There are many healing properties in this amazing drink
Green tea has often been thought to play a role in reducing or preventing cancers. The scientific evidence is not yet conclusive, so we can’t quite state that drinking green tea will reduce your risk of cancer, but it certainly can’t hurt. There is enough research that points that way to make it worth pouring yourself a cup. There is a specific antioxidant, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) contained in green tea, that seems to be responsible for the decreased risk of cancer, or decreased tumor sizes. White tea has been also been claimed to be effective, possibly even more so than green tea, based upon preliminary studies.
According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, in laboratory studies using animals, catechins (in green tea, the EGCG) deactivated oxidants before cell damage occurred, reduced the number and size of tumors, and inhibited the growth of cancer cells.
An article in New Scientist magazine mentions that numerous studies suggest that green tea protects against a range of cancers, including lung, prostate and breast cancer. Their research showed that growth of human lung cancer cells with a cell receptor called 67 LR is slowed significantly after drinking just two or three cups of green tea, which contains EGCG. The research also showed that 67 LR is involved in the propagation of prion diseases such as human Creutzfeldt-Jakob (related to mad cow disease in animals). This is not direct evidence of tea’s effect on prion diseases, but a hint that EGCG’s effect on 67 LR is an interesting lead in the search for treatments
Another study from the Life Science journal Carcinogenesis demonstrated that green tea, in combination with the drug tamoxifen, is effective in suppressing breast cancer tumor growth.
The anticarcinogenic effect of green tea on gastric cancer was first reported, then refuted by Japanese studies. The effects of green tea on gastric cancer reduction still need further research to hold claims that green tea is effective in gastric cancer reduction.
Topical applications of green tea extracts (EGCG) have protective effects on UVA- and UVB-induced skin damage (photoaging and carcinogenesis).
While the research is still all preliminary, it certainly appears that the ECGC in green tea does have an anti-carcinogenic effect in the body. This is certainly enough to make me drink a cup or two a day. It’s a tasty drink, zero calories, and might keep me safer from cancer? That’s a no-brainer. Stay tuned for many more of the health benefits of green tea – fighting cancer is just the beginning!
