A recent article published in the prestigious American Journal of Nutrition states that drinking three cups (330ml) of Paraguayan mate tea (a type of Paraguayan bitter tea) per day for two months resulted in a decrease in blood glucose and blood lipids in diabetic patients, and a significant decrease in blood lipids in pre-diabetic patients with slightly elevated blood glucose. The study was conducted by a research group led by a professor from the Federal University of Brazil. 29 patients with type 2 diabetes and 29 patients with prediabetes were divided into three groups and given Paraguayan mate tea, diet control intervention, and mate tea plus diet intervention. Dietary intake surveys and blood tests were done at baseline, 20 days, 40 days, and 60 days, respectively. The results showed that in the type 2 diabetes group – fasting blood glucose decreased by 25 mg/dl, glycosylated hemoglobin by 0.85%, and LDL by 13.5 mg/dl, while the total calorie, protein, carbohydrate, fat, and fiber content of the patients’ dietary intake remained unchanged. In the pre-diabetic group given maté tea plus dietary intervention – LDL decreased by 11 mg/dl, non-HDL cholesterol by 21.5 mg/dl and triglycerides by 53 mg/dl. Also dietary intake survey found that total fat intake decreased by 14%, cholesterol intake decreased by 28%, and Fiber intake increased by 35%. I wonder if the Chinese bitter tea has such an effect? This may need to be verified by our Chinese diabetic researchers in a multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial. The sample size is definitely larger than overseas.