Will Green Tea Improve Your Chances Of Surviving Breast Cancer?
Posted on Feb 05, 2010 under Hot Flashes, Menopause, Night sweats, cancer | No CommentBreast cancer is one of the foremost horrifying diseases faced by today’s women. In fact, breast cancer is that the second most typical cancer among ladies, after nonmelanoma skin cancer. Regarding 13% of Yankee ladies will develop breast cancer at some purpose in their lifetime. And, it is the second leading cause of cancer death among girls, after lung cancer.
Scientists are continuing to seem for brand spanking new data to work out what causes breast cancer similarly how to prevent and treat this disease. Nowadays, we tend to still don’t apprehend what causes breast cancer, but we have a tendency to do understand a number of the risk factors.
Additionally, we have a tendency to have return a protracted way in treating breast cancer – though several ladies still die each year. A number of the analysis is terribly promising, including research on green tea.
One group of breast cancer sufferers who cause doctors a great area of concern are those who have a higher than average expression of the epidermal growth issue Her-2/neu. Her-2/neu may be a growth issue that typically presents itself in an exceedingly tumor. An over expression of this growth issue is a concern for breast cancer patients.
Throughout routine testing of patients who are recently diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, doctors will verify the level of Her-2/neu. If the extent is high, this information is employed to guide treatment. The amount of this growth issue is very important because studies have shown that patients with an over expression of Her-2/neu have a better probability of their cancer metastasizing, and have an overall lower survival rate. The Her-2/neu is high in regarding 30% of breast cancer patients.
As half of the continued research to search out effective treatments for breast cancer, scientists are trying seriously at the advantages of green tea, each on preventing cancer and treating it. Asian cultures have used green tea for its healing properties for centuries, and their overall rate of cancer is a lot of lower than that of the Western world.
Tea springs from the Camellia sinensis plant. You’ll hear tea called green, white or black. These differences do not result from actual completely different sorts of tea leaf, however rather from variations in how the tea leaves are processed. Green and white teas aren’t fermented throughout processing, but black tea goes through such a processing.
Tea leaves contain catechins, half of the flavan-3-ol category of flavonoids, that are anti-oxidants. EGCG is one in all the catechins contained in tea, and may be a potent anti-oxidant. Fermenting the tea leaves converts the catechins to different compounds that aren’t as healthy as those in unfermented tea. So, the main focus of research has been on green tea, as a result of of its healthier form of anti-oxidants.
What’s So Nice Regarding Anti-Oxidants?
Throughout our body’s process of converting food to energy, we have a tendency to create free radicals in our body. These free radicals are damaging to our cells and DNA if we tend to don’t combat them. Left unchecked, free radicals contribute to rushing up the aging process and to causing diseases like cancer, heart attack and stroke.
Anti-oxidants, however, will facilitate us combat these free radicals, and a diet in anti-oxidants is linked with preventing cancer, heart disease and stroke. So, doctors recommend a diet high in anti-oxidants – which suggests that eating tons of contemporary fruits and vegetables and drinking green tea every day.
However, scientists also appear to be checking out that green tea could be ready to increase the effectiveness in some cancer treatments. Several studies conducted on mice already diagnosed with cancer have shown that taking green tea together with the cancer treatments can increase the effectiveness of the traditional therapy and may cut down the progression of cancer to alternative cells. There is promising analysis; some of it directly related to breast cancer treatment.
One particular study of interest was conducted by the Boston University College of Medicine. In this study, feminine mice with breast cancer whose Her-2/neu levels were very high were treated with green tea along with their regular cancer treatment. Mice that ingested the green tea showed a slower growth of their tumors and a slower progression of their cancer than those that were treated with the identical medication without green tea as an adjunct therapy.*
Researchers who found these results additionally believe that if green tea will inhibit the expansion of tumors in patients already diagnosed with cancer, it could also be effective in preventing cancerous cells from forming and growing in the primary place. This coincides with other analysis that indicates that green tea might be significant in preventing cancer. Additionally, it helps explain why Asian cultures have such an occasional cancer incidence compared to the Western world.
This can be very promising news for a cluster of breast cancer sufferers who have historically had a lower survival rate than others with breast cancer. If we will slow the rate of cancer progression in those with over expression of Her-two/neu to approximately the same rate as different breast cancer patients, we could be so much more effective at treating these patients.
So much additional analysis is needed in the realm of breast cancer prevention and treatment. In addition, scientists can be spending additional time examining the advantages of green tea in cancer prevention and treatment. But, it looks clear that green tea has a place in the prevention and treatment of the many diseases, including cancer.
While there is more analysis to be done, there is no draw back to adding green tea to your diet to help stop disease or to improve your health if it is already failing. Scientists have found no risks involved with drinking green tea. It’s no facet effects, and may be a healthy various to coffee as a result of of its high level of anti-oxidants and because it is abundant lower in caffeine than coffee. Thus, get a jump begin on your anti-oxidants by drinking green tea!