Why Does Tea Help Prevent Cancer?
Why Does Tea Help Prevent Cancer?
Scientific research and practical experience have confirmed that tea can prevent and combat cancer. Surveys of centenarians reveal that many have a tea-drinking habit, and various studies show that tea drinkers have lower chances of developing tumors than non-tea drinkers.
Why does tea prevent cancer? Scientists and medical experts worldwide are researching this. Current findings suggest that the primary anti-cancer component in tea is tea polyphenols, abundant in tea. These compounds can block the formation of certain carcinogens. Research confirms that nitrosamine compounds have strong carcinogenic potential. Recently, Chinese scientists discovered that Longwu tea from Jiangsu, Xinyang Maojian, and all green teas can block the formation of nitromethane. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine conducted rat experiments: six groups of rats were fed carcinogenic nitrosamine compounds simultaneously. Five groups received different teas. Results showed that tea-drinking rats had esophageal tumor incidence rates of 42%–62%, while non-tea-drinking rats reached 92%. This experiment proves that tea can inhibit nitrosamine formation in rats and suppress its carcinogenic effects.
Tea experts and medical researchers believe tea’s ability to block carcinogen formation and inhibit promoters may stem from the synergistic action of multiple active components, including tea polyphenols, vitamins C and E, lipopolysaccharides, trace elements like zinc and selenium. Among them, catechins in tea polyphenols are the main agents. In early 1997, the British journal Nature reported that a research team at Ohio Medical College discovered a substance called EGCG in green tea that inhibits an enzyme promoting cancer cell growth, preventing the enzyme from invading normal cells, thus suppressing cancer cell proliferation and spread. They also found that this substance is destroyed during black tea processing.