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.

Read More

Tea Cola created by Indian scientists!

A new concoction, referred to as the "tea cola", has recently been developed by Indian scientists.  The tea cola combines tea extracts from traditional Assamese tea with cola.

Two varieties of the tea cola have been developed - one made from the extracts of black tea and the other from green tea.

The tea cola is likely to be available in retail outlets in six months and will cost half the price of popular soft drinks.

Proponents of the tea cola say that the drink boasts the wide-ranging health benefits of traditional tea.

"This tea cola has got high anti-oxidant properties so it will act against stress. People suffering from stress...they (develop) certain toxic molecules. And it acts against the toxic molecules, specially the toxic oxidants they have developed.", asserts Dr. Pradeep Tamuli, in charge of biochemistry at the Tocklai Tea Experimentation Station.

The Tocklai Tea Experimentation Station in India's northeastern Assam state is the world's biggest facility for tea research.

It took scientists there three years to concoct the tea cola, and although a patent is still pending, the research facility is already marketing the drink to the health conscious.

China and Japan have introduced similar drinks - but the Indian researchers claim to have the edge.

Dr Tamuli said, "We have the advantage over them...that the taste of our tea soft drinks is comparatively better to Japanese and Chinese because of the special chemical constituents of Assam tea."

Local traders project that the tea cola will add some fizz to the tea industry in Assam - once among the biggest in the world.

Upen Dutta, Tea Trader, said, "In the future, the tea cola will not only prove immensely beneficial to the consumer, it will also help rescue the recession in Assam's once vibrant tea industry. The sagging industry here (will get) a new life."

There are several other interesting tea-products in the pipeline, including the world's first chewable tea pill and the tea cake for the serious tea enthusiast.

The marketing department at the Tocklai Tea Experimentation Centre says people are tired of boring old tea in a cup. Variety and a little innovation is what they want.

Read More

Flavored iced tea comes of age as trendy and healthy alternative to coffee!

There's a new craze sweeping America. These are flavored iced tea which are typically basic black tea that's jazzed with fruit or herbal infusions, and drank cold from tall glasses.

The ready-to-drink iced tea segment in the past 15 years has grown from $200 million to over $2 billion in annual sales, said Joe Simrany, president of the New York-based Tea Association of the U.S.A. It's the single largest segment of the tea industry, and it explains why iced tea makes up more than 85% of all tea sales, according to Simrany.

Health benefits attributed to tea are luring many people to cold tea drinks. Tea is considered an excellent source of immune system-building antioxidants.

As awareness grows, more consumers are insisting on better quality teas and are seeking out organic and Fair Trade blends.

The iced tea market is growing exponentially, analysts say, and is expected to continue its upward ascent in the years to come.

According to Simrany of the tea association, many consumers are re-evaluating their diets, and some who previously drank sugar- and calorie-laden juices or soft drinks are coming over to tea.

Green tea gets the most attention when it comes to touting health benefits, Simrany said. But that's because Asian scientists are the ones doing most of the research, and green tea is popular in Asia. Black tea has almost identical components, he said.

You get the sense there's a whole world of teas, just waiting to be iced.

Read More

Tea health benefit awareness increases tea drinking!

Ready-to-drink teas have recorded the largest boom in business, according to a report from the Tea Association of the USA Inc. Sales have increased more than 12 times since 1990, topping out at an estimated US$2.41 billion in 2005.

The overall numbers reveal an increase in four market areas: the ready-to-drink tea, and traditional markets - including stores - food service and specialty markets.

We're talking growing from US$1.84 billion to US$6.16 billion in 15 years.

There are those select customers who will only drink tea, mainly because they dislike coffee," she said. "There are also those who stick to tea for health reasons."

Those assumed health benefits have brought the drink under scrutiny lately.

Tea, though, isn't pushing coffee out of the way.

"We have tea customers, and we have coffee customers," said Sandra Alexander, manager at Ola's Exotic Coffee inside the Cesar Chavez Branch Library. "Right now, there are more smoothie drinkers, because it's hot outside."Laurel Hoover, a barista at Java Aroma on Grand Canal Boulevard, said coffee sales were up as the school year ended a couple of weeks ago, but the shop does have its share of tea drinkers.

Hoover expected tea sales to rise when the school year ended and Java Aroma's student customers were less interested in late-night fixes and more into relaxing.

In June 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported that its own data couldn't confirm drinking green tea - said to be beneficial for many different types of health concerns - reduces breast cancer in women and prostate cancer. Last month, the FDA released another report saying it was unlikely the tea reduced the risk of heart disease.

This isn't to dismiss tea as a health booster, but all of the claims accompanying the tea boom should be investigated a little more thoroughly before jumping into an obsession with the beverage.

Though, as my friend proved to me a couple of weeks ago, it doesn't hurt to have a glass every now and then.

