Green Tea in Treating Cancer

One of the great things about writing aboutup to drinking 40 cups of tea a day.
cancer and natural health and especiallyThe study, published in the Journal of Clinical
supplements like green tea is that your readersOncology, noted that the higher doses helped
help you do your fact finding. Over the years Idecrease white blood counts in one-third of those
have received a number of reader comments likestudied. Taking the supplement also seemed to
these:reduce swelling in the lymph nodes. The study is
"Hi, Robert. You really need to mention green teacontinuing with all volunteers now receiving 4,000
as a treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Img of EGCGs every day.
was diagnosed with NHL in 2001. Even after withThe benefits of EGCGs have been studied for
six months of chemo, my white count stayed atmany other forms of cancer. The Mayo Clinic
57,000 or higher. When my white count reachedresearchers began their study of green tea with
160,000 in 2006, my doctor urged me to takefour patients who had B-cell lymphoma. Three of
chemo again, but I decided to try green teathese patients experienced significant
instead. I started taking 6 capsules and 2 lozengesimprovement. Also in June 2009, James A. Cardelli,
every day, and in six months my white countdirector of basic and translational research in the
was down to 12,000."Feist-Weiller Cancer Center at LSU University
"I was diagnosed with CLL (Chronic LymphocyticHealth Sciences Center-Shreveport, announced
Leukemia) in 2004. At the time, my white countthat Polyphenon E product produced slower
was 24,000, so I decided to try changing my dietprogression of prostate cancer. Men taking 600
before resorting to chemotherapy. I stoppedmg of the product every day for 30 days had up
drinking six cups of coffee a day and startedto 30 per lower levels of the cancer markers
drinking 6 cups of green tea. I started eating lotsPSA (prostate specific antigen), HGF (hepatocyte
of blueberries and dark-green leafy vegetables.growth factor), and VEGF (vascular endothelial
My dessert after every meal is applesaucegrowth factor).
followed by a glass of blackberry wine. At theScientists at the University of California at Los
end of 2005 my white blood count (WBC) wasAngeles report that green tea EGCGs seem to
down to 19,000, and at my checkup in Marchhave the capacity prevent the spread of lung
2009 my WBC was a healthy 8850. Shouldn'tcancer. In their laboratory studies, the scientists
everybody with NHL be doing this?"found that the green tea compounds make tumor
These two readers are a great example of howcells "stickier" so they cannot escape into the
ordinary people can make their own discoveriesbloodstream. Researchers at the Indian Institute
that precede the announcements of mainstreamof Toxicology Research have found that green
science. In June 2009, researchers at the Mayotea EGCGs stop the proliferation of cervical
Clinic announced research found that thecancer cells. Laboratory studies also find that the
epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in this ubiquitousgreen tea compounds inhibit the formation of
beverage had beneficial effects in studymetastatic tumors in the liver and reduces the
volunteers who had chronic lymphocytic leukemiagrowth of breast cancers.
(CLL).As wonderful as these findings are, they are not
CLL typically occurs in adults 50 and older, andabsolute proof that green tea cures any kind of
progresses much more slowly than other kinds ofcancer. Green tea seems to work with good diet,
leukemia. In the Mayo Clinic Study, 33 adults withother nutritional supplements, and conventional
CLL received eight doses of a proprietarymedical care to make them work better. Green
formulation of EGCGs called Polyphenon E. Thetea EGCGs do not interfere with conventional
volunteers took from 400 to 2,000 mg oftreatments, however, and side effects are
Polyphenon E twice a day for a month. Theseextremely rare.
doses correspond to drinking 8 cups of tea a day