Oolong Tea Extract May Stave Off Breast Cancer
New research finds that oolong tea can damage breast cancer cells and that people who consume large amounts of this tea have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.
Despite recent advances in screening procedures and treatment, breast cancer remains both the most common form of this disease and the second leading cause of cancer death among women.
According to estimates by the American Cancer Society, more than 250,000 women in the United States developed breast cancer in 2017, and more than 40,000 died as a result.
In this context, researchers are still in need of more effective prevention and treatment strategies. Moreover, given the side effects ofchemotherapy, the need for nontoxic alternatives is also dire.
With these aims in mind, scientists have investigated the potential benefits of green tea for breast cancer and found that certain compounds have anti-cancer effects. However, few studies have examined other types of tea and their role in breast cancer prevention.
Now, a study looks at the potential benefits of oolong tea. Chunfa Huang, Ph.D., who is an associate research professor in the department of internal medicine at Saint Louis University in Missouri, led the new research.
Huang and colleagues their findings in the journal Anticancer Research.
Huang and team examined the effect of oolong tea extract on six breast cancer cell lines, which included ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative breast cancer cells.
Induction Of Cell Cycle Arrest And Apoptosis
Dysregulated cellular proliferation and apoptosis are a hallmark of cancer. Green tea extracts and EGCG are capable of inhibiting cell growth and inducing apoptosis via a variety of mechanisms. Recent studies showed that EGCG suppressed proliferation and growth of triple negative breast cancer Hs578T cells, estrogen and progesterone receptor positive human breast cancer cells, MMTV-Her-2/neu mammary gland tumor NF639 cells and others. Also, EGCG induced apoptosis in estrogen receptor negative MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Therefore, it is likely that EGCG induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in most, if not all, breast cancer cell lines. EGCG increases protein expression of p21 and p27. Green tea inhibited expression of Ki-67 in both benign and malignant cells. EGCG alters the activity of EGFR and its downstream targets. In addition, research showed that catechin hydrate increased the expression of pro-apoptotic genes caspase-3, -8, and -9 and TP53. In addition, EGCG can mediate the retinoblastoma -E2F/DP pathway, an important regulator of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.
How You Have It
Green tea, like other teas on the market, comes as ready-made tea bags or leaves. You add boiling water to it.
There are different views on how many cups you should drink each day to get a possible benefit. Manufacturers often suggest having between 3 and 5 cups a day.
Most green teas contain caffeine. So, it will act as a stimulant and keep you awake if you drink it before going to bed. Some manufacturers sell decaffeinated green tea. It is uncertain whether removing the caffeine could reduce the possible antioxidant effects.
EGCG, the helpful substance in green tea, is available as green tea extract. People take it as a supplement in liquids, tablets or capsules.
Manufacturers sell green tea as a herbal supplement in most countries. So, manufacturers dont have to prove that they are safe or even that they have any health benefits.
This means that the product or dose might not have been through tests to see if it works. Keep this in mind when buying supplements.
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The Sciencebehind Green Tea’s Success
So whyexactly is green tea such a wonderful treatment and preventative for breastcancer? Well, it contains some of the most potent antioxidants of any food.These antioxidants, known as catechins, or EGCG’s, are 100 times morepowerful at scavenging and neutralizing free radicals in the bodythan vitamin C and vitamin E .
It’s now common knowledge that free radicals damage our cells and DNA and are one of the main causes of cancer. What’s more, certain natural chemicals contained in green tea have also been found to not only prevent cancers from forming, but also slow and even reverse tumor growth. In fact, in every study so far that has been performed involving green tea and breast cancer reduction, it hasn’t failed once!!
Composition Of Green Tea
Most researchers point to the chemical composition of green tea as the main driver behind its health benefits . Green tea is composed of polyphenols, amino acids, minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates. Tea polyphenols tend to be the main actors in green tea’s health benefits. These green tea polyphenols contain subcategories including catechins and flavonoids. The most active tea catechins are epigallocatechin , epigallocatechin-3 and epigallocatechin gallate . Green tea contains 25 to 106 mg per 8 ounces of EGCG, the most researched tea polyphenol when it comes to cancer prevention .
The amount of polyphenols and other healthy tea constituents depends largely on how the tea is brewed . Brewing green tea with more leaves results in higher concentrations of polyphenols. Instant and iced teas tend to have less polyphenols due to temperature changes as well as quality of the tea leaves. Decaffeinated teas also have fewer polyphenols than natural green teas. Brewing green tea above 180 F can also damage the tea polyphenols, rendering them less effective.
