LOS ANGELES (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- For most Americans, green tea is just a drink you get when you visit a Chinese restaurant. Researchers now say you would do well to drink a lot more of it because green tea seems to fight cancer.

This is a tale of two researchers and a beverage you might not think too much about. Zuo-Feng Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., has studied green tea for more than five years. He's now convinced it can help fight gastritis and stomach cancer.

"I think green tea is a very interesting step," says Dr. Zhang, a molecular epidemiologist at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Dr. Zhang's research revealed that green tea drinkers in China had a 48 percent lower risk of stomach cancer than non-drinkers. Meantime, fellow UCLA researcher and surgical oncologist Mai Nguyen, M.D., had discovered green tea might help prevent breast cancer.

Dr. Nguyen says, "It inhibits directly the breast cancer cell growth. And second, it inhibits the blood vessels that go with breast cancer growth."

Both researchers say anti-oxidants lie within all tea leaves but are destroyed during the fermentation process of black tea.

Since green tea is not fermented, the cancer-fighting compounds remain. Green tea drinkers we spoke to said they were not surprised.

The benefits may not be limited to stomach and breast cancer. Other recent studies have suggested green tea may reduce the risk of bladder cancer, esophageal cancer, and several other diseases.

If you don't like the taste of green tea, many health food stores sell green tea supplements in capsule form. You can even buy green tea candy in Asian grocery stores.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Dan Page , Media Relations UCLA School of Medicine 924 Westwood Blvd., Suite 350 Los Angeles, CA 90095 (310) 794-2265

Benefits of Green Tea -- Research Summary Television News Service/Medical Breakthroughs ㊣vanhoe Broadcast News, Inc. September 2001

NEW RESEARCH ON AN OLD DRINK: The Chinese have sworn for thousands of years that green tea lowers cholesterol, helps control high blood pressure, lowers blood sugar levels, suppresses aging, stops cavities, and fights viruses. Although the Chinese have celebrated green tea for thousands of years, scientists in the United States have only recently learned of its heath benefits. Scientists think all tea leaves, which come from the camellia sinensis plant, contain disease-fighting compounds, including vitamin C and anti-oxidants. However, researchers are focusing on green tea specifically because it is not fermented like black tea. Scientists believe fermentation destroys the disease-fighting compounds. In addition, Japanese green tea is steamed, which is similar to the fermentation of black tea, and also may have its cancer-fighting agents destroyed. Scientists say green tea supplements and Chinese green tea candies offer the same health benefits as the tea leaves themselves.

TEA FIGHTS AGAINST STOMACH CANCER: Zuo-Feng Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public health, recently studied the powerful benefits of green tea. Studying 762 residents of Yangzhong, China, Dr. Zhang determined green tea drinkers had a 48 percent lower rate of stomach cancer than non-drinkers. Furthermore, the more tea consumed, the lower the rate of cancer. Stomach cancer is the second most common form of cancer worldwide but is the most prevalent cancer in China. Dr. Zhang also found a correlation between green tea and a reduction in gastritis, a precursor to stomach cancer. Chronic gastritis is a common inflammatory disease that causes the development of precancerous lesions in the stomach. Researchers believe green tea contains antioxidants that may inhibit the development of gastritis and, therefore, the progression of stomach cancer.

"This is the first time that green tea drinking was found to protect against chronic gastritis," says Dr. Zang. "The study suggests that using green tea to treat chronic gastritis and as a preventive therapy in high-risk populations would reduce the incidence of stomach cancer in the long term."

A CONTINUING EFFORT AGAINST CANCERS: In various other studies, green tea has shown some ability in fighting many other types of cancers. Preliminary experiments by UCLA's Mai Nguyen, M.D., have shown promise for green tea's ability to fight breast cancer. Although her research has not yet moved into human testing, Dr. Nguyen says green tea has shown the ability to retard the growth of breast cancer cells as well as the blood vessels associated with breast tumors. Separate studies have suggested the tea may reduce the incidence of bladder cancer, esophageal cancer and other malignancies. Although one recent study found no positive effect associated with green tea, Dr. Zhang believes that study was flawed.

From Healthy.net