While rates of type 2 diabetes are continuing to climb across the globe, some populations are showing remarkably low rates of the
potentially life-threatening disease. In a new report from the online journal BMJ Open, researchers revealed that countries with a high intake of black tea had a reduced prevalence of type 2 diabetes, a condition estimated to affect 438 million people around the world by the year 2030.
For the report, researchers sized up data on disease rates and black tea consumption from 50 countries across every continent. Although they found no link between black tea and conditions like cancer and cardiovascular disease, they did determine that countries heavily populated with black tea drinkers (such as Ireland, the United Kingdom and Turkey) had fewer people with diabetes compared to countries whose inhabitants tend to snub black tea (such as South Korea, Brazil, China, Morocco and Mexico).
In past research, antioxidants in black tea have been found to fight diabetes by messing with certain enzymes involved in spiking your blood sugar levels after you eat. To load up on those antioxidants without overdoing it on caffeine, opt for the decaf variety or stick to four cups or fewer per day.
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