Green Tea: The Japanese Secret to Good Health

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Article Title:

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Green Tea: The Japanese Secret to Good Health

Article Description:

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Cancer remains a number-one killer in countries around the world.

Therefore, it should come as little surprise that medical

researchers are exploring new avenues in an effort to find ways

to attack cancer.

Additional Article Information:

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1040 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2006-11-29 10:12:00

Written By: Marcus Stout

Copyright: 2006

Contact Email: mailto:Marcus.Stout@...

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Green Tea: The Japanese Secret to Good Health

Copyright © 2006 Marcus Stout

Golden Moon Tea

http://www.GoldenMoonTea.com

Cancer remains a number-one killer in countries around the world.

Therefore, it should come as little surprise that medical

researchers are exploring new avenues in an effort to find ways

to attack cancer.

The investigation into alternative cancer therapies often begins

by examining the cultures of specific nations in an effort to

determine whether diet or other customs could help unlock the

secret to curing this dreaded disease. Since green tea has been

a staple of the Japanese diet for centuries, it's not surprising

that new attention is being paid to the tea's therapeutic

benefits.

In recent years, doctors and scientific researchers have been

focusing new attention on the idea of drinking green tea in an

effort to keep cancer at bay. It's been thought that the

beverage possesses certain natural properties which make it a

likely cancer preventative.

Studying Green Tea In-Depth

In order to look at this issue in more depth, researchers Kazue

Imai, Kenji Suga, and Kei Nakachi of the Saitama Cancer Center

Research Institute in Saitama, Japan, decided to examine the

effects of green tea drinking among the Japanese. In an article

entitled " Cancer-Preventive Effects of Drinking Green Tea Among a

Japanese Population " in Preventative Medicine magazine, the

research team explored the therapeutic benefits of green tea at

length.

When the researchers began their investigation, there had been a

number of studies indicating that the main ingredient of green

tea, epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, was anti-carcinogenic.

However, there was little evidence to suggest that EGCG could

prevent cancer in human beings. While some human studies had

been conducted, the results were far from conclusive.

The Japanese research team strongly believed that it was

absolutely critical to conduct an in-depth study in an Asian

nation, given the popularity of tea consumption in the Orient.

Ultimately, the Japanese scientists found that those Japanese

subjects who drank green tea were less likely to develop cancer.

This was particularly true among women who consumed more than ten

cups of green tea each day.

A Natural Cancer Prevention Tool

The rate of cancer was low among both men and women who consumed

large amounts of green tea. In addition, a study of 384 cancer

patients indicated that increased consumption of green tea was

linked with a delay in the onset of cancer. Again, this

phenomenon was most prevalent among women who consumed more than

ten cups of green tea each day. The average delay for the onset

of cancer was four years-four years of enhanced quality of life

for the subjects involved.

To a Western mind, drinking ten cups of green tea daily can seem

mind-boggling-especially if one has difficulty consuming eight

glasses of water each day. It should be noted that, on average,

the subjects were probably consuming 150 ml of green tea per cup.

That would amount to about 300 to 400 milligrams of EGCG-a

healthy amount, by any standard.

More Powerful Than Once Thought

It has become clear that green tea is far more powerful in

fighting cancer than researchers once thought. For instance,

scientists recently discovered that green tea's unique chemical

makeup enables it to combat one of the key cancer-causing

molecules linked to tobacco use. The ground-breaking evidence

appeared in a journal published by the American Chemical

Society.

In the study, researchers examined the effects of two components

of green tea, EGCG and epigallocatechin, also known as EGC.

These substances are close to the consistency of

cancer-preventing substances in red wine, grapes, broccoli, and

cabbage. The research team discovered that EGCG and EGC can

inhibit a molecule that often " turns on " genes that can be

harmful to the body, leading to the development of cancer.

However, it's unclear whether the results in the science lab

could be replicated in a person's home, since the effectiveness

of drinking green tea depends on how the beverage is used by the

human body. In addition, there appear to be differences between

varieties of green tea, so additional study is necessary to prove

the beverage's effectiveness in inhibiting potentially harmful

molecular processes.

The Need for More Research

Based upon the evidence presented in the study conducted by Imai,

Suga, and Nakachi, there can be little doubt that their research

indicates that consuming green tea can lead to the prevention of

cancer. However, additional research is definitely needed in

order to determine which organs of the body could best benefit

from green tea.

In other words, will drinking green tea fight stomach cancer?

Breast cancer? Colon cancer? At this point, the answers to

these questions remain unclear. Yet, it should be noted that

laboratory tests show that green tea's EGCG can zero in on

organs in an effort to prevent cancer.

The initial research into cancer prevention using green tea is

incredibly encouraging. To begin with, green tea is an ordinary

part of many people's diets, so drinking the beverage does not

necessarily mean a radical lifestyle change. If people are

already accustomed to consuming green tea, it stands to reason

that they wouldn't mind consuming more of it, if it would mean

preventing the occurrence of cancer.

A Virtually Problem-Free Solution

Some approaches to preventing cancer may seem initially

appealing, but can become decidedly less so because of the side

effects involved. However, there are no toxic effects linked to

green tea consumption, meaning that this cancer-fighting remedy

is especially promising.

In addition, green tea appears to be a powerful cancer prevention

tool. If the beverage's therapeutic effects were limited, there

wouldn't be a great deal of interest in using it as a cancer

preventative. However, the strong link between green tea

consumption and cancer prevention indicated by the Japanese study

means that there is good reason for people to consider adding

green tea to their diets.

Effects Beyond the Orient

Some might conclude that green tea drinking only prevents cancer

among Asian populations, but researchers in the field believe

that would be a mistake. It's entirely possible that, if

Westerners also made green tea a significant part of their daily

diet, they would also see the preventative effects.

With so many supermarkets and convenience stores in the West now

stocking green tea, it may be just a matter of time before

Westerners will also experience the beverage's medicinal

benefits.

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Marcus Stout is the President of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea

carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly

and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about

their current tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea

(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea), white tea, black tea, oolong tea (also

known as wu-long and wu long tea - http://www.goldenmoontea.com/wu-long) and

chai. Visit http://www.goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning the Golden

Moon Tea Company's fine line of teas.