Tea May Ward Off Some Cancers
Chemical In Beverage Reduces Cancer Risk
People who drink tea may be doing more than soothing a weary stomach -- they might be preventing cancer, according to new research.
Tea drinkers in a study conducted in Shanghai, China, were about half as likely to develop cancer of the stomach or esophagus as non-tea drinkers, found researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, along with scientists from Rutgers University and the Shanghai Cancer Institute.
The study's results were presented at the 93rd annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
In a study beginning in 1986, researchers followed 18,244 men ages 45 to 64 in the eastern Chinese coastal city. They measured levels in each participant of certain chemicals, called polyphenols, that are present in tea. They also checked for levels of several chemicals produced when polyphenols break down in the body.
The researchers found that people in which these chemicals were present had a lower risk of gastric and esophageal cancer.
"This study provides direct evidence that tea polyphenols may act as chemopreventive agents against gastric and esophageal cancer development," said Mimi Yu, professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine and member of the research team.
All varieties of tea come from the leaves of a single plant, Camellia sinensis. This evergreen contains some of the most powerful antioxidants known.
Green tea contains the most helpful polyphenols, followed by oolong and black teas.
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