Its very rare for a month to go by and I do not see some new research on green tea. Its a fabulous beverage that Ive told you about for years. In fact, I drink it almost every day. I like green tea so much and study it so in-depth that I thought it would be impossible for any new research to surprise me. Well, its happened. I just had this amazing report come across my desk. And what these researchers discovered could radically change the way we treat prostate cancer.
The story of this amazing discovery starts with 26 men who had a date with the surgeon for a radical prostatectomy. You probably already know how I feel about this procedure. It boggles my mind that doctors still widely recommend it. Theres an incredible lack of any reasonable data that the procedure is better than doing nothing for most men.
Fortunately, you can do a lot more than nothing without submitting to surgery. This study proves it.
The researchers gave the patients a supplement equivalent to 12 cups of tea (1.3 grams of polyphenols) until the day before surgery. The average time they took the supplement was 34.5 days.
Before surgery, the researchers did a round of tests and found significant drops in HGF, VEGF, and PSA. VEGF is a protein that stimulates new blood vessel growth in the tumor. PSA, as you know, is the conventional marker for prostate cancer/inflammation. And HGF is a protein associated with the growth and aggressiveness of a number of cancer types.
Some of the men had drops in markers greater than 30%. The extract had no negative effects on their liver function. The researchers felt that green tea might have a role in prostate cancer treatment and prevention.
Researchers have an amazing knack for understating the results of vitamin research. If this was a drug that lowered these prostate markers by 30% in just over 30 days, you can bet they would not understate the results. While they understate them, I wont.
These results are fantastic. Nothing else Ive seen can lower prostate tumor markers by 30% in just over a month — nothing. Even drugs pale in comparison. And they destroy your liver.
Green tea comes from the bioflavonoid rich leaves of Camellia sinensis. Unlike black tea, the leaves of green tea are steamed to inactivate enzymes which would otherwise destroy the precious phytochemicals. Green tea is loaded with EGCG, one of the most potent bioflavonoids.
We have known for some time that EGCG induces apoptosis (cell death) in human cancer cell lines. EGCG inhibits the enzymes telomerase and DNA methyltransferase. These two enzymes activate cancer-gene expression and cellular immortality. By inhibiting these enzymes, EGCG prevents the activation of cancer-promoting genes.
Ive repeatedly said that I would rather prevent cancer than treat it. Green tea reduces the progression of cellular changes in the prostate from normal cells to invasive cancer cells. And it also greatly reduces inflammation, which contributes to cancer.
The best way to test for inflammation is with the PSA test. Ive told you that my PSA is a very low 0.4 (the lower the better). Ive attributed that low score to my 80% Living Foods Diet. Well, I cant deny that green tea might be at work in me as well.
There is only one liquid I routinely drink other than water, and have done so for many years. That is a large mug of green tea I drink most mornings.
I know that some people do not like the taste of green tea — or do not like to drink hot tea. Well, now you do not even have to brew up cups of tea to get the benefits. Just one capsule daily of Advanced Bionutritionals Green Tea Extract will provide you with enough green tea phytochemicals to more than match the amount in this study. If you want some added protection from larger doses of green tea or if you have prostate cancer and you need more than a mug of tea in the morning, this product is a great way to protect and treat yourself. Green tea is a super nutrient in my book and one item I strongly suggest to all of my patients.
Ref: Cancer Prevention Research, 6-19-09.