Green Tea May Lower Lung Cancer Risk
TUESDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Antioxidants in green tea appear to significantly lower the risk for developing lung cancer among smokers and nonsmokers alike, new research from Taiwan reveals.
The study suggests that smokers and nonsmokers who consume a minimum of one cup of green tea per day appear to have a nearly 13-fold and fivefold lower risk, respectively, for developing lung cancer than smokers and nonsmokers who don't drink any green tea.
"The health effect of green tea consumption could modify the risk of lung cancer, particularly among smokers," said study author I-Hsin Lin, of Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung.
Click here to comment on this article.Lin and her team are scheduled to present their findings at a lung cancer conference this week in Coronado, Calif. The conference is sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
The observed protective effect seems to result from the strong "antioxidative property" of polyphenols found in green tea preparations.
To determine just how strong this effect might be, the authors assessed the dietary intake and lifestyle habits of 170 lung cancer patients and 340 healthy patients.
The participants completed questionnaires outlining their smoking histories, green tea consumption habits, fruit and vegetable intake, and cooking practices. Patients were also asked to note any family history of lung cancer.
Genetic testing was also conducted to assess which particular insulin-like growth factor genotype -- among several -- each participant possessed.
This analysis was considered crucial, given the author's observation that, independent of green tea consumption, genetically determined hormonal differences can affect how quickly cancer cells spread, thereby predisposing people toward a greater or lesser general risk for developing lung cancer in the first place.
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This is encouraging, and it seems that the researchers have explored some of the nuances here. I'm also happy that the overall message of stopping smoking is being emphasized! I will be eager to read the actual study. I searched for it but could not find anything...I assume it hasn't been published yet? But if anyone can find it please post the link!
As with all these studies pointing towards various health benefits of green tea, I'm curious though, how much of this is limited just to green tea? And how many of these benefits would also be found with other varieties of tea, such as black tea or oolong tea?
It's hard to study these sorts of things in humans though, because most cultures seem to consume either predominantly green tea, or predominantly black tea. One would either need to design a controlled study, or find somewhere where people drink significant amounts of different types of tea, in order to compare.
I'm curious also...I've heard that Taiwan consumes a lot of oolong tea...but I've not seen figures about what people actually drink over there? I'm wondering how that relates to this study too...