Tea comes from the tree called Camellia sinensis. Tea is an infusion of the leaves and buds of the plant and is the most consumed beverage globally. Tea contains bioactive chemicals such as fluoride and caffeine, but the compounds that offer the most health benefits are flavonoids called catechins. Teas are grouped into three main categories: oolong, black teas and green and white teas. Research shows that white tea may be beneficial to diabetics.
Diabetes Type 2
Type 2 diabetes is the body's inability to make enough insulin, or the body's cells inability to respond to the insulin. Foods you eat are broken down into glucose. Glucose provides the basic energy to drive your cells. But glucose needs insulin to transport it into the cell. If the glucose cannot get into the cell, it is stored as fat. This fat, also known as triglycerides, may cause health issues for someone with diabetes. Research shows that white tea may help reduce triglycerides. It is unclear if white tea has an effect on type 1 diabetes.
White Tea
Teas are graded according to the length of their fermentation process, a misleading term, as the leaves are actually dried and rolled. This process puts catechins in contact with polyphenol oxidase. This fermentation, or oxidization, is stopped by steaming or firing the leaves. White and green tea is fermented for the shortest time, but unlike green tea, white tea is made from the young leaves and buds of the plant. The younger the leaves and the less fermentation, the higher the amount of catechins.
Triglycerides, Cholesterol and Diabetes
Triglycerides and cholesterol are referred to as plasma lipids, or fats. Triglycerides are found in the fats in your food or made in your body from carbohydrates, such as sweets and breads. When you eat more than what your body can use as energy, the extra calories are converted to triglycerides and stored in fat cells. Elevated triglycerides are the most often reported lipid disorder in diabetes type 2, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Triglycerides and Type 2 Diabetes
With high triglycerides being a prevalent concern, and possibly related to neuropathy in diabetes, white tea may help decrease triglyceride levels. A 2009 study in "Nutrition and Metabolism" looked at the effects white tea extract had on human fat cells. The study found that when white tea extract was introduced to cultured human fat tissue, triglycerides were inhibited from being deposited into the cells. It also found that the white tea encouraged lipolytic activity, which is the breakdown of the fat.
References
- Linus Pauling Institute: Tea
- American Diabetes Association: Type 2
- American Heart Association: News and Research: Eva Feldman, MD, PhD and Rodica Pop-Busui, MD, PhD: Elevated Triglyceride Levels and Nerve Loss
- "Nutrition and Metabolism"; White Tea Extract Induces Lipolytic Activity and Inhibits Adipogenesis in Human Subcutaneous (Pre)-adipocytes.; J.Sohle, et al.; May 2009
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