The IAA One Minute Blog

Researchers studying the impact of tea found that drinking four or more cups of black, green or oolong tea every day was linked to a 17 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the course of a decade.

Tea Found to Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

The team did a meta-analysis of 19 studies that included more than one million adults from eight countries. 

The research team did a systematic review of all studies investigating tea drinking and the risk of type 2 diabetes in adults up to September 2021. The team looked at three types of tea and the frequency of the cups, including less than one cup per day, one to three cups per day, and four or more cups per day. They also considered gender and whether participants were in Europe, the United States or Asia.

Researchers found that with each cup consumed, tea drinkers reduced their risk of type 2 diabetes by one percent. Compared to people who didn’t drink tea, adults who drank one to three cups daily reduced their risk by four percent. Those who consumed at least four cups a day reduced their risk by 17 percent. This happened regardless of location, gender or type of tea.    

Signs and Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a life-long disease that keeps your body from using insulin the way it should. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes.

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be so mild that you don’t notice them. About eight million people who have it don’t know it. Symptoms include:

• Being cranky
• Being very thirsty
• Blurry vision
• Fatigue/feeling worn out
• Feeling hungry
• Frequent urination
• Persistent yeast infections
• Tingling or numbness in your hands or feet
• Weight loss without trying
• Wounds that don’t heal

There are about 29 million people in the U.S. with type 2 diabetes. Another 84 million have prediabetes, meaning their blood sugar is high, but not high enough to be diabetes yet.

What IAA has to Say

Any new research on diabetes is something Insurance Administrator of America likes to hear about. Researchers are finding new information every day, and IAA wants to make sure you are in the know.