Here is another one of those forwarded emails that I want my readers to read because it is very beneficial to everyone. Once again, it is about cancer. And since cancer is a mighty enemy, we need all the information on it that we can get. So here it is, a short article on green tea and how it fights cancer:
Green tea is one of the oldest beverages in the world. And one of the healthiest. Asian cultures have promoted the benefits of green tea for thousands of years. Lately, modern science has been catching up.
Researchers first gave credence to the anti-cancer properties of green tea, when we realized that the Chinese (at least those that do not live downstream of industrial pollution) have much lower rates of cancer than Western populations. Further research showed that green tea is a potent source of polyphenols, especially one called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This compound has been shown to have powerful antioxidant and anti-cancer properties.
In a recent study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers gave a standardized form of EGCG to patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This type of blood cancer is very slow growing, but also very hard to cure.
Ralph Moss, PhD reviewed the study in his newsletter, Cancer Decisions. According to Dr. Moss, 33 patients were treated with varying dosages of EGCG. The doses ranged from 400 mg up to 2,000 mg, twice a day.
After just one month of treatment, one patient experienced a partial remission. A third of the patients experienced more than a 20 percent decrease in the number of lymphocytes in their blood. And 11 out of 12 patients that previously had visibly swollen lymph nodes experienced a reduction of at least 50 percent in the size of these nodes.
The standardized form of EGCG that was used in the study is not available on the market. However, there are several reputable companies that produce EGCG as a supplement.
Two recent studies also show that green tea provides particularly powerful prostate protection (say that three times fast).
Italian researchers studied 62 men with a pre-cancerous prostate condition. Normally this condition would result in cancer in about 30 percent of cases. Half of the men were given a placebo. The other half consumed an extract of green tea daily. In the placebo group, 9 out of 30 men developed cancer. In the green tea group, however, only one out of 32 developed the disease.
This is consistent with a study of Chinese men which found that those who consumed the most green tea were two-thirds less likely to develop prostate cancer.
If you or someone you know is fighting cancer, taking a green tea extract or an EGCG supplement would be a great idea. And even if you’re not, do as the Asians do. Enjoy a warm cup of organic green tea as often as possible.
So there you have it, green tea is good in fighting off cancer.
