Green Tea and Cancer – The Power of Prevention

Is there anything that green tea can’t do? A Japanese study found that consuming five cups of green tea each day could work to prevent the development of cancer. They say the study took place over a ten year period and found that green tea was remarkably effective in cancer prevention. Needless to say, the green tea and cancer relationship is certainly not a new one, and should be known by everyone.

The Repeatedly Shown Relationship Between Green Tea and Cancer

The study analyzed consumption among 40,000 Japanese subjects, taking gender, age, lifestyle and health into consideration. Dr. Toru Naganuma of Tohoku University concluded drinking green tea may have a favorable prevention effect for “particular cancers.” Those who drank five or more cups were analyzed against those who drank less than a single cup of green tea daily. The study subjects’ health was also analyzed “in context of alcohol, soybean and fish consumption.”

What was found is that five cups of green tea each day could reduce the risk of lymph cancers by up to 48%, and blood cancers by 42%. Of course this isn’t the only research shedding light on the relationship between green tea and cancer.

Other findings also show how green tea can fight cancer cell growth by significantly reducing the number of lymphocytes. According to The Telegraph:

Many cases of CLL progress slowly, and often treatment involves an early stage of “watchful waiting” before patients are given strong treatments. Researchers hope that EGCG could stabilize the disease for many patients in the early stage or improve the success rates of other therapies like chemotherapy.

Green tea is rich in antioxidants, which are known to protect the body’s tissues from damage by free radicals. These antioxidants are commonly associated with the prevention of other conditions like heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases. What’s fantastic about green tea is that it protects against a whole host of illnesses and diseases, so many people are actually helping to prevent cancer when consuming green tea to help prevent other health issues.

In addition to the green tea and cancer relationship, this beverage has also been tied to:

• Flu prevention
• Graceful aging
• Accelerated fat loss
• Sunburn prevention
• Stress reduction

Attaining Enough Green Tea

Five cups of green tea may seem like a lot, but those who only drank one or less per day simply didn’t have the same results in this research.

How can you fit five cups in?

• Consider swapping your morning coffee (or at lease one cup of it) for a cup of tea.
• Have a cup of tea after each meal, taking advantage of its digestive benefits.
• Steep it ahead of time and add it to smoothies and other recipes.
• A cup of tea at the end of the day is a great way to unwind.

Additional Sources:

The Telegraph