By Michael Roizen, M.D. Thursday, 25 August 2022 11:47 AM EDT Current | Bio | Archive

Lu Yu, the ancient Chinese "Sage of Tea," famously declared, "Tea tempers the spirit and harmonizes the mind ... awakens thought and prevents drowsiness."

If that sounds like a pretty tall order for a small cup of warm liquid, listen up.

Researchers at Ohio State University have found that green tea extract (it contains flavonoids, especially catechins) can reduce your blood sugar levels and heal or prevent leaky gut by lowering inflammation.

That benefits everyone, but especially people with metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of high blood pressure, elevated glucose, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal levels of LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and triglycerides.

Leaky gut happens when your gut lining becomes more permeable and your gut biome is damaged. That can allow bad bacteria and toxic compounds to migrate into your bloodstream, where they contribute to the development of diabetes, autoimmune diseases, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis, allergies, asthma, acne, obesity, and even emotional disorders. 

Writing in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition, the researchers say that taking 890 mg of catechins daily for a month lowers blood glucose in people with metabolic syndrome, and that lowering blood glucose seems to be related to decreasing leaky gut and inflammation.

To get your daily dose of these powerful nutrients and repair your gut, drink several cups of green tea daily.

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