Breast cancer devastates lives every year. With this disease affecting 13% of women and some men in the US, it is important to live a healthy lifestyle. Rather than be faced with a frightening experience of developing breast cancer, you can begin today to make changes that would help. For instance, green tea is delicious but also very therapeutic. Therefore, to prevent cancer, you might start drinking green tea and have a mammogram.
Study after study has been conducted that show of all American women, 13% develop breast cancer, as well as a small number of men. After lung cancer, breast cancer is the second leading cause of death for cancer. Obviously, no one wants to be in a situation of finding out they have this type of cancer but if they do, early diagnosis and treatment are imperative.
In the past few years, new information about causes, prevention, and treatments of breast cancer have been discovered by scientists. While the exact causes are still misunderstood and even controversial, risk factors are more understood. Obviously, when it comes to this disease, we have accomplished a lot and some of the new research is promising. One discovery is the benefits of green tea associated with cancer.
When looking at the different people that live with breast cancer, doctors have increased risk for those that have the epidermal growth factor known as Her-2/neu. When levels are high, growths that look and feel like tumors are possible. For this reason, doctors worry that women with an over expression of this growth factor could be at greater risk if breast cancer exists.
In fact, while testing breast cancer patients during a routine doctor’s visit, it is now common for the Her-2/neu level to be checked. When the numbers come back high, doctors have a better understanding of the type of treatment needed. This growth factor is very important since studies found that when breast cancer is present, and Her-2/neu is high, there is increased risk of the cancer become metastasized. When this happens, surviving the cancer becomes more difficult. Sadly, approximate 30% of people with breast cancer have higher levels of the Her-2/neu growth factor.
The goal of researchers and scientists is to identify new and effective treatments for cancer and one that is getting a lot of attention is green tea. In addition to helping prevent breast cancer, green tea has also shown promise as a treatment option. We all know that people in Asian countries have been drinking green tea for hundreds of years and when looking at the number of Asians that have breast cancer, the numbers are much lower than for American women.
Green tea is a healthy tea that comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. Interestingly, black tea, white tea, and oolong tea also come from this plant. The only difference is the leaf used and the processing. For instance, when looking at the best green tea and white tea, no fermentation is involved. However, processing of oolong and black tea does require fermentation.
Within the leaves of this plant are catechins, which are flavonoids that fall in the flavan-3-ol class. As antioxidants, they are highly beneficial for the body. One type of catechin is known as EGCG, which is found in tea and a very strong type of antioxidant. When tea is fermented, the leaves actually transform from catechins to other components that do not offer the same level of health benefit. However, unfermented tea, which includes green tea, the antioxidants is not changed. For this reason, when buying tea from specialty shops or online tea companies, you want green tea.
Antioxidants offer special benefits that are important to understand. When the body converts food to energy, the body produces free radicals, which actually damage cells, as well as DNA. If free radicals are not controlled, the body’s aging process is much faster and developing certain diseases to include heart attack and stroke, as well as breast cancer is a greater risk.
To fight off free radicals, antioxidants can help. This is why eating foods and drinking green tea loaded with antioxidants can actually lower the risk of developing cancer, as well as heart disease and stroke. This is why doctors recommend that people trying to prevent and treat cancer choose their diet wisely to include more fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as drinking green tea.
Other studies show that green tea can also make some forms of cancer treatment more effective. For instance, a study was performed using mice that had cancer and when given green tea along with cancer treatment, the treatment worked better. In fact, it now appears the progression of cancer slows down. Obviously, as a preventative measure and for cancer sufferers, this is great information.
Boston University School of Medicine conducted another study involving female mice with breast cancer and high levels of the growth factor, Her-2/neu. When given green tea with traditional treatment, tumor growth slowed down and the overall progression of the cancer was much lower than using treatment alone. This Chinese herbal tea is without doubt making a difference.
Then, for people that already had cancer, drinking green tea stopped tumors from growing and preventing cancer cells from forming in the first place were stopped. All of these tests say the same thing – the green tea benefit specific to cancer is true, for prevention and treatment. This information would certainly explain why incidences of cancer in Asian women are so much less than women in the US.
For breast cancer sufferers, this is great news, giving hope for the future. Knowing that green tea improves survival of cancer and slows the progression, even when Her-2/neu is involved is making big news all over the world. While additional research and studies are needed to gain a full understanding, more time is being dedicated to green tea and cancer to see how effective this type of tea would be for other cancer types and diseases.
Remember, even if this information had not been discovered, green tea still makes a great addition. It takes great and loaded with antioxidants it is good for the body. Since there are no risks associated with green tea, a type of tea also low in caffeine, drinking several cups a day or taking a green tea dietary supplement is highly recommended.