Read More

Tea drinking and a healthy diet helps keep chronic diseases away!

Drinking tea, especially as part of a health promoting nutritional diet, low in total fat and salt, with adequate vegetables and fruits, bran cereal insoluble fibre and sources of soluble fibre, may be a useful dietary habit to assist in lowering the risk of a number of chronic diseases, says Dr N Ghosh Hajra, Project Director, Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Centre in his book "Tea and Health - Science behind the myths".

Nearly 650 ml of tea provides over half of the total requirement of dietary flanonoids; nearly 16 per cent of the daily requirement of calcium; almost 10 per cent of the daily requirement of zinc, over 10 per cent of folic acid need; besides other nutrients, says the book.

The inhibitory action of components of black and green teas against cancer initiation has been demonstrated in different animal models involving different organ sites in many laboratories. Black tea has also been shown to inhibit tumerogenesis in lung, colon and skin, says the book.

Concern regarding caffeine in tea is not an issue as long as tea is consumed in moderation as suggested by Canadian and other health authorities, it says. The book offers a comprehensive review of major health benefits of tea consumption including the anti-oxidative action of tea catechins and polyphenols and projects tea as a health drink.

"Tea is a great drink for modern lives; regardles of how one drinks, green, black with milk, lemon, sugar or spice - it is still a best bet."Tea has always come with a positive health message ever since the Chinese started drinking it, says Dr Hajra quoting Monk Eisai, 'Father of Tea' in Japan , "tea is a miraculous medicine for the maintenance of health. Tea has an extraordinary power to prolong life."

But in the past the health claims could not be substantiated by scientific data.

As of today many studies have recorded the beneficial effects of tea on health, but the book notes that more comprehensive research is needed to evaluate effect of tea drinking on a number of diseases.

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.

Read More

It's official - A cup of tea is good for you!

A research reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition has confirmed that tea is a healthier drink than water.

Apparently, tea doesn't dehydrate the drinker, but rather rehydrates just as well as the equivalent quantity of water would. Tea can also protect against heart disease and some cancers.

Desk research conducted by Dr. Carrie Ruxton, a public health nutritionist at London's Kings College found that drinking three or four cups of tea a day can minimize the chances of a heart attack, and some reports suggested it protected against cancers.


Tea contains polyphenol antioxidants, which have been shown to help prevent cell damage.

"Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water," says Dr Ruxton. "Tea replaced fluids and contains antioxidants, so it's got two things going for it".

Read More

Drinking lots of tea may do the body good!

A growing number of studies suggest that drinking tea imparts a lot of health benefits to the drinker.

Such potential benefits from tea include improved mental alertness, lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, reduced blood pressure, lower risk of breast, colon, lung, ovarian and prostate cancer, as well as possible protection again Type 2 diabetes and maybe even help with weight loss.

One substance in tea -the epigallo-catechin gallate (EGCG) - appears to be the main component that produces those health benefits. Other benefits also include reduction of psoriasis, prostate cancer and colon tumors (at least in animals). EGCG is now an ingredient in a growing number of foods, beverages and dietary supplements.

However, there is still so much debate on such tea health benefits. Where one study finds that tea boosts immune function, another shows no effect. Most of the research has been limited to animals. Scientists have yet to examine all the properties of green, black, oolong and white tea. They don't yet know if the variety of tea -- Darjeeling vs. jasmine green tea, for example -- could make a difference. Or what effect there may be from drinking tea straight or mixing it with milk, sugar, lemon or other spices. There isn't even agreement on whether a cup of tea means the barely four ounces you sip from fine china or the hefty 16 ounces in an oversize mug.

Tea has big possibilities, say observers. But there is still a long way to go before such health benefits are conclusively confirmed.

Still, almost all seem to agree that drinking tea is beneficial to drinkers.

Read More

Hot Tea believed to improve general well-being!

A cup of hot tea is believed to impart several health benefits to drinkers. Hot tea is believed to improve the heart, reduce cancer risk, help the skin and contribute to general well-being. 

Experts have said that tea has better health benefits if it is heated. The heat acts as an instrument to transfer the antioxidants in the tea leaves to the water. Although tea can still have many benefits if it is cool, it slows down the digestive system, Hawkins said.

The best way to prepare the hot tea is to heat water until it boils, then pour it into a cup with the tea. Leave the tea in the cup for several minutes, usually between five and 20 minutes. If roots are used in the tea, they will probably need to be boiled in water for 10 to 20 minutes.

Experts further recommend not using tap water because the chemicals used to clean the water may change the taste of the tea. People can add milk or honey to tea but some antioxidants may be diluted, hence the health benefits might not be as potent. 

Green and black tea are among the most popular types of tea that can be enjoyed hot. Both include caffeine and health benefits. 

There are also many teas that are derived from herbs, roots and barks. Most of these usually have unique medicinal benefits to the drinker.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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!

Read More

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.

Read More