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This Tea Kills Cancer Cells
Cancer cells dont play by the same rules as normal cells. Healthy cells do their job and die. But not cancer cells. Instead, they have the power to keep on living. And chemo does nothing to stop it.
But there are natural compounds that do. And unlike chemo, they leave healthy cells completely unharmed while working quickly to make cancer cells die when theyre supposed to.
In fact, some of these powerful compounds are probably sitting in your cupboard right now. One common tea in particular strips cancer cells of their ability to keep surviving. It transforms abnormal cells back into normal ones. The result? They die and stop spreading.
Its one of the most popular teas on the planet. People drink it to relax and treat insomnia. But it does way more than help put you to sleep. It helps repair damaged molecules that carry our genetic information. That damage is the cause of nearly 80 percent of cancers.1
Adding more of this tea to your diet may be the most relaxing way to prevent cancer.
Were talking about chamomile tea.
It has a substance in it called apigenin. This flavonoid binds to about 160 different proteins in the human body. The average chemo drug has trouble targeting just one damaged protein at a time.2
And its cancer-zapping powers dont end there. A Japanese study points to a different substance in chamomile that can actually cause cancer cells to kill themselves.
Green Tea And Breast Canceregcg Show Anti
Green tea is high in the antioxidant EGCG which helps prevent the bodys cells from becoming damaged and prematurely aged. Studies have suggested that the combination of green tea and EGCG may also be beneficial by providingprotection against certain types of cancers, including breast cancer.
A 2008 green tea and breast cancer study conducted by researchers atthe University of Mississippi finds that consuming EGCG significantlyinhibits breast tumor growth in female mice. These results bring us onestep closer to a better understanding of the disease, and to potentially new and naturally occurring therapies.
Another 2009 black / green tea and breast cancer study conducted by researchers in University of Wisconsin found that drinking 3 or more cups of tea per day may reduce the risk of breast cancer in younger and possibly pre-menopausal women.
Green Tea and Breast Cancer Study #1: Vanderbilt University Medical Center 2010 Study
Regular exercise and green tea “may play an important role in the prevention of depression among breast cancer survivors,” report Dr. Xiao Ou Shu of Vanderbilt University.
They examined depression-related factors in 1,399 Chinese women who were 54 years old on average and treated for breast cancer in Shanghai.
Six months after their diagnosis, the researchers assessed the women’s physical activity levels food, tea, and alcohol consumption cigarette smoking and use of herbal medicines and supplements.
Gu concluded by saying:
Reference
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Saint Louis University School Of Medicine
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first medical degree west of the Mississippi River. The school educates physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health care on a local, national and international level. Research at the school seeks new cures and treatments in five key areas: cancer, liver disease, heart/lung disease, aging and brain disease, and infectious diseases.
Green Tea And Broccoli Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Compounds in green tea and broccoli can reprogram genes in treatment-resistant malignant cells to make them more susceptible to eradication by conventional therapies. The combination of green tea and broccoli can reduce tumor size in difficult-to-treat cancers.
Scientifically reviewed by: Dr. Amanda Martin, DC, on March 2020. Written By Janet Seiken.
Certain types of breast cancer cells are notoriously difficult to treat.
These cancers can undergo changes that make them impervious to some of the most effective treatments available.
Green tea and broccoli contain compounds that can restore treatment sensitivity to treatment-resistant breast cancer cells.
They accomplish this by reprogramming the genes of the malignant cells.
In a recent study, difficult-to-treat tumors from mice supplemented with both green tea and broccoli weighed only about a third as much as the same type of tumors from control mice.1 This indicated that the combination of green tea and broccoli could reduce tumor size in hard-to-treat cancers.
The ability to produce such changes makes these compounds promising against difficult-to-treat breast cancersand may offer hope to the thousands of women impacted every year.
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Using Green Tea To Help Prevent Cancer And Treat Cancer
Written By Michael Greger M.D. FACLM on May 7, 2020
Tea consumption is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and premature death in general, with each additional cup of green tea a day associated with a 4-percent lower mortality risk. So, perhaps drinking several cups of tea daily can keep the doctor away, as well as the morticianbut what about cancer?
As I discuss in my video Can Green Tea Help Prevent Cancer, there is growing evidence from laboratory, epidemiologic , and human intervention studies that tea can exert beneficial disease-preventive effects and, further, may actually slow cancer progression. Lets review some of that evidence.
