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Cancer Diet - Include Natural Foods
In any cancer diet, there are many factors to be considered. One
is that it is ideal that we get our nutrients from our foods,
and that those foods are in as near their natural state as
possible. By that I mean foods that have minimum...
Control of kidney stones with herbs and diet
Question : I AM a diabetic aged 63. Recently, I had severe backache and a K.U.B. x-ray showed stones in the urethra/bladder area. Is there any herbal remedy to get rid of these stones? Answer : BLADDER stones, or urinary bladder calculi comprises...
Fidgeting: The Natural Weight Loss Diet
It's now official. The simple act of fidgeting can mean the difference between lean and obese. It's the natural weight loss diet. My friend likes to relate a story from time to time about when he was just a lad. His grandfather called him "Worm",...
How the Atkins Diet Works?
Dr. Atkins created the Atkins diet in the year 1972. His main
aim was to create a healthy diet so that people live long by
following a healthy lifestyle. His formula was:
Low carb = low insulin = ketosis phase = burning fat = losing
weight....
Monitoring Your Weight Loss Progress Progress: Don't Guess- Measure!
Any weight loss or fitness program is incomplete without the timely measurements to monitor Your Progress. The only way to know if your health and fitness program is successful is by monitoring your measurements, weight and body fat levels on a...
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Benefits of Green Tea
Tea and Cancer Prevention
Tea drinking is an ancient tradition dating back 5,000 years in China and India. Long regarded in those cultures as an aid to good health, researchers now are studying tea for possible use in the prevention and treatment of a variety of cancers. Investigators are especially interested in the antioxidants-called catechins-found in tea.
1. What are antioxidants?
The human body constantly produces unstable molecules called oxidants, also commonly referred to as free radicals. To become stable, oxidants steal electrons from other molecules and, in the process, damage cell proteins and genetic material. This damage may leave the cell vulnerable to cancer. Antioxidants are substances that allow the human body to scavenge and seize oxidants. Like other antioxidants, the catechins found in tea selectively inhibit specific enzyme activities that lead to cancer. They may also target and repair DNA aberrations caused by oxidants (1).
2. What is the level of antioxidants found in tea?
All varieties of tea come from the leaves of a single evergreen plant, Camellia sinensis. All tea leaves are picked, rolled, dried, and heated. With the additional process of allowing the leaves to ferment and oxidize, black tea is produced. Possibly because it is less processed, green tea contains higher levels of antioxidants than black tea.
Although tea is consumed in a variety of ways and varies in its chemical makeup, one study showed steeping either green or black tea for about five minutes released over 80 percent of its catechins. Instant iced tea, on the other hand, contains negligible amounts of catechins (1).
3. What are the laboratory findings?
In the laboratory, studies have shown tea catechins act as powerful inhibitors of cancer growth in several ways: They scavenge oxidants before cell injuries occur, reduce the incidence and size of chemically induced tumors, and inhibit the growth of tumor cells. In studies of liver, skin and stomach cancer, chemically induced tumors were shown to decrease in size in mice that were fed green and black tea (1, 2).
4. What are the results
of human studies?
Although tea has long been identified as an antioxidant in the laboratory, study results involving humans have been contradictory. Some epidemiological studies comparing tea drinkers to non-tea drinkers support the claim that drinking tea prevents cancer; others do not. Dietary, environmental, and population differences may account for these inconsistencies.
Two studies in China, where green tea is a mainstay of the diet, resulted in promising findings. One study involving over 18,000 men found tea drinkers were about half as likely to develop stomach or esophageal cancer as men who drank little tea, even after adjusting for smoking and other health and diet factors (3). A second study at the Beijing Dental Hospital found consuming 3 grams of tea a day, or about 2 cups, along with the application of a tea extract reduced the size and proliferation of leukoplakia, a precancerous oral plaque (1).
5. Is NCI evaluating tea?
National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers are also investigating the therapeutic use of green tea. One recently completed but unpublished NCI trial studied the antitumor effect of green tea among prostate cancer patients. The 42 patients drank 6 grams of green tea, or about 4 cups, daily for four months. However, only one patient experienced a short-lived improvement, and nearly 70 percent of the group experienced unpleasant side effects such as nausea and diarrhea. The study concluded drinking green tea has limited antitumor benefit for prostate cancer patients (5).
Other ongoing NCI studies are testing green tea as a preventive agent against skin cancer. For example, one is investigating the protective effects of a pill form of green tea against sun-induced skin damage while another explores the topical application of green tea in shrinking precancerous skin changes.
Visit pcshealth.com for more articles and research on green tea.
About the Author
Robert is a writer in the Washington DC area and specializes in health and fitness. Visit pcshealth.com for more articles and research on green tea.
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