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7 Factors About Green Tea Fights Cancer for Your Health
Filed under Green Tea BenefitsJan 25
green tea cancer fighting
Green tea fights cancer at nearly every stage of the cancer process. Lab and animals studies have found that some of its most important anti-cancer properties include the following:
Protection Against Alterations to the DNA
A team of American and Chinese researchers tested the effects of green tea catechins and a water extract of green tea on known cancer-causing substances.They found that green tea and green tea extract were both capable of protecting against the gene-altering damage that is an initial step in the cancer process.
Among their findings were that both substances inhibited mutations induced by the powerful carcinogens benzo(a)pyrene (found in charbroiled meat) and aflatoxin B1 (a toxin produced by a kind of mold that can grow on grains, nuts and animal feed).
Inhibition of Tumor Activation
Many studies have shown that green tea catechins can inhibit tumor activation. One study that was done by researchers at the Laboratory for Cancer Research at Rutgers University found that giving green tea orally inhibited the formation of tumors in the forestomach and lung in mice already initiated with carcinogens.Any tumors that the mice did develop were markedly smaller.Antioxidant Action
The best way to fight cancer is to stop it from occurring in the first place. And that’s what antioxidants do. They help the body defend itself against free radicals, the unstable molecules that damage cell membranes and DNA, causing cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.The catechins in green tea, particularly EGCg and EGC, have been found to be the most powerful of all antioxidants. They show stronger anti-free radical and anti-mutagenic abilities than such celebrated antioxidants as vitamins C and E, resveratrol, selenium, glutathione, quercetin, curcumin and even the food preservatives BHT and BHA.1
Cell Cycle Arrest
The cell cycle is a series of stages that a cell goes through in order to divide and reproduce itself. In cancer, the cell cycle can occur rapidly, with cancer cells reproducing by leaps and bounds. But green tea catechins have been shown to stop (arrest) this rapid division of cancer cells, thus slowing the growth of cancerous tumors. And the catechins do this without damaging normal cells.
Blocking the Blood Supply
A major way of fighting cancer is by blocking angiogenesis, or the establishment of a blood supply to feed the tumor. If the tumor can’t establish a blood supply, it dies. Many studies have documented green tea’s ability to inhibit the process of angiogenesis, which slows or stops the growth and spread of tumors.Promoting Self-Destruction of Cancer Cells
Normal cells are programmed to self-destruct after a certain period (a process called “apoptosis”) in order to make way for new ones. But cancer cells don’t self-destruct — that’s part of the problem. They just keep growing and multiplying.One way to treat cancer is to induce apoptosis, often through the use of powerful medications. However, in most cases these medications also kill healthy cells. Yet green tea has been shown to induce apoptosis in cancer cells without causing damage to healthy cells.6
Not a Cure, But It May Help…
While there is no cure for most kinds of cancer, scientifically sound studies conducted by scientists at major universities and health institutes around the world have shown that green tea and green tea extract pack a powerful punch against this deadly affliction.This means that green tea may play an important part in helping us to live longer, healthier lives.
