Green Tea: Fat Buster?

Heavyweight and obese persons might be getting a new best friend. Another diet perhaps? A new weight loss regimen? Well, it's a little bit more basic and uncomplicated that these. The fat person's new best friend could be none other than the lowly but potent green tea.

Yes, that ancient brew seems to have manifested a new health property...that of fighting fat. Now that's another healthy reason to drink green tea.

A recent study showed that people who drank a bottle of tea fortified with green tea extract every day for three months lost more body fat than those who drank a bottle of regular oolong tea.

Researchers say the results indicate that substances found in green tea known as catechins may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and decreasing body fat.

Catechins are substances that have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties, but recent research in animals show that catechins may also affect body fat accumulation and cholesterol levels.

In the study, researchers looked at the effects of catechins on body fat reduction and weight loss in a group of 35 Japanese men. The men had similar weights based on their body mass index, an indicator of body fat, and waist sizes.

The men were divided into two groups. For three months, the first group drank a bottle of oolong tea fortified with green tea extract containing 690 milligrams of catechins, and the other group drank a bottle of oolong tea with 22 milligrams of catechins.

During this time, the men ate identical breakfasts and dinners. They were likewise instructed to control their calorie and fat intake at all times so that overall total diets were similar.

After three months, the study showed that the men who drank the green tea extract lost more weight (5.3 pounds vs. 2.9 pounds) and experienced a significantly greater decrease in BMI, waist size, and total body fat.

In addition, LDL or the so-called "bad" cholesterol decreased in the men who drank the green tea extract.

Researchers say the results indicate that catechins in green tea not only help burn calories and lower LDL cholesterol but may also be able to mildly reduce body fat.

"These results suggest that catechins contribute to the prevention of and improvement in various lifestyle-related diseases, particularly obesity," writes researcher Tomonori Nagao of Health Care Products Research Laboratories in Tokyo.

You can read the findings in the January 2005 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Green Tea and Shaddock can fight Bird Flu? No concrete findings yet!

The China Times Express reported that researchers in the University of Hamburg in Germany ordered green tea and white shaddock from Taiwan to help fight bird flu.

According to the report, researchers in the German university imported 100,000 shaddock and green tea pills from Nantou.

A food-processing factory owner, who happens to be a licensed herb doctor, was quoted as saying German university researchers have found this tea concoction to be effective in preventing as well as curing avian flu.

Nantou is a county in central Taiwan known for shaddock and green tea. Shaddock is a citric fruit also known as pomelo, that's quite common in tropical countries such as the Philippines and Thailand.

So far, there have been no official findings that can conclusively say that green tea can help treat or cure bird flu. Herb medicine specialists doubt that the German researchers have come up with the special cure.

In fact, Chinese medicine has no effective cure for influenza of any kind as yet. It is an acute, contagious infection of the respiratory tract, the treatment for which is only symptomatic and includes rest, pain relievers and fever reducers, and increased fluid intake.

One of them, Dr. Lin Chun-yu at the Taipei City Hospital Group, said shaddock peel and tea have been prescribed by herb doctors to help relieve flu symptoms, which include fever, sore throat, cough, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, and often signs of the common cold.

Typical signs of the common cold are watery eyes and runny nose.

"However," Dr. Lin said, "we've never heard of the mixture of the two (shaddock and green tea) could ever cure influenza or prevent it."

Aside from shaddock and tea, Lin added, there are many "relievers." The best known of them all is the "cuidium officuale tea."

Others include ginseng, licorice, ginger, chiretta, bupeulrum, and cured tangerine peels.

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Green Tea Slows Down Aging Process?

Discoveries about green tea's healing properties show no signs of abating as more and more health benefits are being attributed to this lowly beverage.

The latest buzz surrounding green tea is its purported ability to slow down the aging process.

According to recent findings, green tea extract has been shown to maintain cellular DNA and membrane structural integrity, thus somewhat preserving the biological set-up associated with youth.

Other research shows that green tea inhibits the development of undesirable cell colonies that lead to various diseases.

The active constituents in green tea are powerful antioxidants called polyphenols (catechins) and flavonols. Several catechins are present in green tea and account for the bulk of favorable research reports. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most powerful of these catechins. EGCG functions as an antioxidant that is about 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E. A cup of green tea may provide 10-40 mg of polyphenols and has antioxidant effects that are greater than a serving of broccoli, spinach, carrots, or strawberries. Theoretically, the high antioxidant activity of green tea makes it beneficial for protecting the body from oxidative damage due to free radicals.

Thus, as oxidative damage is minimized or even arrested, the cells in the body are able to function fully and even regenerate so that their "youthful" properties are maintained.

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Green Tea May Help Explain 'Asian Paradox'

While smoking is a well-known cause of heart disease and lung cancer, the rates of these diseases have remained inexplicably low in Asian countries where smoking is common. But researchers say there is growing evidence that green tea is one piece of the puzzle.

Writing in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Yale University researchers detail the body of evidence linking green tea to better heart health and a lower risk of cancer.

