Good news for those who like a brew - drinking tea could cut risk of type 2 diabetes

• Nations who drank the most black tea also suffered the lowest levels of the metabolic syndrome

• Process which turns green tea black could also cause the production of complex health-giving 'flavonoids'

Pauline McLynn who played the tea-loving Mrs Doyle in Father Ted. Black tea has an impact on diabetes rates.

Those who enjoy having a traditional cup of tea could be cutting their risk of type 2 diabetes, say researchers.

A new analysis of data from 50 countries found that the nations who drank the most black tea also suffered the lowest levels of the metabolic syndrome.

The study, published in BMJ Open, also found high tea consumption was related to lower levels of obesity. 

Scientists think the fermentation process which turns green tea black could also cause the production of complex health-giving 'flavonoids.'
 
The report analysed consumption of black tea and the prevalence of various diseases, including type-2 diabetes.
 
Ireland drank the most black tea, with each person consuming 2kg each a year, according to sales data. Britain and Turkey were close behind, with all three countries found to have lower levels of diabetes than others where consumption was low, including Brazil, Morocco and Mexico.
 
However, tea drinking did not appear to have a strong association with any other diseases studied, according to the study led by Dr Ariel Beresniak from Data Mining International, in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

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The research comes as levels of type 2 diabetes increased six-fold over the past few decades, with the number of people suffering the disease expected to soar from 285 million in 2010 to 438 million in 2030.
 
A BMJ spokesman said: 'These original study results are consistent with previous biological, physiological, and ecological studies conducted on the potential of black tea on diabetes and obesity.
 
'They provide valuable additional scientific information at the global level.'

It follows a recent study from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, U.S, found those who drank green tea at least three times a week were 14 per cent less likely to develop a cancer of the digestive system

The team studied more than 69,000 women in China and the results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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