Tea drinking is an ancient tradition dating back 5,000 years in China and India. The rates of many cancers are much lower in Asia than other parts of the world. Some people believe this is because of the high intake of green tea and some cancer patients believe drink green tea helps with cancer treatment.

alternative cancer treatmentThe Chinese have known about benefits of green tea since ancient times, because they have used green tea to treat ailments ranging from headaches to depression. Long regarded in those cultures as an aid to good health, researchers now are studying green tea for possible use in the prevention and treatment of a variety of cancers.

Green tea is produced from the leaves of the tea plant named Camellia Sinensis. Unlike other teas, such as black, green tea is not fermented, which gives it greater antioxidant properties as fermentation destroys many of the health benefits contained in the tea leaves. Consequently, it has least amount of caffeine compared to other teas.

The secret of Chinese green tea’s benefits lies in the fact that it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly the epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Studies conducted by the University of Murcia in Spain and the John Innes Center in Norwich, England have discovered that EGCG can prevent cancer cells from growing.

Scientists have also found that the structure of EGCG is very similar to a cancer drug called methotrexate. They discovered that EGCG kills cancer cells in the same way that the cancer drug does. These findings have promoted studies about EGCG based cancer treatment.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study in 1994 indicating that drinking Chinese green tea regularly lowered the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by close to 60 percent.

Notably, Cochrane published a review of 51 studies which included over 1.5 million people in July 2009. This review was looking for a relationship between green tea consumption and cancer. They conclude that the research so far is conflicting which means that green tea remains unproven in preventing cancer.

While waiting more evidence from randomized controlled clinical trials on green tea whether play an important role in cancer prevention and cancer treatment, some cancer patients drink green tea to boost their immune system, get rid of toxins in the body and treat their cancer if those conventional treatments no longer offer a possible cure.

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