According to a new study, researchers found new ways of preventing or controlling prostate and breast cancer growth and green tea is one of them
"Green tea is high in polyphenols and it's convenient," said Susanne M. Henning, PhD, RD, adjunct professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Henning with her colleagues did a research involving 79 men with prostate cancer. They were asked to drink either brewed green tea or water. Depending on the schedule of the surgery for these men, they conducted this routine for three to eight weeks.
During the course of this routine of consuming green tea or water, blood and urine samples were taken before and after the study. Once the prostate cancer tissue was collected after the study, it was found that levels of prostate-specific antigen otherwise known as PSA was lower among the men who drank brewed green tea.
Along with this observation, it was also noticed that nuclear factor-kappaB, an indicator of inflammation, was reduced among these 67 men who completed the study. Inflammation is normally associated with growth in cancer.
"This research offers new insights into the mechanisms by which green tea consumption may reduce the risk for prostate cancer by opposing processes such as inflammation, which are associated with prostate cancer growth," Henning.
Henning strongly recommended consuming more of green tea to see the effect.
"Two cups a day is not going to help. In fact, we had our men drink six cups spread out all throughout the day, which I think was beneficial because green tea polyphenols are excreted very rapidly, so if you drink it that way you keep your levels up. And that seems to be the important factor in keeping the protection going," she said.
Henning and team are also trying to focus on other natural foods which might have a positive impact.
"Lycopene and omega-3 fatty acids, for example. So, I would say that if you have cancer and you want to make a decision about all of this, then think of incorporating all of those as a part of a lifestyle change," she said. "I know that if I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I would try to change my lifestyle. And that would mean, in addition to eating lots of fruits and vegetables and trying to lose weight and exercising, that I would definitely drink green tea."