No one is suggesting that smokers ignore the danger of the habit and simply drink green tea. But research indicates that the tea's high concentration of antioxidants called catechins may offer a range of health benefits, according to Dr. Bauer E. Sumpio and his colleagues at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

Antioxidants help quench molecules known as oxygen free radicals that, in excess, can damage body cells and potentially lead to disease. Free radicals are natural byproducts of normal body processes, but they are also generated by external sources like tobacco smoke.

In Japan, China and other Asian countries, it is a social custom to drink green tea, which is less processed-and richer in catechins-than the black tea commonly consumed in the West.

And it's possible that this habit helps explain the so-called "Asian paradox," according to Sumpio and his colleagues.
This paradox becomes clear when looking at global health statistics, the researchers note. For example, for every 100,000 U.S. men, 348 will die of coronary heart disease each year. The figure for Japanese men is 186, despite the nation's higher rate of smoking.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) develops when the arteries feeding the heart become hardened and narrowed due to the buildup of cholesterol-containing plaques on the artery walls. According to Sumpio's team, lab research suggests that green tea catechins-particularly one called EGCG-may help thwart the CHD process through their effects on "bad" LDL cholesterol.

The antioxidants may also help keep artery walls functioning smoothly, as well as inhibit blood cells from sticking together and forming clots.

Similarly, lab studies suggest that EGCG and other green tea antioxidants may block tumor formation or growth in a number of ways. This may, according to the researchers, help explain why the lung cancer death rate in Korea is unexpectedly low.

The rate of lung cancer death among Korean men is less than 40 per 100,000, versus 67 per 100,000 among U.S. men. The difference among women is more stark: 13 per 100,000 in Korea, compared with 45 per 100,000 in the U.S.

This is despite the fact that 37 percent of Korean adults smoke, while only 27 percent of Americans do.
The global disease patterns are not that simple, however; China has a higher CHD death rate than the U.S. and many other Western nations, and the rate of death from lung cancer is about the same among Japanese and American men. Green tea, according to Sumpio, is no substitute for kicking the smoking habit.

"Smoking cessation is the best way to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer," he said in a statement.


Source: Journal of the American College of Surgeons, May 2006

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Green Tea Debate Heats Up!

A green tea debate currently rages. On one hand of the debate, health nuts and newly-converted adherents proclaim that green tea is the nearest thing to a cure-all beverage that man has ever encountered. On the other hand, official health authorities have been quite guarded and cautious in contributing to the praises sung in behalf of this lowly Asian brew.

Since the early 1990s, the health scene has been agog with the talk that green tea appeared to help fight off cancers when drunk by lab mice or when rubbed on their skin. Asian society had actually been several centuries ahead of the West and an 18 th Century Chinese Emperor had actually declared that "it was that precious drink which drives away the five causes of sorrow."

However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had ruled in June 2005 that there had been "no credible evidence" green tea fights cancers of the stomach, lung, colon, esophagus, pancreas or ovary. The agency, however, acknowledged that the evidence for tea fighting breast or prostate cancer was somewhat better, although it also said the link was "highly unlikely" because the evidence on humans wasn't conclusive enough.

Scientists say that despite the unanswered questions, green tea still shows promise, not only as a potential cancer protector but also against other health threats, such as cardiovascular disease and possibly Alzheimer's Disease. But they are also aware that not all findings applicable to animals in controlled conditions necessarily applied to humans.

Green tea is made from the dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. Green tea is made by steaming the crushed leaves shortly after harvest, destroying enzymes so that chemicals aren't oxidized very much.

Green tea is abundant in certain antioxidant chemicals called flavonoids, which obstruct the action of cell-damaging free radicals. It has high levels of a group of flavonoids called catechins. A potent catechin, epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, is pinpointed as the agent in green tea that provides it with its vaunted healing properties.

However, the FDA and the American Cancer Society have largely concluded that more research is needed to show that green tea helps prevent cancer, and many other scientists concur.

Still, most agree that including green tea in one's daily diet doesn't do any harm and may even be beneficial to one's well-being.

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Green Tea Health Benefits Too Strong To Ignore!

Green tea is slowly but surely being recognized as a potent source of health benefits for the common man. Green tea, lowly as it may sound, is increasingly looking like the miracle drug of the modern age. Several researches have shown that green tea combats a variety of ailments and diseases.

For some time now, green tea has been known to tame the cholesterol levels in man's body. This is primarily due to the catechins found in green tea called polyphenols. These polyphenols lowered the levels of harmful triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood. The catechins also lowered apoB, the main protein in harmful low density lipoprotein (LDL) or the so-called "bad cholesterol".


But aside from being a "cholesterol-buster", green tea has other health benefits. In the area of cancer-fighting, several studies have shown that the antioxidants present in green tea are quite potent in combating the onset of the "Big C". The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, for example, has published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly 60%.


Another research done by the University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.


Another observed health benefit from drinking this wonderful brew is that it also lowers high blood pressure. There have been studies to suggest that habitually drinking 5 to 10 cups of green tea lowers hypertension and thereby decreasing the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes.

