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Green Tea

Posting Date: 08/26/2002

It also appears to work on the heterocyclic amines that form when meat, poultry, or fish is grilled and keeps them from initiating cancerous changes.

One Chinese study suggests that green tea can counteract the cancer-promoting effects of female hormones on breast tissue. Further research on this possibility is needed.

The polyphenols in green tea are thought to be responsible for its chemopreventive activity. Curcumin seems to act synergistically with green tea in preventing mutations and tumor development.

EGCG also has antibacterial and antiviral activity and stimulates the immune system to produce interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor. These and possibly other actions may explain the capacity of EGCG to reduce periodontitis, and this in turn may explain how green tea helps minimize bad breath.

The fluoride found in tea leaves may help explain why tea drinkers are less prone to dental caries. Tea can stain dental enamel, however.

Green tea drinkers are reported to have lower total cholesterol than those who do not imbibe. A special type of tea, Tao Cha, is associated with this benefit and is used in China to treat elevated cholesterol.

More recent research has cast some doubt on this finding, however. In Japan, where the first studies were undertaken, men who drink green tea are more likely to eat a traditional Japanese diet low in fat, while in Norway and Israel, people who choose tea are not drinking unfiltered coffee, a beverage that can elevate cholesterol levels.

Prospective trials have not shown that tea lowers blood lipids. Because tea discourages oxidation of low-density lipoprotein, however, it may help protect against atherosclerosis.

Both green tea and Earl Grey counteracted platelet clumping and prevented coronary blood clots in a dog experiment, but scientists have not been able to demonstrate any anti-platelet effect in humans.