Scientists from the Ohio State University found that intake of green tea extract for four weeks can reduce blood sugar and improve gut health by lowering inflammation.
A metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that together raise your risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other serious health problems.
Metabolic syndrome is also called insulin resistance syndrome. You may have metabolic syndrome if you have three or more of the following conditions.
Metabolic syndrome is common in the United States. About 1 in 3 adults have metabolic syndrome. The good news is that it is largely preventable.
Catechins are natural polyphenolic phytochemicals that exist in food and medicinal plants, such as tea, legume, and Rubiaceae.
An increasing number of studies have associated the intake of catechins-rich foods with the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases in humans, such as inflammatory bowel disease.
Green tea contains more catechins than other teas, mainly because of the way it is processed after harvesting.
Previous studies found that catechin-rich green tea extract improves gut function and reduces inflammation.
In the current study, researchers aimed to test whether green tea extract would lower gut inflammation in people with metabolic syndrome.
They tested people with and without metabolic syndrome who received green tea extract (890 mg catechins per day) for 28 days or no green tea extract.
The team tested the people’s fasting blood sugar, insulin functions, and blood cholesterol levels.
During the 28 days, most people could finish the intervention and there were no adverse effects.
The team found that gut inflammation was lower in people taking green tea extract compared with people who didn’t take it regardless of metabolic health status.
Although insulin, triglycerides, and blood cholesterols were not influenced by the green tea intervention, the team found blood sugar decreased in the green tea extract group.
Based on these findings, the team concluded that dietary intervention with green tea extract in both healthy people and people with metabolic syndrome can improve blood sugar and gut inflammation.
These are associated with improvements in fasting insulin.
This study suggests that green tea extract has an anti-inflammatory function, which may improve blood sugar control with reductions in gut inflammation and improvement in insulin sensitivity.
The research is published in Current Developments in Nutrition and was conducted by Richard Bruno et al.
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