Other green tea health benefits that have been observed include:

• Green tea is effective in treating headaches and even depression.
• Green tea is also helpful in treating rheumatoid arthritis, various cardiovascular disease, infection, and impaired immune function.
• Green tea can also combat tooth decay. Its bacteria-destroying abilities kill the bacteria that cause dental decay.

Green tea has been observed to be a more potent disease-fighter than either black tea or oolong tea as green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the potent EGCG compound from being oxidized. Black and oolong tea leaves, on the other hand, are made from dried or fermented leaves, which cause loss of EGCG.

So now that the world is becoming aware of the green tea health benefits, it might be wise to slowly incorporate the drinking of this lowly brew in your daily diet. Who knows, it just might be the best decision you've made for you and your family.

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Matcha Tea found to be potentially more potent than regular Green Tea!

Matcha tea has been found to potentially possess more antioxidants and other health benefits than regular green tea, tea observers have pointed out.

Most are familiar with matcha tea as this is the type of green tea featured in the elaborate and exquisite Japanese tea ceremony, called chanoyu.

Matcha tea is also used in the preparation of such delectable treats as green tea ice cream, soba noodles and green tea cakes.

Matcha tea is frequently used to complement meditative practices among zen monks in Japan. This practice has been spurred by the belief that matcha tea can help bring about a serene, clear and tranquil state of mind.

The health benefits of matcha tea are believed to exceed those of other green tea because when matcha tea is consumed, it is as if the whole tea leaf is ingested instead of only the brewed water.
That is because Matcha tea is the variety of green tea that comes in powdered form. It is made by stone-grinding the unfermented and steamed tea leaves.

So matcha tea is in effect hot water added to the ground tea leaves. That leaves a lot more of the natural antioxidants intact in the tea infusion. In regular green tea, people only drink the steeped water and throw away the leaves. Not so in matcha tea.

The fresh tea leaves, the foundation of matcha tea, come unusually rich in powerful antioxidants called polyphenols which may make up to 30% of the dry leaf weight. So when people drink a cup of matcha tea or green tea, they're basically drinking a potent brew of tea polyphenols. In fresh, unfermented tea leaves, polyphenols exist as a series of chemicals called catechins.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most powerful catechin found in tea.

With such extremely high antioxidant activity, it's logical to conclude that Matcha green tea may be highly beneficial in protecting the body from health concerns posed by free radicals, reactive molecules that wreak havoc at the body's cellular levels.
Matcha Tea EGCG have been studied for the last few decades for their potential ability to support the immune system, fight the normal signs of aging, and promotes healthy brain and liver functions.

Matcha Tea has a bright green color. That is because of the big presence of chlorophyll. It helps to get rid of heavy metal and toxins in the body. Matcha Tea is also high in fiber, sugar-free, and is zero on glycemic levels.

The Japanese have known the health benefits of matcha tea for generations. Those in other parts of the world are now slowly realizing these and are jumping in the matcha tea and green tea bandwagon big time!

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Green tea prolongs life, Japanese study finds!

A study conducted in Japan on more than 40,000 men and women has found that those who drink a lot of green tea live longer, researchers said on Tuesday.

The investigation by Dr. Shinichi Kuriyama and colleagues at the Tohoku University School of Public Policy, Sendai, Japan, found the beverage was particularly effective in fighting heart disease but did not reduce the death rate due to cancer, as some earlier animal studies had suggested.

Polyphenols - plant compounds known to be antioxidants -- found in green tea may explain the life-prolonging benefit it confers, said the study.

The 11-year study was conducted in northeastern Japan, a region where 80% of the population drink green tea and more than half drink three or more cups daily.

Those involved in the study ranged in age from 40 to 79 and had no history of stroke, heart disease or cancer when the study began in 1994.

Those who drank five or more cups of green tea a day had a death rate overall and from heart disease in particular that was 16% lower than those who drank less than one cup daily, over the course of 11 years.

Over the first seven years of the study the death rate of the heavy tea drinkers was 26 percent lower.

Where heart disease was concerned the effect was stronger among women than men in the study, perhaps because men were more likely to be cigarette smokers, the authors reported.

Tea of all kinds is the most consumed beverage in the world aside from water, while heart disease and cancer are the two leading causes of death worldwide.

The authors said the apparent protective effect found was not likely to be the result of tea drinkers in the study somehow being more health conscious, since almost all Japanese consume green tea as one of their favorite beverages regardless of their other health habits.

The study was paid for by Japan 's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study showing that green tea catechins have potent in vivo chemoprevention activity for human prostate cancer," Bettuzzi noted.

"The interest in green tea catechins and other polyphenols -- antioxidants found in many plants -- derives from traditional Chinese medicine, but the Mediterranean diet is very rich in vegetables, thus providing high levels of polyphenols, and lower rates of prostate cancer are found in that region as well," he pointed out.

