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Green
Tea May Reduce
Breast Cancer Risk
By
Suzanne Rostler
NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - Compounds in green tea may help protect women against
breast cancer, preliminary study findings suggest.
Investigators
found that rats who drank water containing green tea had reductions
in the size and malignancy of breast tumors compared with rats
that drank only water. Additionally, the tumors of tea-drinking
rats developed later and were less invasive.
While more
research needs to be conducted, the findings, coupled with observations
of lower rates of breast cancer in countries where green tea is
consumed daily, suggest that green tea may benefit women as part
of an overall healthy diet.
``I know of
no major detrimental side effects when consuming 3 to 5 cups of
green tea per day. Thus, I see no problems in drinking green tea
now for prevention,'' Dr. Gail Sonenshein, the study's lead author,
told Reuters Health.
Although data
from animal studies cannot always be generalized to humans, the
findings ``suggest that green tea can be protective against breast
cancer induced by environmental carcinogens,'' added Sonenshein,
a professor of biochemistry at the Boston University School of
Medicine and Public Health in Massachusetts.
However, patients
who are undergoing radiation or chemotherapy for breast cancer
should consult with their doctors before drinking large amounts
of green tea, she noted.
According
to the report in the July issue of the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry,
polyphenols, compounds that are abundant in green tea, red wine
and olive oil, may protect against various types of cancer. Polyphenols
are potent antioxidants, compounds that help neutralize disease-causing
free radicals. These cell-damaging molecules occur naturally in
the body and are linked with heart disease, aging and a number
of other disorders.
Dry green
tea leaves, which are about 40% polyphenols by weight, may also
reduce the risk of cancer of the stomach, lung, colon, rectum,
liver and pancreas, study findings have suggested.
Breast cancer
is the second-leading cause of cancer death among US women, according
to the American Cancer Society.
SOURCE:
Journal of Cellular Biochemistry July 2001.
Reference
Source 89
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