everal years, there has been an abundance of
research on the effects of green tea and its possible ability
to prevent cancer. There has been a lot of focus on Asian
culture, where the incidence of cancer is significantly lower
that that of the Western world.
For centuries, the Chinese have used green tea for health. It
is used not only to protect health and slow down the aging
process, but also to treat illness. It appears that there is
some very good science behind what Asians have been relying on
for years.
Tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. There are many
different types of tea, but they all come from the same plant.
The differences occur from the differences in how the tea is
processed. Green tea is not fermented during processing, but
black tea does go through a fermentation process.
Tea leaves naturally contain catechins, which belong to the
flavan-3-ol class of flavonoids, which are anti-oxidants. EGCG
is one of the catechins contained in tea, and is one of the
most powerful anti-oxidants around.
Fermenting the tea leaves, converts the catechins to other
compounds. These new compounds are not as healthy as the
unaltered catechins in a tea leaf in its original state. For
this reason, green tea has more healthy anti-oxidants and
therefore more health benefits than black tea.
Each day, as we convert food to energy, we create free radicals
in our body. These free radicals can damage our cells and our
DNA if we don’t combat them. It is believed that unchecked free
radicals contribute to the development of cancer. They also
speed up the aging process and contribute to clogged arteries
and other maladies that plague us as we get older.
Anti-oxidants are powerful free radical combatants, and are
linked with preventing cancer, as well as with decreasing your
risk of stroke and heart disease and with lowering your
cholesterol. For this reason, drinking green tea is a simple
and effective way to slow down the aging process and prevent
disease.
But, recently there has been even more powerful news about the
possible effects of green tea on cancer. Many studies have been
conducted on mice that were already diagnosed with the disease.
In some cases, the studies have shown that green tea can help
kill cancer cells or slow down the progression of the disease.
One particular study of interest was conducted by the School of
Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Shizuoka in Japan.
In this study, mice that were infected with carcinoma tumors
were fed green tea along with a chemotherapy drug called
doxorubicin. The doxorubicin had more than doubled the
effectiveness in the mice that were also fed green tea than in
the mice who received their doxorubicin treatments alone.
The tumors showed a higher concentration of the drug itself in
the tumor tissue when the mice ingested green tea. As an
interesting side note; normal tissue did not show a higher
concentration of the drug as a result of the green tea – only
the cancerous tissue.
This may be good news, too. Since chemotherapy is known to have
many side effects and to sometimes damage normal tissue as it’s
killing cancer cells, this is important. Because the
concentration of the drug is not higher in normal cells, the
drug’s side effects might not increase with the use of green
tea as an adjunct to therapy.
These same results were found in patients who had ovarian
sarcoma, too. This news is important because ovarian sarcoma is
usually very resistant to doxorubicin. So, it appears that when
used with green tea, doxorubicin may become an effective
treatment for ovarian sarcoma.
In another study, adriamycin, another popular cancer drug was
also found to be more effective at treating ovarian sarcoma
when it was paired with green tea. Rats in this study that were
not fed green tea were found to be unresponsive to the drug, but
when the drug was administered along with green tea, the rats
became very responsive to the treatment.
There’s a second component of these studies that may have a
positive effect on cancer patients. During chemotherapy,
patients are often advised not to drink coffee or tea, due to
its caffeine. This can be difficult for patients who are used
to these beverages, as it disrupts their daily routine.
Allowing patients to consume green tea during treatment could
provide a positive emotional boost to patients.
In addition to helping to keep a patient’s daily routine normal
by allowing tea as a morning beverage, patients may feel a sense
of control of their own destiny when they understand that
drinking green tea can help improve the effectiveness of their
cancer treatment. This ability to have a hand in their
treatment can be a very powerful tool for cancer patients,
since this insidious disease often makes people feel out of
control of their own life.
Of course, as with many other early results, more research is
needed. However, the news is very promising in the fight
against cancer. We are likely only beginning to understand the
many ways in which green tea can help preserve our health and
prevent and fight disease. There is little doubt that we will
find more uses for this healthy beverage and its components.
About The Author: Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon
Tea Company. For more information about tea, green tea and wu
long tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid#120339
##################