Green Tea Prevents Diabetes & Sjogren’s syndrome

Lara Endrezl, in her article “Drink Away Your Diabetes Risk with Green Tea” tells us how green tea has been already been shown to stop inflammation and prevent cell death and has been studied as a preventative cancer measure with heart healthy antioxidants. Green tea has also been in the news lately with its decaffeinated version decreasing blood pressure and cholesterol, and effectively lowering stress and chronic inflammation. A study published recently of 111 adults were given green tea capsules over three months with positive results compared to the placebo group.
She explains that type-1 diabetes is the most common diabetes, and is also known as childhood onset diabetes and occurs when the pancreas stops producing insulin altogether (type-2 is when the insulin produced is used within the body incorrectly).

It is a lifelong disease that people have to learn to monitor on their own with a specialized diet, watching their sugar intake, insulin injections, and by keeping a regular healthy exercise routine.

She tells us that the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta’s researchers tested the effects of a compound in green tea for its antioxidant qualities against mice infected with type-1 diabetes and with mice with Sjogren’s syndrome—an autoimmune disorder that attacks the glands that produce saliva and tears resulting in symptoms of an overly dry mouth and eyes—were also treated with the compound. Sjogren’s syndrome currently has no cure.

Endreszl continues to say, ”Dr. Stephen D. Hsu of Augusta’s Medical College of Georgia along with his team found that the compound EGCG reduced the intensity of the symptoms and delayed the eventual salivary gland damage associated with the presence of Sjogren’s syndrome. The research team also found that the salivary gland cells under attack by the body were multiplying rapidly but EGCG proved to slow down the process. This new study confirms previous hypotheses helpful in linking EGCG to preventable efforts against autoimmune diseases.”

She also mentions that the results were similar when the placebo group was compared with the type-1 diabetes group of mice. After 16 weeks, Hsu and his researchers found that only 25 percent of the mice given the
green tea extract (EGCG) ended up developing diabetes versus 67 percent of mice who developed diabetes that were only given water. At 22 weeks, however, the numbers steadily grew. The EGCG green tea group had 45 percent with diabetes and the plain water group had 78 percent developing the disease.

This research show pivotal findings in the incurable Sjogren’s syndrome and hold great potential to do the same for diabetes.

Lara concludes by saying “Green tea isn’t just to drink with Chinese food these days, so stock up on your antioxidants by sipping your diabetes risk away. “

Reference:
Source: www.healthnews.com, Published November 9, 2008
Author: Lara Endreszl
Article Name: Drink Away Your Diabetes Risk with Green Tea.