Researchers have shown that red wine and tea may both hold promise for regulating the blood sugar of people with type 2 diabetes.
Levels of blood glucose rise sharply in patients with type 2 diabetes immediately following a meal. Red wine and tea contain antioxidants that help to slow the passage of glucose through the small intestine and into the bloodstream, which can prevent the blood sugar spike.
Keeping blood sugar levels normal is one of the key challenges of managing diabetes; doing so can help prevent the disease from contributing to heart disease and high blood pressure as well as damaging the eyes, kidneys, nerves and blood vessels.
In the study, researchers tested how well wine and tea could inhibit the activity of a target enzyme called alpha-glucosidase, which is responsible for triggering the absorption of glucose by the small intestine.
Red wine came out on top, as it was able to inhibit the enzyme by nearly 100 percent, compared to white wine at 20 percent.
Out of the four types of tea tested — black, oolong, white and green — black tea was most effective, followed by white tea and oolong tea.
Dr. A. R. Scopelliti
Doc’s comments:
Being of Italian decent, I certainly have no disdain for this theory. In fact, red wine has been making news regularly lately, with its high antioxidant properties, demonstrable cardiac benefits, blood pressure benefits, etc. I do however recommend actually drinking the wine. Red wine extracts, which have recently become popular as would be anticipated when anything is discovered to be good for you, do not have the same properties and health benefits. And they are certainly no where near as enjoyable to ingest!
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