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 show many are habitual tea drinkers. Various investigations prove that tea drinkers have lower chances of developing tumors than non-tea drinkers.
Why does tea prevent cancer? Scientists and medical experts worldwide are studying this. Current findings suggest the primary anti-cancer component in tea is tea polyphenols, which can block certain carcinogens’ formation. Research confirms nitrosamines are potent carcinogens. Recently, Chinese scientists discovered that Longwu tea from Jiangsu, Xinyang Maojian, and all green teas can inhibit the formation of nitromethane. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine used rats in experiments: six groups received carcinogenic nitrosamines simultaneously. Five groups were fed different teas. Results showed the tea-fed rats had esophageal tumor incidence rates of 42%–62%, while the non-tea-fed group reached 92%. This experiment proves tea can prevent nitrosamine formation and inhibit their carcinogenic effects in rats.
Tea experts and medical researchers believe tea’s ability to block carcinogen formation and suppress promoters stems from the synergistic action of multiple components: tea polyphenols, vitamin C, vitamin E, polysaccharides, trace elements like zinc and selenium. The main agent is the catechins in tea polyphenols. In early 1997, the British journal Nature reported that a research team at Ohio Medical College discovered a substance called EGCG in green tea, which inhibits an enzyme promoting cancer cell growth, preventing it from invading normal cells—thus suppressing cancer cell proliferation and spread. They also found this substance is destroyed during black tea roasting.