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Tweet Green Tea Effect on Chemotherapy Yield Mixed Results, Studies Suggest

Green tea and chemotherapy have long been viewed in various spheres as potential weapons against cancer. While green tea's prospective abilities in preventing and even combating cancer have gained a certain traction among practitioners of natural and herbal healing, the effectiveness of chemotherapy against cancer has long gained the acceptance and approval of the scientific medical healing field.

But can these two seemingly diverse agents possess points of convergence that may make the war against malignant neoplasm even more potent and effective? Or do they essentially operate in their own respective areas, working their so-called magic independently of each other?

Green tea comes from the lightly fermented leaves of the tea plant camellia sinensis. It is known to possess high levels of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are materials that help fight free radicals - compounds in the body that alter cells, damage DNA, and give rise to abnormal growth of tumors that lead to cancer. EGCG or epigallocatechin-gallate is the most important green tea polyphenol and is believed to help protect against cancer development by aiding the self-destruction of these cells, and by affecting enzymes and the communications between cells, thereby slowing the growth and multiplication of cancerous cells. 

On the other hand, chemotherapy refers to a standardized regimen of cancer treatment involving either a single neo-plastic drug or a combination or cocktail of such drugs. Active agents in these drugs act by killing cells that divide and replicate rapidly. However, this method also involves harming cells that divide rapidly even under normal circumstances. This results in the most common side effects of chemotherapy: the decreased production of blood cells, the weakened state of the immune system, the inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract, and the loss of hair.

Taken hand-in-hand, do green tea and chemotherapy complement each other in the crusade against their common enemy? Well, the findings have decidedly been mixed.

A study conducted on mice by the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Shizuoka in Japan showed that the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin against carcinoma tumors appeared to have more than doubled when green tea was used as an adjunct. The tumors showed a higher concentration of the doxorubicin in the tumor tissue when the mice ingested green tea.

Interestingly, only the cancerous tissue reflected a higher concentration of the drug as a result of the addition of the green tea and not the normal ones. This may suggest promising implications on the issue of side effects as it implies that the drug's side effects may not increase when used in tandem with the green tea.

Another study showed that the chemotherapy drug adriamycin was likewise found to be more effective at treating ovarian sarcoma when it was paired with green tea. The mice in this study became very responsive to the treatment when they were given green tea alongside the adriamycin while another group of mice not given the green tea proved unresponsive.

However, another research study involving a different chemotherapy drug yielded a different result.

Laboratory and live mice experiments undertaken by the University of Southern California 's Keck School of Medicine found that taking green tea alongside the chemotherapy drug bortezomib against multiple myeloma and the malignant brain tumor glioblastoma showed that the antioxidants in the green tea may possibly negate and cancel out the therapeutic effects of the bortezomib.

The scientists subsequently found that the boronic acid component in bortezomib allowed the EGCG to latch on directly to the drug's molecules, thereby inhibiting the anti-cancer actions of both the chemotherapy agent and the green tea compound. The effect of this is that instead of killing more cancer cells, the treatment allowed almost all of them to survive and multiply.

The researchers in this study consequently concluded that "the current evidence is sufficient enough to strongly urge patients undergoing bortezomib therapy to abstain from consuming green tea products, in particular the widely available, highly concentrated green tea and EGCG products that are sold in liquid or capsule form."

There have likewise been reports of green tea extracts affecting a gene in prostate cancer cells that may make them less responsive to chemotherapy drugs.

However, the same scientists hastened to add that the same adverse reaction did not occur when EGCG was combined with several other non-boronic, acid-based proteasome inhibitors, including the HIV treatment nelfinavir or Viracept.

It is worthwhile to note that these studies have so far only been conducted on mice and in laboratory experiments. These results have not yet been confirmed in studies on people. As with many other early results, further research is warranted.

It may be gleaned from these divergent findings that green tea appears have different interactive effects with certain specific chemotherapy drugs. Green tea appears to complement the therapeutic effects of some anti-cancer drugs while negating and being adverse to those of other anti-cancer medication. It is for this very reason that individuals undergoing chemotherapy treatment ought to talk to their physicians before drinking green tea or taking tea extracts.

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Green tea ingredient blocks cancer cell protein!

Recent studies have indicated that green tea's reputed cancer fighting properties may be due to its ability to obstruct a protein involved in igniting the growth of tumor cells.

While green tea is believed to shield people against some forms of cancer like those attacking the breast and liver, researchers have not been able to pinpoint exactly how it does this.

Now, researchers in the laboratory of toxicologist Thomas Gasiewicz at the University of Rochester in New York State, have found that a chemical in green tea called EGCG attaches itself to a protein called HSP90, which is present at elevated levels in cancer cells.


EGCG prevents the protein from activating a cell receptor that plays a role in turning on harmful genes.

EGCG is a member of the flavonoid family, a group of chemicals also found in broccoli, cabbage, grapes and red wine.

Gasiewicz says the discovery could help researchers develop a cancer drug based on.the green tea ingredient. Drug companies are already searching for compounds that target HSP90, but to date none has come to market

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Does green tea fight cancer?

