracting type 2 diabetes as compared to those who do not consume green tea at all. Part of this also stems from the fact that green tea is known as a drink which helps to avoid weight gain, considered as one of the most important causes of type 2 diabetes. Read Here: Connection Between Diabetes and Obesity
• It has also been found that drinking green tea helps in delaying disease in the patients who are prone to contracting the type 2 diabetes. This is due to the presence of the compound biotechnological gallate or the ECGC.
• The regular consumption of green tea is known to help in the better circulation of blood in the body owing to the presence of a large number of antioxidants.
• There is also known to be a decrease in the blood glucose and A1C levels, which are known to decrease the complications caused by the onset of diabetes and various other complications.
• Green tea is also helpful in the prevention of diabetes because the regular consumption of the drink is known to help in improving the sensitivity of the hormone, insulin to a large extent.
• Green tea has also been proven to lower the increased blood pressure as well as it lowers the chances of getting a heart attack and other related cardiovascular

Other Benefits Derived from Drinking Green Tea

Green tea has become a very popular drink in all over the world because of the several health benefits that the drink has to offer. Apart from the aforementioned benefits, green tea has a host of other benefits too. Some of these include:

• The caffeine present in the drink acts as a great stimulating agent.
• The drink is known to be highly rich in a number of nutrients, vitamins, etc. because of which it is highly beneficial in the treatment of heart- related diseases, cancer, arthritis, etc.
• Regular consumption of the tea is also known to reduce the levels of bad cholesterol present in the body.
• Very few people know that the drink is a very good astringent which helps one in getting toned muscles and skin.

What Are the Risks Associated with Drinking Green Tea?

Green tea sure has a number of health benefits as we can see in the above sections. However, there are certain risks associated with the drinking of the green tea as well. It becomes highly imperative to know these disadvantages and be careful while including it in the regular diet.

The following points explain some of the risks associated with drinking green tea:

• One of the major risks associated with drinking green tea is the risk which occurs due to the presence of caffeine in the drink. It is known to be an ingredient which if taken in more than the prescribed amount can be extremely harmful and dangerous to health.
• One of the important functions which are helpful for the smooth functioning of our body is that the complex proteins of the body from the food that we intake are broken into the simpler proteins so that it becomes easier for the body to absorb these. However, certain complex compounds present in the green tea might interfere with the same, resulting in adverse health effects.
• Sometimes, the blood pressure can even witness an increase which as we know is not a very good sign for diabetes and its related complications.
• Another known risk that can adversely affect diabetes and its related diseases is the presence of several alkaloids. If taken in more than the prescribed amounts, the alkaloids can increase the amount of uric acid present in the body. This, in turn, can adversely affect the kidneys and cause kidney stones.
• Finally, problems such as insomnia, constipation, restlessness, headaches, appetite loss, amongst others are not considered uncommon when you get too much addicted to the consumption of green tea.

As seen above, it becomes extremely important to keep in mind the adverse health effects and the risks associated with the intake of green tea to a large extent. The above- mentioned risks makes it extremely important that we do not go overboard in our consumption of the otherwise healthy green tea.

What is the Recommended Quantity of Green Tea?

As explained in the above paragraph, we should not consume too much of green tea as there are several risks involved with the excess consumption of the same. Hence, it becomes important for us to know what is the quantity of green tea that we should consume in order to derive the maximum health benefits.

As per some of the research conducted by experts, the prescribed quantity of polyphenols that is safe for us to consume is somewhere around 200 mg to 1000 mg per day. As such, drinking around 5 to 6 cups of green tea is considered fine for diabetes. Having said that, we also need to remember that the number of polyphenols is different in different types of green tea each depending on the way the tea has been processed, the way and the location where the tea has been grown and developed, etc. as such, an expert advice is always preferred.

We hope that the above post has been helpful in removing some of the doubts you had with regards to the relation between diabetes and the regular use of Green tea in the daily diet. The drink sure has a number of vitamins and nutrients due to which it is one of the most sought after natural treatments used in diabetes. Not only is it helpful in controlling the blood sugar level but also comprise a host of other benefits and advantages as seen in the above paragraphs.

The wide variety of essential compounds, nutrients, etc.has made Green tea a favorite amongst the medical experts, particularly those who are involved in the treatment of diabetes and its various related complications. Green tea not only helps in the complete prevention of the disease but goes a long way in treating and controlling it to a large extent.

However, it is of utmost importance to consult a medical expert when you are a diabetes patient and you are considering to include the drink in your regular diet. It is important because you need to assure that the chemicals and nutrients present herein do not interfere with the chemicals and compounds present in the drugs that you are already consuming.This is also important because you need to know what is the standard prescribed quantity of juice and capsules that you can take as the standard may vary from one person to another basis a number of factors such as lifestyle, the extent of physical exercise, and the complications suffered owing to diabetes.