Green Tea and Blood Sugar
Reduce Cravings and Hunger

There are two type of carbohydrates: natural and refined/processed. The latter usually have a "simple" molecular structure. They are  digested quickly, and can cause a spike in blood sugar level.

Your body responds by releasing a large amount of insulin - a hormone that causes glucose to enter your cells in order to be converted to energy or fat. However, two problems can arise at this stage:

• If you are diabetic, your body is not very good at producing insulin. This means blood glucose levels will build up to dangerous high level, causing damages to eyes, kidney, nerves and blood vessels.

• Your body overreacts and produces too much insulin. This causes a sharp dip in your blood sugar level, known as hypoglycemia, which causes cravings, hunger, mood swings and decreased energy. The hunger and cravings may cause you to binge on sugary food, causing the vicious cycle to repeat itself.

Two green tea and blood sugar studies show how drinking green tea may help.

The Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University conducted a pilot study with 8 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. Researcher Ernst J. Schaefer found that drinking 6 cups of tea a day for 8 weeks reduced their blood sugar levels by 15% to 20%.

Another interesting animal study compared the effects of a Western diet, a vegetarian diet and a Japanese diet, each with or without green tea.

Blood sugar concentrations were highest in the animals on the Western diet, followed by the vegetarian diet, with the Japanese diet producing the lowest blood sugars.

When supplemented with green tea, blood sugar levels dropped in rats on all 3 diets, with those on the Japanese diet having not only the lowest blood sugars, but also rating the best on other risk factors for type 2 diabetes.

Rats on the Japanese diet with green tea had the lowest triglycerides and cholesterols, and the highest ratio of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids to potentially inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids.

The researchers concluded from this green tea and blood sugar study that Japanese eating habits combined with drinking green tea might help prevent type 2 diabetes.

Drinking green tea will help regulate your blood sugar level. You may also want to consider cutting down on your consumption of refined/processed carbohydrates, such as refined sugar and white flour products. Some of these foods are:

• White and enriched pasta, bread, pretzels, crackers and bagels

• White sugar, sweets, white flour

• Any products that says on the label: corn syrup, rice syrup, sucrose, glucose syrup, brown sugar, invert sugar

In addition, eating more natural carbohydrates will help. They have a complex molecular structure, take longer to digest, and will give you sustained energy throughout the day. They contain more fiber, which is filling, low-calorie and will further slow down the digestion process. Some of these foods are:

• Oatmeal, barley, brown rice

• Wholegrain bread, cereals, pasta, grains

• Potatoes, yams, beans

Pairing carbohydrates with lean proteins may also help slow down the digestion and absorption processes.

Further research and studies can be found in Green Tea and Diabetes.

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