Black tea, long known for its antioxidants, immune boosting and antihypertensive properties, could have another health benefit. Researchers studied the polysaccharide levels of green, oolong and black teas and whether they could be used to treat diabetes. Polysaccharides, a type of carbohydrate that includes starch and cellulose, may benefit people with diabetes because they help retard absorption of glucose. The researchers found that of the three teas, the polysaccharides in black tea had the most glucose-inhibiting properties. The black tea polysaccharides also showed the highest scavenging effect on free radicals, which are involved in the onset of diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.

How Tea Benefits Diabetics
This is not the first time researchers have found tea to be beneficial, especially for diabetics. And although I still believe water should be your beverage of choice and make up the majority of your fluid intake, adding tea to your day is a sensible choice with many health benefits. This latest study concentrated on a natural polysaccharide compound that mimics type 2 diabetes drugs Precose and Glyset. Compared to green and oolong tea, black tea was found to contain the most of this particular substance.

The tea polysaccharides reduce your blood sugar by inhibiting alpha-glucosidase, an enzyme that turns starch into glucose. The two drugs mentioned above work by inhibiting this enzyme as well. But it’s quite likely that there’s more than one master ingredient that gives black tea its power to be of help against diabetes. In another recent study, participants who drank black tea had significantly reduced plasma glucose concentrations after two hours, compared to those who drank water or caffeine drinks. Drinking black tea also increased insulin levels, compared with the other drinks. That study linked black tea’s diabetic benefits to polyphenols (naturally occurring antioxidants), including:

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)
Epigallocatechin
Epicatechin gallate
Epicatechin

These compounds are thought to work by stimulating your B-cells -- pancreatic cells responsible for insulin production -- to produce insulin in your body. A growing body of research also suggests that the polyphenols in tea can lower your cholesterol, triglyceride levels and blood pressure, and even help to protect your bones.