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This is an interesting article, and it reinforces what I've read about how people use smoking as a way of self-medicating or dealing with stress and fall back on other methods for doing this when they quit smoking. I have a few suggestions or contributions (coming from my tea perspective!)

There's some evidence that drinking chamomile tea can prevent diabetes. Chamomile tea is caffeine-free and is generally used as a relaxing or bedtime drink. The original study is here:

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf8014365

There's also a growing body of evidence that tea (black tea, green tea, etc.) has diabetes-preventing and obesity-fighting activity. Tea has caffeine, which can contribute to weight loss, but there's also evidence that other chemicals in tea (such as catechins) have a positive effect on weight and diabetes. Study:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/112235192/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Another herbal tea worth looking at would be Tulsi / Holy Basil. Tulsi is related to basil, and is used both as a seasoning, and in Ayurvedic medicine. It is caffeine-free and generally considered to make a relaxing herbal tea. There's some preliminary evidence from studies on rats that this plant may help regulate blood sugar levels and thus have anti-diabetes effects. Study:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/k575g722080l58t0/

I hope this can be helpful to someone! Like I said, a lot of this research is preliminary, but these teas are generally safe for most people to drink as beverages, and there is some evidence that they have a number of other health benefits too. Enjoy!

Alex, RateTea.net

January 6, 2010 - 5:47pm

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