In December 2005, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., released a case study suggesting green tea improved the conditions of four people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The four patients consumed over-the-counter products containing epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the active ingredient in green tea. Hematologist Tait Shanafelt, M.D., and colleagues tracked the patients' conditions, and preliminary evidence suggested positive clinical effects. The findings appeared in the journal Leukemia Research.

Green Tea: Miracle Cure?
The Chinese have consumed green tea for some 5,000 years. It contains antioxidants called flavonoids - also found in leafy vegetables - which are thought to prevent cancer.

Green tea has been used to treat hypertension and atherosclerosis. Studies have shown EGCG to modulate the growth factor leading to leukemic cells, while theaflavin-enriched green tea extract has been shown to lower cholesterol and may reduce the risk of hypertension.

Researchers such as Thomas Gasiewicz, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester (UR) in New York, have studied green tea's chemopreventive abilities.

In 2003, Gasiewicz and his colleagues at UR 's Environmental Health Sciences Center determined that chemicals in green tea shut down the aryl hydrocarbon (AH) receptor, one of the key molecules in tobacco that may spur cancer.

Chemicals in green tea successfully shut down the AH receptor in cancerous cells in mice. The manner in which green tea is metabolized in the human body is still not fully understood, so more research is needed, according to Gasiewicz.

"The data from studies on human populations are not convincing as to a health benefit of green tea consumption," Gasiewicz said. "Some studies show some benefit; some studies do not. However, the evidence from animal investigations is more convincing for an anti-cancer activity of green tea and its components."

"Determining how these chemicals work in animals may help us to understand how they might - or might not - act in humans and the concentrations that may be effective. This information may also assist in the design of agents that may be more effective in humans for anti-cancer therapy," he said.

The Mayo Clinic research team also stated that more studies are needed to determine optimal doses, side effects and the frequency of medication before green tea can be recommended for widespread use among cancer patients.


FDA Weighs In
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says there's no concrete scientific evidence to support claims that green tea prevents cancer.

In a June 2005 statement, the FDA cited studies with conflicting information about the effectiveness of green tea in preventing certain types of cancer. While two studies revealed that green tea didn't demonstrably reduce the risk of breast cancer, one "limited" study suggested that it might. Similarly, while one study found that green tea didn't reduce the risk of prostate cancer, a smaller study found that it did.

As part of the FDA's Consumer Health for Better Nutrition Initiative, experts concluded that it is highly unlikely that green tea reduces the risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer. The FDA also concluded that qualified health claims for green tea consumption as a preventive measure for reducing the risk of other types of cancers must be investigated further, as no substantial scientific evidence exists for such claims.


Should You Go Green?
Bradly P. Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., chair of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Channel for myDNA.com's Medical Advisory Board (MAB) said people who drink green tea tend to be more health-conscious, which could account for their lower cancer risk.

"Studies in Asia show that cancer is lower among those drinking green tea," he said. But "this could be a lifestyle issue."

Green tea may not prevent cancer, but it does have plenty of proven health benefits.

"Studies have shown that green tea - either oral or topical - has significant antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging benefits," said Lisa Zanetti Rhodes, M.D., co-chair of the Skin Disorders Channel for myDNA.com's MAB.

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Green tea is Antioxidants central!

Green tea has become very popular in the last few years. Green tea has many health benefits and there are lots of reasons to drink it on a daily basis.

Green tea is prepared by drying freshly picked leaves. Black tea is made from the same tea leaves, however, they are "sweated" before they dry - a process that helps develop a deeper flavor. However, the fermentation process destroys some of the active components to the tea leaves, leaving black tea to have less health benefits than green tea. Therefore, green tea is higher in compounds that are associated with the health benefits.

The green tea compounds that make the drink so healthy are called polyphenols and flavonols, specifically known as catechins. These catechins found in green tea are the same chemical compounds found in other plants that have antioxidant activity.

Antioxidants are compounds that help the body guard against the damaging effects of free radicals. Antioxidants are very powerful against many diseases: cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, just to name a few. And green tea is packed full of them, almost 90 percent of green tea has these particular catechins. That's powerful!

Several of these catechins that are present in green tea are known as the EGCGs. They are known to be the most biologically active antioxidants and are 25 to 100 times more potent than vitamins C and E.

The EGCGs and green tea have been studied to show an association with their consumption and overall cancer and heart disease risk. There have been many studies conducted that show green tea's powerful antioxidant action protects against cell damage and can decrease the growth of cancerous tumors. Study after study demonstrates that people with larger intakes of flavonoids have decreased risk of cancer.

Higher consumption of green tea has also been linked to lower incidences of cardiovascular disease. There are mixed reviews on if green tea can actually lower LDL cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein), however, the action of the antioxidants just seems to be overall heart healthy.

However, with many of these studies, there is no conclusive evidence. But even with the absence of a totally conclusive study, there is general consensus that green tea is good for one's well-being.

So a cup or two of green tea is recommended. A cup of green tea provides about 100 to 200 mg of polyphenols and has antioxidant activity greater than a serving of broccoli! So sit back, relax and enjoy that fresh cup of green tea.

