Traditional China has consumed medical herbs for centuries to promote the well being of one’s body, particularly green tea.

A worldwide traveler, green tea has become popularized in America and research suggests the herb may prevent or relieve illness.

Derived from the Camellia sinesis plant, green tea is made from the unfermented leaves and therefore have the highest antioxidant content and lowest caffeine content of all teas available.

Packed with antioxidants called polyphenols, it is this product that may have healing powers.

FRIDAY, June 6 (HealthDay News) -- Genetically engineered mice in which pancreatic beta cells can regenerate after being induced to die may provide information that leads to improved treatments for type 1 diabetes, researchers say.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells, which make and release insulin, the hormone that converts blood sugar to energy for cells in the body.

Sunlight, Vitamin D May Cut Kids' Diabetes Risk

THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Adequate sun exposure and vitamin D levels may play an important role in helping to prevent type 1 diabetes in children, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, analyzed type 1 diabetes incidence rates and found that populations living at or near the equator -- where there is abundant sunshine -- have lower rates of the disease than populations at higher latitudes, where there is less sunlight.

WEDNESDAY, May 21 (HealthDay News) -- Compared to kidney transplantation alone, a simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplant improves the likelihood of long-term survival in patients with type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), according to a German study.

FRIDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) -- New details about the immune cells thought to be responsible for type 1 diabetes are revealed in a study by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Between 1996 and 2005, there were 13 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries reported among young people using insulin pumps to treat type 1 diabetes, says a U.S. Food and Drug Administration study. The pumps offer an alternative to multiple daily injections of insulin by syringe.

CHICAGO - Insulin pumps are used by tens of thousands of teenagers worldwide with Type 1 diabetes, but they can be risky and have been linked to injuries and even deaths, a review by federal regulators finds.

Parents should be vigilant in watching their children’s use of the pumps, researchers from the Food and Drug Administration wrote. They didn’t advise against using the devices. But they called for more study to address safety concerns in teens and even younger children who use the popular pumps.

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By Serena Gordon
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- The number of women starting their pregnancies with type 1 or type 2 diabetes has doubled since 1999, but rates of gestational diabetes have stayed the same, new research finds.

In some age groups, the results were even worse. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente found that the number of teenagers who had diabetes before birth jumped fivefold.

FRIDAY, March 21 (HealthDay News) -- Children who take vitamin D supplements may be less likely to develop type 1 diabetes later in life, according to researchers who analyzed the findings of five previously published studies.
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The researchers found that children who were given additional vitamin D were about 30 percent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes than children who didn't receive vitamin D supplements. The evidence also indicated that the higher and more regular the dose of vitamin D, the lower the risk of developing diabetes.

By Amanda Gardner
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Women with type 1 diabetes who take less insulin than they should to try to lose weight triple their risk of dying compared to women who do not skip insulin doses, a new study finds.