Meet The Blood-Sugar-Balancing Tea You've Never Heard Of 

Because I am an integrative gastroenterologist, you might not think I'd be an expert on tea. That is, until you figure out how many amazing health benefits it has and how you can apply it to improve your well-being. One type of tea in particular, called pu-erh tea (pronounced poo-air), is particularly worth your time and attention.

Admittedly, there aren't many peer-reviewed articles published on the health values of this fermented tea, but there are a few studies out there. One demonstrated that black tea extract from pu-ehr tea significantly reduces cholesterol levels1 and could be a safe and useful tool in improving cholesterol plaque formation and/or obesity in those with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is essentially a condition that is defined by having increased blood pressure, excess blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. When you have all of these factors together, you have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Sounds like a pretty good natural method to help with some of the most common chronic conditions we have in this country, don't you think?

Another study showed that Chinese black tea had specific anti-cholesterol effect in rodents, and the authors went on to propose that it could potentially have some role in the management of elevated cholesterol2 in humans. Even more interesting, a recent study suggested that pu-ehr tea had neuroprotective properties and was able to protect neural cells from necrosis3 and even relieved epilepsy in rats. Another recent study suggested that pu-ehr tea significantly lowered uric acid levels4 and could play a role in helping those with elevated uric acid, which can occur for a variety of reasons including thyroid issues, drinking too much, and taking diuretics.

Better blood sugar balance is another of the reasons people may want to drink pu-ehr tea. We've already discussed how it can influence metabolic syndrome and those with diabetes or prediabetes, but when you dig into the literature a bit further, you find that the benefits of pu-ehr tea on blood sugar are even more interesting than you thought. One interesting article discussed how a group of carbohydrates in pu-ehr tea5 could block alpha-glucosidase and might have a less inhibitory effect on alpha-amylase. What does that mean in plain English? It means that it might be better than the already available diabetes drug called acarbose at reducing blood sugar after a carbohydrate meal and have fewer side effects like bloating, gas, and diarrhea (which happens when the bacteria in the colon ferment the undigested carbs).

Another interesting study demonstrated that when a water extract of pu-ehr tea was given to mice for four weeks, it suppressed the increase in their blood insulin and sugar levels. The authors suggested that it improved glucose intolerance and it may have a beneficial role in blood sugar balance6 in those with type 2 diabetes. Taking this to the next level, another study raised the possibility that pu-ehr tea could inhibit the formation of advanced glycation end-products (or AGEs for short). By doing this, they felt that the tea could potentially prevent or stop the progression of complications from diabetes7, like diabetic nephropathy.