STUDY: Green Tea Prevents Blood and Lymph Cancer

One should be cautious in attributing any “miraculous” powers to green tea.

But perhaps there’s no other adjective to describe the scientific evidence that’s piling up in favor of this beverage which has been around for thousands of years. Green tea is proven to be high in polyphenol compounds.

According to a study of 41,761 adults conducted by Dr. Toru Naganuma of Tohoku University School of Medicine in Japan, drinking 5 or more cups of green tea a day may reduce the risk of blood and lymph cancers by as much as 50 percent. The results were published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Again, drinking 5 or more cups of green tea a day was found to reduce the risk of hematologic malignancies by 42 percent and reduce the risk of lymphoid neoplasms by 48 percent.

Guo Lu Organic Loose Leaf Green Tea

Moreover, the risk reduction in question was found to be independent of the gender and weight (Body Mass Ratio) of the subjects.

The study followed up these 41,761 adults over a 9-year period and found 157 cancer cases.

The polyphenols in green tea leaves (epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC)) are considered to be effective in triggering self-distruction (apoptosis) of cancer cells.

However, the scientists were careful to note that despite the degree of high “association” between green tea consumption and reduced risk of cancer, they could not prove any direct “casual relationship” between the two yet.