Mate Tea Improves Blood Sugar in Diabetics

by | Dec 15, 2016 | 2011, Blood Sugar, Diabetes, Pancreatic Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Prediabetics, who drank Mate tea and had dietary counseling, significantly improved their lipid profiles, body weight, BMI, and blood pressure while significantly decreasing fat consumption and increasing fiber intake. 

green teaIn 2011, diabetes cost our healthcare system $245 billion and currently affects nearly 26 million Americans, with 79 million more with “pre-diabetes”. In addition to having 2 to 4 times greater risk for stroke, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in Americans 20-74 years of age 1.

There are a number of dietary approaches to helping control blood sugar, including increased flavonoid intake 2, vitamin D 3, and fiber 4. A 2011 study 5 involved 29 subjects (7 men, 22 women) with Type 2 diabetes for an average of 7 years and 29 subjects (5 men, 24 women) with pre-diabetes (defined as having fasting blood sugar levels between 100 and 125 milligrams/deciliter 6. The average age of the subjects was 56.8 years.

The subjects were divided into 3 groups:

  1. Mate Tea (MT): (11 diabetic subjects, 11 pre-diabetic subjects) Subjects consumed 6.6 grams of mate tea in 330 mL of water, 3 times per day, a dose that has been used in previous research 7.
  2. Dietary Intervention (DI): (9 diabetic subjects, 8 pre-diabetic subjects) Subjects received nutritional counseling to improve glycemic and lipid profiles based on Brazilian and American Diabetic Associations guidelines 8 and were encouraged to increase their consumption of whole wheat cereals, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, and to reduce their intake of foods rich in simple sugars, cholesterol, and saturated or trans fatty acids.
  3. Mate Tea and Dietary Intervention (MT-DI): (9 diabetic subjects, 10 pre-diabetic subjects) Subjects consumed mate tea (as described above) and received dietary intervention (as described above).

Blood samples were collected and food intake was assessed at baseline and after 20, 40, and 60 days of treatments. After 60 days, the following results were noted in the groups:

Blood sugar:

  • Only the (MT) group significantly decreased fasting blood sugar (17.1% decrease) (147 to 122 mg/dL, p < 0.05) when compared to baseline. This decrease was significantly different from the decreases reached by the DI (7.4%) and MT-DI (-0.75% groups (p<0.05)

LDL Cholesterol (LDL-c):

  • Those in the tea-only group had a 7.5% decrease (109 to 100.9 mg/dL, p < 0.05).
  • However, prediabetics in the MT-DI group significantly lowered their LDL-c (11 mg/dL; p=0.05), non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-c) (21.5 mg/dL; p=0.05), and triglycerides (53.0 mg/dL, or 20%; p < 0.01) after 60 days compared to baseline.
  • Individuals of this group also significantly decreased their consumption of total fat (14%), cholesterol (28%), and saturated (23.8%) and monounsaturated (28.0%) fatty acids. In addition, they increased their fiber intake by 35% (p < 0.01).

HbA1C:

  • Those in the tea-only group had a 9.9% decrease (7.65 to 6.90%, p < 0.05).
  • Prediabetics in the MT and MT-DI groups had a significant decrease in HbA1c after 40 days of treatment   (p=0.01) (MT group: baseline 6.1 + 0.24% versus 5.7 + 0.26%; MT-DI group: baseline 5.7 + 0.15% versus 5.3)

Body weight, BMI, Abdominal Circumference, and Blood Pressure:

  • T2DM subjects showed no significant changes in body weight, BMI, abdominal circumference, or blood pressure
  • Prediabetics in the MT group had a significant reduction in body weight (baseline, 73.2 + 3.1 kg versus 71.6 + 13.5 kg) and BMI (baseline, 29.4 + 4.0 kg/m2 versus 28.7 + 3.4 kg/m2) after 60 days of drinking mate tea (p<0 .05).
  • After 20 days of mate tea, pre-diabetes in the MT-DI group had significant lowering of systolic blood pressure (baseline, 137 + 6 23.6 mmHg versus 130.3 + 19.7 mmHg; p < 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (baseline, 80.5 + 7.5 mmHg versus 76.1 + 7.7 mmHg; p < 0.05).

The significance of the Hb1Ac decreases is that research has shown every 1% reduction in HbA1c to decrease heart attack risk by 14% and other blood vessel complications like stroke by 37% 9. When suggesting a mechanism for how mate tea elicits these blood sugar control benefits, the researchers pointed to studies in mice suggesting mate tea acts on a protein called SGLT1 10, thereby affecting blood sugar levels.

For the researchers, “Based on these results, it is suggested that epidemiologic and/or long-term prospective studies should be carried out to investigate the anti-diabetes and anti-atherosclerosis properties of mate tea in both type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes subjects.”

Source: Klein, Graziela A., Aliny Stefanuto, Brunna CB Boaventura, Elayne C. De Morais, Luciana da S. Cavalcante, Fernanda De Andrade, Elisabeth Wazlawik, Patrícia F. Di Pietro, Marcelo Maraschin, and Edson L. Da Silva. “Mate tea (Ilex paraguariensis) improves glycemic and lipid profiles of type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes individuals: a pilot study.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 30, no. 5 (2011): 320-332.

Posted December 15, 2016.

Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, practices in Hauppauge, NY.  As a Certified Strength and Condition Specialist and certified baseball pitching coach with the National Pitching Association, Dr. Arnold specializes in nutrition, conditioning, and injury prevention of baseball pitchers and student-athletes from all athletic backgrounds.  Dr. Arnold completed his Chiropractic studies at the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, IL.  Visit his web site at www.pitchingdoc.com.

References:

  1. Diabetes Statistics. http://diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/.
  2. Jacques PF, Cassidy A, Rogers G, Peterson JJ, Meigs JB, Dwyer JT. Higher dietary flavonol intake is associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. The Journal of nutrition. 2013;143(9):1474-1480.
  3. Pittas AG, Nelson J, Mitri J, et al. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and progression to diabetes in patients at risk for diabetes: an ancillary analysis in the Diabetes Prevention Program. Diabetes care. 2012;35(3):565-573.
  4. Silva FM, Kramer CK, de Almeida JC, Steemburgo T, Gross JL, Azevedo MJ. Fiber intake and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition reviews. 2013;71(12):790-801.
  5. Klein GA, Stefanuto A, Boaventura BC, et al. Mate tea (Ilex paraguariensis) improves glycemic and lipid profiles of type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes individuals: a pilot study. Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2011;30(5):320-332.
  6. Association AD. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetics. 2010.
  7. De Morais EC, Stefanuto A, Klein GA, et al. Consumption of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) improves serum lipid parameters in healthy dyslipidemic subjects and provides an additional LDL-cholesterol reduction in individuals on statin therapy. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2009;57(18):8316-8324.
  8. Association AD. Nutrition Recommendations and Interventions for Diabetes.
  9. Stratton IM, Adler AI, Neil HAW, et al. Association of glycaemia with macrovascular and microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 35): prospective observational study. Bmj. 2000;321(7258):405-412.
  10. Oliveira DM, Freitas HS, Souza MF, et al. Yerba Maté (Ilex paraguariensis) aqueous extract decreases intestinal SGLT1 gene expression but does not affect other biochemical parameters in alloxan-diabetic Wistar rats. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 2008;56(22):10527-10532.