According to the survey and research in the “2025 IDF Global Diabetes Map (10th Edition),” the number of adult diabetes patients worldwide reached 537 million in 2025, and this figure continues to rise. In China, the number of diabetes patients in 2025 reached 140 million.

When it comes to controlling blood sugar levels, we have a great companion: Pu'er Tea. As early as 2009, Professor Sheng Jun's team from Yunnan University conducted research on the blood-sugar-lowering properties of Pu'er tea. The study found that Pu'er tea plays a very positive role in lowering and controlling blood sugar levels, and can avoid the side effects associated with medication. So, why not invite friends and family to join you in enjoying tea, experiencing its delights and reaping its Health benefits.

The “Pu'er Tea Blood-Sugar-Lowering Function Research” conducted by Professor Sheng Jun and his team concluded:

1. Direct consumption of Pu'er tea has a clear blood-sugar-lowering effect, which is better than that of the blood-sugar-lowering drug metformin hydrochloride and roughly equal to the effect of rosiglitazone at high doses (approximately ten times the human dose). After two weeks of drinking Pu'er tea, mice experienced a reduction in blood sugar levels of approximately 40%.

2. Based on daily monitoring of the mice's weight, rosiglitazone did not control their weight, and its instructions also state that it can cause symptoms such as false obesity. Drinking Pu'er tea, however, can lower both blood sugar and body weight. When comparing blood-sugar-lowering and weight-loss effects, Pu'er tea outperforms rosiglitazone.

3. The method of consuming Pu'er tea is crucial. Our research results show that drinking Pu'er tea, the most easily accepted method, is also the best method and the one most suitable for the needs of diabetic patients.

4. The animal experiments showed that model animals using oral hypoglycemic drugs successively developed infections and skin ulcers, common complications of diabetes. However, the db/db mice drinking Pu'er tea remained healthy without any such complications. Out of the control group that did not drink Pu'er tea, eight mice died within eleven months, leaving only two survivors.

Subsequently, during an experience involving over 120 diabetic patients at the First People's Hospital and the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Pu'er City, it was found that for patients who were severely resistant to insulin injections and those taking oral hypoglycemic drugs (type 2 diabetic patients with fasting blood glucose levels above 9 despite insulin or oral medication), drinking solid instant Pu'er tea did not alter their dietary habits but resulted in 70% of participants achieving blood sugar levels below 7, with an average decrease of 30-40%. Among them, 50% of type 2 diabetic patients drinking solid instant Pu'er tea powder had their blood sugar levels return to normal.

Professor Sheng Jun and his team made significant progress and breakthroughs in their scientific research on Pu'er tea.

They discovered that Pu'er tea significantly regulates lipid metabolism abnormalities, with the primary component responsible being theaflavins, which make up more than 80% of the water-soluble substances in Pu'er tea. Caffeine is a key ingredient in lowering blood sugar. The reason Pu'er ripe tea does not affect sleep is mainly due to theaflavins binding with caffeine, thus suppressing its stimulating effects.

Theaflavins are the characteristic active factors in Pu'er ripe tea and have an “oil-scraping” effect in the intestines and blood, primarily by strongly binding fats, inhibiting their absorption, and increasing excretion. Theaflavins also have a “fat-burning” effect in the body's tissues by enhancing the hydrolysis and oxidation of fats, generating CO2, H2O, and ATP (energy), promoting fat metabolism, and consuming fat, thus aiding in weight loss.

These breakthroughs lay a solid foundation for comprehensively explaining the efficacy of Pu'er tea in regulating lipid metabolism.

The main component of Pu'er tea, theaflavins, also exhibits significant inhibitory effects on certain types of tumor cells, strongly inhibiting the expression of mutated P53 and the activation of notch proteins, having preventive and therapeutic effects on malignant conditions like leukemia and breast cancer. Professor Sheng Jun shared the rich fruits of his tea research in accessible language through a column in our magazine, presenting readers with a series of scientific articles on Pu'er tea, including “Drinking Tea Helps Prevent Osteoporosis in Old Age,” “Regular Tea Consumption Helps Prevent Tumors and Cancer,” “Pu'er Tea Regulates Abnormalities in the Body's Comprehensive Metabolism,” “Tea Active Factors and Their Effects,” “Special Cases in Pu'er Tea Efficacy Research and Experiences,” and “The Eighth Nutrient.” These articles provide multi-faceted explanations for the health benefits of tea on the human body.

This article is excerpted from “Repeatedly Demonstrated Efficacy of Pu'er Tea Through Experiments, Scientific Research, and Multiple Approaches.”

Author | Xiao Yao Nan

Originally published in “Pu'er” Magazine, October 2016 Issue

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