Diabetes: The spiced tea you can make at home that can reduce blood sugar levels - study
ALMOST five million people in the UK are living with diabetes. It is a serious condition that can completely change how you live your life. And it is thought around 13.6 million more people are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
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There are two forms of diabetes - type 1 and type 2. Both result in the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood becoming too high. For type 1 patients this happens when your body cannot produce enough of a hormone called insulin, which controls blood glucose.
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Type 2 diabetes is much more common and the raised blood sugar levels are usually caused by being overweight or not exercising enough.
Therefore, it is important that diabetics are careful about foods and drinks they regularly consume.
However, there is one drink that could reduce your chance of developing diabetes in the first place by lowering your blood sugar levels.
A study conducted by academics from Lancashire and Portugal in 2015 revealed there are benefits to drinking cinnamon tea.
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The report, which was published by the Journal of Diabetes Research, says: “Data from this study provide evidence that cinnamon tea significantly decreased postprandial maximum glucose level [blood sugar levels up to four hours after eating] in nondiabetic adults.”
It explains further: “The mechanism for cinnamon effect on glycaemia, based on slowing absorption of glucose through reducing intestinal glycosidase activity, cannot be applied to the present work since glucose solution was employed.
“One possible mechanism proposed to explain the effect of cinnamon tea on glycaemia may be related to the insulin action through the increasing of insulin receptor-beta protein acting beneficially in insulin signalling.
“Further studies should be performed to investigate this mechanism.”
As part of the study 30 nondiabetic adults were selected and randomly split into two groups.
Their blood sugar levels were measured after fasting and then one group was given cinnamon tea.
To make the tea sticks of cinnamon (totalling 60 grams) were soaked in one litre of water for 24 hours.
This water was then heated up before being consumed.
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According to Diabetes.co.uk, “normal” blood sugar levels are:
Between 4.0 to 5.4 millimoles per litre (mmol/L) when fasting.
And up to 7.8 mmol/L two hours after eating.
For people with diabetes, blood sugar level targets are four to seven mmol/L before eating.
And they should be under nine mmol/L for people with type 1 diabetes, and under 8.5 mmol/L for people with type 2 diabetes after eating.
There are a number of factors that can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes including if you:
- Are over 40 (or 25 for south Asian people)
- Have a close relative with diabetes (such as a parent, brother or sister)
- Are overweight or obese
- Are of Asian, African-Caribbean or black African origin.