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Green Tea may help fight leukemia, study indicates!

A new report suggests that green tea may help treat a form of adulthood leukemia, if the cases of four patients are to be any indication.

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that of four leukemia patients who started drinking green tea or taking green tea extracts, three showed clear improvements in their condition in the following months.

The patients all had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, a form of leukemia that usually arises during or after middle-age and typically progresses slowly. Like all types of leukemia, CLL is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, in which abnormal white blood cells replace healthy blood cells.

According to Dr. Tait Shanafelt, these four patients started using green tea on their own last year, after hearing media reports about a lab study Shanafelt and his colleagues conducted.

That study showed that one compound found in green tea, known as EGCG, was able to kill cancer cells that were taken from CLL patients and put in a test tube with the tea compound.

After the findings were published, the doctors became aware of four CLL patients at their center who had started using green tea products and seemed to be doing better.

In interviewing the patients and reviewing their records, the doctors found that three showed signs of a regression in their cancer after they started to drink green tea or take green tea capsules. The fourth had an improvement in her white blood cell count, though her disease remained unchanged by standard criteria.

In one case, the patient had been showing progressive swelling in her lymph nodes - one of the characteristics of CLL - before she starting taking green tea capsules twice a day. Over the next year, her lymph nodes steadily decreased in size, according to findings published online by the journal Leukemia Research.

A new report suggests that green tea may help treat a form of adulthood leukemia, if the cases of four patients are to be any indication.

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that of four leukemia patients who started drinking green tea or taking green tea extracts, three showed clear improvements in their condition in the following months.

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Five top green tea health benefits!

What can green tea do for you? It might be easier to list what it can't do. A fascinating analysis published in an issue of 'Explore' found numerous ways that studies have demonstrated that green tea (or compounds in it) promote human health, including:


HEALTH TIPS

1. Fighting viruses, including influenza
2. Lowering levels of LDL, the "bad" cholesterol
3. Battling cancer: Tea compounds have been shown to help prevent or alleviate cancers of the lymph nodes, bladder, breast, cervix, colon, esophagus, lung, bones, pancreas, prostate, skin and stomach.
4. Aiding endurance
5. Promoting weight loss in animal and human studies

In short, drinking green tea is one of the best health moves you can make. And if you want to avoid caffeine, drink decaffeinated versions, or remove the caffeine yourself this way:

Steep tea for 45 seconds in hot water, then pour off the liquid

Add more hot water and steep as you normally would to brew a cup of tea

Up to 80 per cent of the caffeine is released in the first infusion of water, so only minimal amounts will remain when you add water the second time. This method has little effect on the tea's flavour or aroma.

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Green Tea is today's Wonder Drink!

For centuries, the Chinese and the Japanese have sipped green tea. And studies have shown that generally, they are probably among the healthiest peoples in the world.

Now, Americans are catching on to one of the most popular beverages in the world.

Studies are adding up and researchers are backing the idea that green tea could protect people from Alzheimer's disease, cancer, high cholesterol and obesity.

Registered dietician Cynthia Sass says green tea works because it is not fermented, or dried out, so antioxidants are preserved.

"Antioxidants are really like little bodyguards inside your body that protect your cells from disease," Sass said.

There are so many options now, making the process of choosing the right green tea to buy more confusing. Sass, however, says green tea you brew yourself is the most beneficial. The flavored teas are fine, too, but she says avoid ones that add extra antioxidants or herbs.

"We really don't know the safety of adding these in a supplemental form," she said.

The taste may not be your cup of tea but Sass says bypassing the taste factor with a pill is not the answer.

"There's really no guarantee of quality there," she said. "There's no guarantee that what's in the pill is really what it says."

Green tea is different from other teas because it is not fermented or dried out, thus keeping the powerful antioxidants normally lost in the fermenting process in the drink. Registered Dietician and ADA spokesperson, Cynthia Sass says.


There's a lot of buzz about green tea because more and more studies are showing the health benefits of drinking green tea. Some of the health benefits of green tea include:

improving your immune system;
guarding against flu virus;
lowering cholesterol;
helping prevent cavities and tooth decay;
slowing the aging process;
reducing risk of cancer;
aiding in weight-loss by burning calories;
reducing high blood pressure;
preventing arthritis;
reducing risk of heart disease, and
reducing risk of stroke.


The latest research also finds an ingredient in green tea that fights cancer may also help protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease. Some of the research has been done in humans, while other studies are only at the animal stage, but it seems clear green tea is a healthy choice. Sass warns though that green tea is part of a healthy lifestyle and does not equal a healthy lifestyle.

She says: "You can't eat poorly, not get exercise, and think it's going to help you prevent all these diseases. But it really could be a powerful thing we can do to add to all the other things that we know about disease prevention."

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EGCG: Green Tea's Hidden Weapon!

