ere's a simple solution to keep Type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart problems at bay: drink tea!

A new study conducted by Dr S I Rizvi, a reader in the department of Biochemistry at the University of Allahabad, suggests that the world's most popular beverage can ward off these ailments.

"I embarked on this research to study the effect of catechins, a compound found in abundance in tea, on patients suffering from diabetes mellitus, commonly known as Type 2 diabetes," Rizvi said.

During the study, Dr Rizvi found that catechins decreased the activity of the sodium/ hydrogen exchanger, which is present in all cell membranes and which has a higher incidence among Type 2 diabetes patients.

"We were thrilled by the implications of our findings. We knew that sodium/hydrogen exchanger occurs more among those suffering from cancer or cardiovascular diseases," said Dr Rizvi.

His research was supported by the International Foundation for Science, Stockholm, and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Hague.

If not tea: Rizvi said the presence of catechins was most notable in tea, though similar compounds were also found in apples, grapes and red wine.

A word of caution for tea lovers: "Remember, the property that enables catechins to inhibit sodium/hydrogen exchanger is the highest in what we call green tea," Dr Rizvi said.

"Although the property does not get totally destroyed in black tea or powdered tea," he added, "which is more popular among the consumers, it certainly gets diminished. Which, to some extent, also reduces the effectiveness of the beverage in preventing deadly diseases."