Modern Studies Suggest Tea May Slow Cancer Spread
Can green tea prevent Cancer? No, yes it is NO despite all the shouting and roaring of marketers and supplements manufacturers. Then isn’t there any truth in these claims? Yes, the truth is unlike the claims of marketers but they are as a growing body of repeatedly affirmed clinical studies. More work is still needed to accept them as medically acceptable truth.
Cancer is simply the uncontrolled and unregulated growth of cells that in later stages begin to spread in other parts of body. Studies and researches are still going on to understand its pathology, its occurrence, prevention and treatment. Adding to complexity is another fact that several organs can suffer with cancer like lungs, prostate, breast, bladder, bones, blood and brain.
Tea offers its widely popular cancer prevention benefits along some specific lines – the antioxidant properties, immunity boosting effect, antiproliferative effect. Studies all over the world have suggested the benefits of tea for cancer along one of the above properties.
Several ingredients of tea have demonstrated antioxidant property – EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and Catechins. Antioxidants are free radical scavengers that slow down the growth of cancer cells in tumor.
As little EGCG as in three cups of Green Tea per day have shown to slow down the cell growth of lung cancer cells in a recent study at Kyushu University of Japan. The test tube studies with EGCG confirmed the inhibition of an enzyme present in cancer cells that is required for cellular growth and division.
The ideas have been further supported by a Spanish-British co-study and researchers found that EGCG of green tea prevented cancer cells from dividing by inhibiting its growth to reach an optimum size. This effect of EGCG might result from its ability to bind with a specific enzyme Dihydrofolate reductase whose presence is essential for cellular growth.
Another important ingredient of tea, Catechins is also found to inactivate harmful oxidants and to diminish the size as well as number of cancer cells in a study conducted by U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Researchers of USC (University of Southern California) found similar beneficial results associated with the use of green tea in breast cancer. Regular green tea drinkers had significantly less incidence of having breast cancer even if they adjusted other data like family history, exercise and diet.
They suggested that Green tea might reduce the growth of new blood vessels in tumor. Cancer cells, just like any other, need nutrients from blood to grow. They stimulate the growth of blood vessels in order to get supply of nutrients. Tea jeopardizes the chances of getting nutrients by inhibiting growth of new blood vessels and thereby creating conditions for poor growth of tumor. These results have been reaffirmed by a joint study by the University of California and the University of Texas.
The adaptogenic or immunity boosting properties have been found in studies with five cups of tea per day. The toned up immunity helps to prevent cancer by helping the body kill emerging cancer cells. Alkylamine antigens may be responsible. Consuming them by drinking tea helps one’s body fight off against tumors.
In a green tea research study on bladder cancer, an extract created from green tea changed the actions of actin, a structural protein required by cancer cells to function. A process called ‘remodeling’ allows cancer cells to invade nearby healthy tissue. A compound made from green tea modified the cancer cell’s ability to carry out this process.
While research continues, many studies demonstrate tea’s ability to help in preventing cancers. As drinking a few cups of tea per day looks to be beneficial with no drawbacks. Give it a try!
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