Drinking green tea with starchy food may help lower blood sugar spikes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. An ingredient in green tea that helps reduce blood sugar spikes in mice may lead to new diet strategies for people, according to Penn State food scientists. Mice fed an antioxidant found in green tea - epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG - and corn starch had a significant reduction in increase in their blood sugar - blood glucose - levels compared to mice that were not fed the compound, according to Joshua Lambert, assistant professor of food science in agricultural sciences. "The spike in blood glucose level is about 50 percent lower than the increase in the blood glucose level of mice that were not fed EGCG," Lambert said. The dose of EGCG fed to the mice was equivalent to about one and a half cups of green tea for a human. Lambert, who worked with Sarah C. Forester, postdoctoral fellow, and Yeyi Gu, graduate student, both in food science, said EGCG was most effective when the compound was fed to the mice simultaneously with corn starch. For humans, this may mean that green tea could help them control the typical blood sugar increases that are brought on when they eat starchy foods, like breads and bagels that are often a part of typical breakfasts.