Despite the refusal of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow a health claim for green tea on labels, many people still believe that drinking green tea is a worthwhile exercise. Although more evidence is needed to justify a strong statement about green tea's ability to lower the risk of cancer, it is not a bad idea to include this beverage in a healthful, mostly plant-based diet.

Although black tea is the most frequently consumed tea in the U.S., green tea contains far higher levels of the phytochemical EGCG. Both oolong and black teas, including the common orange pekoe, lose some of their EGCG as they are processed. However, green tea leaves are steamed or baked before they can oxidize, so their EGCG levels remain high.

Since it is a powerful antioxidant, EGCG may help prevent both heart disease and cancer. It helps to stabilize highly reactive molecules known as free radicals that can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart disease, or alter the DNA in our genes, promoting cancerous changes. In addition, EGCG may protect against cancer development by increasing the self-destruction of cancer cells and by affecting enzymes and the signals between cells, slowing the growth and multiplication of cancer cells.

But while the evidence of EGCG's ability to deter cancer is quite strong in laboratory studies, population studies show much less consistent benefits. The inconsistent population evidence is one of the primary reasons that the FDA recently refused to approve a health claim on the labels of products with green tea that would link its consumption with lower cancer risk. In the FDA's view, the effectiveness of foods in laboratory studies is merely background material. Consistent evidence among populations is key to supporting health claims. However, researchers point out that the laboratory studies, which are overwhelmingly positive about the health effects of EGCG, are necessary to explain the results of population studies. Without them, we would not know what EGCG is or what it can do.

Furthermore, inconsistent results from population studies do not mean that there is no benefit to drinking green tea. Human studies show that the antioxidant capacity of the blood does increase about an hour after drinking green tea. Other studies show that markers of DNA damage decrease after drinking even black tea or decaf green tea, both of which contain less EGCG than regular green tea.

The differences in health impact that are seen among green tea drinkers in population studies may mean that green tea benefits some people more than others. Genetic variations, varying exposures to risk-producing substances like tobacco, or different diets could all help explain the differences seen in these studies. One study, for example, suggests that tea and soy may produce contrary benefits. Eating one of these foods may decrease the potential benefits from the other one.

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Green Tea may be effective against cancer and leukemia, recent study suggests!

Several studies have suggested that green tea and green tea extract have cancer-fighting abilities, possibly because the tea's concentration of antioxidants such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) help minimize the cell damage that can lead to cancer. EGCG is considered to be the most active component in green tea and is the best researched of all the green tea polyphenols.


A recent study conducted at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has demonstrated the benefits of green tea in adult sufferers of leukemia. EGCG (the key antioxidant in green tea) has been shown to kill cancer cells taken from leukaemia patients and put in a test tube.


Doctors at the clinic reported that four patients had started using green tea on their own last year, after hearing media reports about its health benefits. All four patients had CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). In the months after they started drinking green tea or taking green tea extracts, three of them showed measurable improvements in their condition. The fourth patient who did not show an improvement in her cancer overall, still exhibited an increase in her white blood cell count.


In one case, a patient had been showing progressive swelling in her lymph nodes before she starting taking green tea capsules twice a day. Swelling of the lymph nodes is one of the characteristic symptoms of CLL. However, over the next year the patient's lymph nodes steadily reduced in size.


Other research has come up with an explanation for why regular green tea drinkers have a low incidence of gastric and oesophageal cancers. Researchers have found that EGCG, the anti-cancer compound in green tea, works in a similar way to the anti-cancer drug methotrexate. Both work by blocking the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase, which is essential to the growth of tumour cells. However, the benefit of EGCG over methotrexate is that it has far fewer side effects.


The same study also showed that blocking the dihydrofolate reductase enzyme lowers folic acid levels. This side effect could explain the increased risk of birth defects and explains why some studies suggest green tea increases the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida.


However, in a study conducted at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California in Oakland , researchers found that women who drank more than one half cup of caffeinated green tea every day doubled their odds of conceiving. Women seeking to conceive or who are already pregnant are advised to consult their medical practitioner about the risks associated with drinking green tea.

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Green Tea shown to boost Detox Enzyme production, rendering cancerous chemicals harmless!

 Concentrated chemicals derived from green tea dramatically boosted production of a group of key detoxification enzymes in people with low levels of these beneficial proteins, according to researchers at Arizona Cancer Center.

These findings, published in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that a green tea concentrate might help some people strengthen their metabolic defense against toxins capable of causing cancer.

In a study of 42 people, the concentrate -- composed of chemicals known as green tea catechins in amounts equal to that found in 8-16 cups of green tea   -- boosted production of the enzymes, which belong to the glutathione S-transferase (GST) family, by as much as 80 percent in some participants.

GST enzymes are believed to be crucial to the body's defense against cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins, according to the study's lead investigator, H.-H. Sherry Chow, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the University of Arizona . They modify the cancer-causing molecules that would otherwise damage cellular DNA, thus rendering them inert.

"They actually convert known carcinogens to non-toxic chemicals, and studies have shown a correlation between deficient expression of these enzymes and increased risk of developing some cancers," Chow said.

