If you’re drinking green tea solely for the cancer protection, you could be interested in the results of a systematic review of studies that concerned more than 1.6 million subjects taking a look at the benefits of green tea.
The review finds ‘limited’ evidence that the green variety of tea offers any protecting benefits… Though it is still a natural, savory beverage just the same.
Green tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, as black and oolong teas - each type is made using different processing techniques, and all forms are typically brewed and drunk as a drink.
Tea extracts can also taken in capsules, or you can find them in skin products. Tea is safe for the general public if you drink it sparsely, though it does have some caffeine ( not without its own side effects ), and a touch of vitamin K ( an argument if you’re taking anticoagulants like warfarin ) per cup.
There’s been lots of studies over the years on tea of the green kind and its benefits to the body, and some evidence that regular drinkers do have reduced risks of heart problems and maybe even some kinds of cancer.
In China this delectable beverage is routinely used to treat ailments like headaches and depression. There are a lot of types of tea grown in places all over the globe, which allows for natural variations in taste and color due to growing conditions, cropping and the kind of processing.
The team of analysts who carried out the most recent work looked over existing scientific literature on the green variety of tea - drinking or taking extracts - and identified 51 suitable studies.
Twenty-seven of them were case-control researchers, twenty-three cohort studies and one ( on prostate cancer ) a random controlled trial, the gold standard of clinical trials.
The studies looked at green tea consumption and cancer of the digestive tract, gynecological cancers including breast cancer, urological cancer including prostate cancer, lung cancer and carcinoma of the mouth. The studies used were judged to be of medium to high methodological quality.
When it comes to stomach cancers and this type of tea the results were ‘highly contradictory’. Boehm and the team found ‘limited evidence’ vis liver cancer risk and conflicting evidence on digestive cancers.
Evidence for bladder and lung cancers was ‘limited to moderate’, with a discovery that green tea might basically increase the risk of bladder cancer. Green tea appeared to provide no protection for stomach cancers, with results called ‘moderate to strong’ by the team.
Green tea proves its good-for-you reputation when it comes to prostate cancer. Studies that are regarded as higher quality do support a link between green tea ( in beverage or extract ) and lower risk of illness.
At best, at this time the link between green tea and cancer remains unproven though you could have heard results from th study that link green tea to some impressive health benefits.
Benefits like better heart health, lowering high cholesterol, reducing the damage due to free radicals, reducing the unusual formation of blood clots as well as slowing the progression of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s illness.
Further research is required - a giant, carefully designed research that involves subjects who really drink enough tea as part of their daily intake.
Naturally such work takes a lot of time and expensive - nonessential if you are drinking tea for the taste and refreshment of it.
At intakes of 5 to 6 cups a day ( about 1,200 milliliters ) it’s a safe, heavenly libation and though the benefits of green tea haven’t been unconditionally confirmed, there is still evidence to show it helps with some conditions.
Next - just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more on the benefits of drinking green tea, plus for a limited time get 5 free fantastic health reports. Click here for more details on the benefits of drinking green tea.