Thursday Nov 7, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new trial reported in BioMed Research International suggests that drinking green tea may help fight type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Green tea has already been known for its protective effect against cancer because it promotes apoptosis, programmed cell deaths which are not seen in cancer cells.

Naushad Ali Toolsee from ANDI Centre of Excellence for Biomedical and Biomaterials Research and Department of Biosciences University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius and colleagues conducted the study and found that green tea consumption might ameliorate metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus.

For the trial, the study group consumed 3 cups of green tea every day for 14 weeks followed by a 2-week washout.  The control group simply drank water.

Green tea, which contains high levels of phenolic compounds, was found to prevent waist-hip ration from significantly increasing in women.

In men and women, green tea prevents arterial pressure from being significantly decreased after the 14-week trial. 

Green tea was found to reduce ALT level in women by 13% while its antioxidant potency was increased in men and women by 2.7 and 5.1 % respectively.

The researchers suggested that the study did not last long enough to demonstrate the effect of green tea on fasting serum glucose and HbA1c.  Early epidemiologic studies have already suggested that drinking green tea may help diabetes mellitus patients. (David Liu, PHD)