Studies have found that drinking plenty of tea, at least four cups a day, reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The Chinese academics behind the findings say drinking four or more cups of tea every day could lower your risk by 17% over a decade. His Xiaying Li from Wuhan University of Science and Technology in China said: Lead author.

The protective effect could be even greater if people put milk in their tea, says Li. Although not investigated, previous studies have shown that dairy products also have anti-diabetic effects.

“I think milk makes tea’s effects on diabetes stronger, which means tea is more effective with milk,” Lee said.

She plans to present the findings on Sunday at the European Diabetes Society’s annual meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 19 previous studies on tea drinking and diabetes involving approximately 1.1 million adults in eight countries in the United States, Asia or Europe, including one conducted in the United Kingdom. I did. They found a “significant linear association” between drinking the traditional Chinese teas black, green, or oolong and a reduced risk of developing diabetes.

Compared to non-drinkers, those who drank one, two, or three cups of tea a day had a 4% lower risk, while those who drank four or more cups a day had a 17% lower risk. was consistent between

When asked why tea prevents diabetes, Li said:

About 4 million British people are diagnosed with diabetes. About 90% of them have type 2. This is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, especially overweight. Others have type 1, a non-lifestyle-related autoimmune condition, usually diagnosed in childhood. The findings have not been published in a medical journal, but were peer-reviewed by the organizers of the Stockholm conference.

Li said the findings were observational and don’t prove that drinking tea reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, but he thinks it likely contributes.