Dentalcompare
Clinical Director
Green tea is historically been known to have broad health benefits, much due to its anti-oxidant properties. In 2006, Cabrera, et al wrote a nice, albeit, exhaustive review of green tea. Working down to the molecular level, they dissect every component, from caffeine, to minerals, to antioxidants. They cover the historical uses of green tea, including use of the plant for headaches, digestion, depression, detoxification, and to simply prolong life. Under rigorous research, it is now known to protect against heart disease, periodontal disease, tooth decay, diabetes, and even oral cancer. It turns out the article itself is also effective against insomnia.
What still remained to be discovered, though, was just how green tea did all these things, especially with cancer… until now. Dr. Cheng from the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan has done some research into the effects of green tea on cancer cells.
The problem with most cancers is that the immune system stops being able to fight against it. Your immune cells are programmed to seek out and destroy cancer cells that might crop up in your body. If those cancer cells become resistant to the immune cells trying to take them out, then a tumor can grow and spread. Dr. Cheng figured out that an anti-oxidant from green tea, epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG), is able to stop this resistance, making immune cells better at fighting off the spread of cancer.
Another study done by Dr. Ohga at the University of Hokkaido in Japan also showed that this same anti-oxidant can inhibit development of blood vessels that feed tumor cells. If you cut off their blood supply, the tumors can’t grow.
So what does it all mean?
Green Tea helps to prevent cancer in multiple ways, and unlike other hocus pocus remedies such as Echinacea, real science is proving the stuff actually works.