Green tea drinkers show lower cancer risks
Source: Agencies |
October 25, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
OLDER women who regularly drunk green tea may have slightly lower risks of colon, stomach and throat cancers than women who don't, according to a Canadian study that followed thousands of Chinese women over a decade.
The researchers found that of the more than 69,000 women, those who drank green tea at least three times a week were 14 percent less likely to develop a cancer of the digestive system.
Past studies have so far come to conflicting findings on whether green tea drinkers really do have lower cancer risks.
"In this large prospective cohort study, tea consumption was associated with reduced risk of colorectal and stomach/esophageal cancers in Chinese women," said study leader Wei Zheng, who heads epidemiology at Vanderbilt University school of Medicine in Nashville.
Nobody can say whether green tea itself is the reason, since green tea lovers are often more health-conscious in general.
But the study did try to account for that, Zheng said. None of the women smoked or drank alcohol regularly, and the researchers also collected information on their diets, exercise habits, weight and medical history.
Yet even with all these things factored in, women's tea habits remained linked to their cancer risks, Zheng noted.
There is strong evidence from lab research, in animals and in human cells, that green tea has the potential to fight cancer, according to Zheng's team.
Zheng and his colleagues used data from a long-running health study of over 69,000 middle-aged and older Chinese women. More than 19,000 were considered regular green-tea drinkers, who consumed it more than three times a week.
Over 11 years, 1,255 women developed a digestive system cancer. In general, the risks were somewhat lower when a woman drank green tea often and for a long time. Green tea contains certain antioxidant chemicals which may ward off the body-cell damage that can lead to cancer.
The researchers found that of the more than 69,000 women, those who drank green tea at least three times a week were 14 percent less likely to develop a cancer of the digestive system.
Past studies have so far come to conflicting findings on whether green tea drinkers really do have lower cancer risks.
"In this large prospective cohort study, tea consumption was associated with reduced risk of colorectal and stomach/esophageal cancers in Chinese women," said study leader Wei Zheng, who heads epidemiology at Vanderbilt University school of Medicine in Nashville.
Nobody can say whether green tea itself is the reason, since green tea lovers are often more health-conscious in general.
But the study did try to account for that, Zheng said. None of the women smoked or drank alcohol regularly, and the researchers also collected information on their diets, exercise habits, weight and medical history.
Yet even with all these things factored in, women's tea habits remained linked to their cancer risks, Zheng noted.
There is strong evidence from lab research, in animals and in human cells, that green tea has the potential to fight cancer, according to Zheng's team.
Zheng and his colleagues used data from a long-running health study of over 69,000 middle-aged and older Chinese women. More than 19,000 were considered regular green-tea drinkers, who consumed it more than three times a week.
Over 11 years, 1,255 women developed a digestive system cancer. In general, the risks were somewhat lower when a woman drank green tea often and for a long time. Green tea contains certain antioxidant chemicals which may ward off the body-cell damage that can lead to cancer.
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