"Expression of this enzyme varies dramatically in people due to genetic variation and environmental factors," Chow added. "Green tea catechins somehow increase gene expression of these enzymes, which can be an advantage to people with low levels to start with."

Green tea has long been of interest to researchers given studies that have shown populations in which it is often consumed, such as the Chinese and Japanese, generally have lower rates of cancer. To find out if green tea can protect against cancer, the NCI has sponsored a number of rigorous scientific studies testing capsules of the extract, Polyphenon E, that have been prepared in Japan to meet exact specifications. These pills contain epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a catechin known for its potent antioxidant activity, and are currently being tested against a variety of cancers in clinical trials.

This study was designed to see if green tea catechin concentrate had any effect on the levels of GST enzymes in healthy individuals research that could explain the tea's anti-cancer properties. Healthy volunteers were asked to abstain from consuming any tea or tea-related products for four weeks. At the end of this "washout period," blood was drawn and baseline GST enzyme levels were determined for each participant. Then, the volunteers were asked to take four Polyphenon E capsules, for a total of 800 milligrams of EGCG, each morning on an empty stomach for four weeks and to abstain from drinking tea or eating many cruciferous vegetables, which contain other beneficial chemicals. Another blood sample was taken after four weeks, and GST activity was determined.

Researchers found that use of Polyphenon E enhanced GST activity when data from all participants were included for analysis. But it had its most significant effect in volunteers whose baseline blood measurements showed low GST activity -- an 80 percent increase compared to baseline GST activity. Activity did not change in volunteers with medium GST expression, or in those with the highest levels, GST seemed to decrease slightly although researchers believe that decline was due to random variation.

"This is the first clinical study to show proof that chemicals in green tea can increase detoxification enzymes in humans," Chow said. "There may be other mechanism in play by which green tea may protect against cancer development, but this is a good place to start."

The NCI supported the study and researchers from NCI also participated in conducting the study.

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Green Tea may curb Prostate Cancer in men at risk!

Compounds found in green tea may prevent the development of prostate cancer in men with a pre-cancerous condition called high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), researchers have shown.

"The sad truth is that close to 30,000 men will die from prostate cancer in the United States every year and, at present, prevention is the best way to fight it, Dr. Saverio Bettuzzi from the University of Parma in Italy told. High-grade PIN progresses to invasive prostate cancer within a year in about 30% of men and no treatment is given to these men with high-grade PIN until prostate cancer is diagnosed.

Green tea catechins called Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) may hold the answer. EGCG is the most powerful of green tea catechins and functions as an antioxidant that is about 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E.

The investigator performed a trial involving men with high-grade PIN, who were given an inactive placebo preparation or one containing 600 milligrams of green tea catechins daily, "equivalent to 12-15 cups of green tea infusion, that is about two times the average intake in Asian countries."

Bettuzzi reported that, after a year, only 1 man among 32 in the catechins group developed prostate cancer, a rate of only 3 percent. In contrast, 9 out of 30 men treated with placebo developed prostate cancer, for the expected rate of 30 percent.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study showing that green tea catechins have potent in vivo chemoprevention activity for human prostate cancer," Bettuzzi noted.

"The interest in green tea catechins and other polyphenols -- antioxidants found in many plants -- derives from traditional Chinese medicine, but the Mediterranean diet is very rich in vegetables, thus providing high levels of polyphenols, and lower rates of prostate cancer are found in that region as well," he pointed out.

"There are other studies strongly suggesting that similar results could be obtained for prevention of other types of cancer. As a matter of fact, breast and colon cancer are possible targets. In the near future, we are supposed to start a collaborative trial involving both Italy and USA on this matter," Bettuzzi concluded.

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Green Tea Antioxidant Slows Tumor Growth!

A powerful antioxidant found in green tea may be responsible for the beverage's heralded anticancer benefits.

New research shows that the antioxidant, known as EGCG, binds to a protein found on tumor cells and dramatically slows their growth.

Researchers say previous studies have shown that green tea helps protect against a variety of cancers, such as lung, prostate, and breast, but the mechanisms for these effects are not known.

In the study, published in the April 2004 issue of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, researchers identified a potential target for the antitumor action of EGCG on human lung cancer cells that inhibited cancer cells' growth. By learning more about this target, researcher may be able to develop new treatments that maximize green tea's cancer-fighting potential.

Explaining Green Tea's Anticancer Benefits

In order to better understand how the antioxidants found in green tea may protect against cancer, researchers looked at how they affected a protein found on the surface of cancer cells called laminin receptor.

The study showed that when cancer cells with this protein were treated with polyphenol EGCG, the growth of the tumor cells was significantly reduced.

Researchers say the concentration of the antioxidant required to produce these anticancer effects was equivalent to those found in the body after drinking only two to three cups of green tea.

Other components found in green tea, including caffeine, had no effect on tumor cell growth.

Researchers say the results further the understanding of how antioxidants interact with cancer cells and may one day lead to more effective cancer therapies that use green tea as a dietary cancer treatment.

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