How Can Black Tea Help You Fight Against Type 2 Diabetes?

In this country, nothing improves your wellness quite like a cup of tea. That steaming brew can be all you think about when you’re walking home in the rain, or the one point of solace when you’re depressed or at home with the flu. Let’s be honest, we Brits don’t really need another excuse to keep calm and carry on drinking tea, but researchers have given you one anyway.

According to a new analysis of data from 50 countries, people who drink black tea are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. This was reported in the Daily Times, who also noted the result that the wellbeing of the nations who drank the most black tea benefited in more ways than one, as they also suffered the lowest levels of the metabolic syndrome, and, as an added bonus, the study also found that high tea consumption was related to lower levels of obesity.

For the study, which has been published in the British Medical Journal, the scientists analysed how much black tea was consumed by each country, and compared this with the prevalence of various diseases, including Type 2 diabetes. The results were that Ireland drank the most black tea, and according to sales data each Irish person consumes 2Kg of black tea each on a yearly basis. Britain and Turkey were a close second and third in terms of tea consumption, but countries such as Brazil, Morocco and Mexico were at the other end of the black tea scale.

The team found that there are lower levels of type 2 diabetes in Ireland, Britain and Turkey than there are in countries like Brazil, Morocco, and Mexico, where consumption is low. When it comes to why this is, the scientists surmised that the difference could be due to the fermentation of tea leaves. During this fermentation process, which turns green tea black, there is a possibility that complex health-giving flavonoids are created as a side effect of the process. Whatever the reason, if black tea reduces your risk of diabetes and metabolic diseases, and makes you less likely to be obese or overweight, it’s probably time to stick the kettle on.