Green tea may be able to interfere with each of the stages of cancer formation: the initiation of the first cancer cell, promotion into a tumor, and then subsequent progression and spread, as you can see at 1:24 in my video. Cancer is often initiated when a free radical oxidizes our DNA, causing a mutation, but, as you can see at 1:44 in my video, we can get a nice spike of antioxidant power of our bloodstream within 40 minutes of drinking green tea. This increase may, in turn, lower oxidative damage to DNA and so decrease risk of cancer.
Furthermore, in terms of genoprotective effectsthat is, protecting our genespre-existing oxidation-induced DNA damage was lower after drinking green tea, suggesting consumption can boost DNA repair as well. We didnt know for certain, howeveruntil now.
Green Tea Components And Breast Cancer Therapy In Animal Models
So far, numerous studies have investigated the therapeutic effects of green tea on breast cancer using different rodent models and a variety of green tea products including green tea mixtures as well as specific catechins. The recent studies of green tea catechins for breast cancer treatment in animal models are summarized in Table .
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Green Tea To Treat Cancer
There is very little research into whether green tea or green tea extract can help treat cancer.
In 2012 an American study looked at taking a green tea extract called polyphenon E. They gave it to 42 patients. They all had a type of leukaemia called chronic lymphocytic leukaemia . The people in the trial were not taking any other kind of treatment.
The researchers found that in a third of people the number of leukaemic cells lessened. Their lymph nodes also shrank. This was a small trial but the results were promising. We need larger trials before we will know whether green tea or its extracts can help people with cancer.
In another review study in 2018 researchers looked at using green tea and turmeric in people with CLL. They found limited evidence and mixed results that it might work.
Research has shown a possible interaction between green tea and the drug bortezomib . This early research suggested that green tea might stop Velcade from working well. But we need much more research to find out if green tea has the same effect on humans.
Speak to your doctor if you are taking Velcade and you want to drink green tea. You might have to avoid green tea or the extract EGCG. Some people take EGCG as a supplement in liquid or capsules.
How Can Tea Help In Preventing Cancer
Amongst a wide range of biological activities, some of the predominant polyphenols that are found in green tea along with the thearubigins and theaflavins in black teas tend to have rich antioxidant properties. The available ingredients, including ECG & EGCG tend to feature significant free radical killing activity and help in protecting the cells in the body from potential DNA damage that might be caused by species of reactive oxygen.
The polyphenols in teas are known to inhibit cancer cell proliferation while inducing apoptosis in animal studies and lab studies. In other forms of animal studies as well as laboratory studies, tea catechins are known to inhibit angiogenesis as well as tumor cell invasiveness. Moreover, tea polyphenols can also help in protecting the damage caused due to UV B radiation. They might even help in modulating the function of the bodys immune system. To top it all, green teas have been observed to activate the detoxification enzymes in the body, including quinone reductase and glutathione S-transferase. These vital enzymes can help in providing protection against tumor development.
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Matcha Green Tea Vs Cancer
Researchers from the Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Salford recently found that matcha goes after breast cancer stem cells in some remarkable ways.
In case you dont know, cancer stem cells are cells within a tumor that can reproduce, causing cancer to spread. But matcha green tea puts these cancer stem cells in their place
Even at small doses, matcha green tea caused these dangerous cells to become dormant, so they couldnt reproduce and spread.
The effects on human breast cancer cells were very striking, the active ingredients in matcha having a surgical effect in knocking out certain signaling pathways. Our results are consistent with the idea that matcha may have significant therapeutic potential, mediating the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells, said Michael Lisanti, professor of translational medicine at the Biomedical Research Centre.
Basically, matcha green tea reprograms cancer cells in a way that prevents them from refueling. Eventually, they become inactive and die. And, as we all know, the only good cancer cell is a dead one.
What Is In A Tea
The number ofnatural ingredients, as well as nutrients in your daily cup of tea, might varydepending on the type of tea and how you are preparing the same. Typically,tea is known to contain:
- Caffeine the naturally occurring stimulant that is known to affect the CNS of the body along with related compounds including theobromine and theophylline.
- Catechins the specific polyphenol compounds that deliver potential health benefits. Catechins are of two types:
- EGC , ECG
- EGCG prevalent in green teas
- Theaflavins and thearubigins
- L-theanine a specific amino acid found in green tea
- Fluoride and manganese
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Use In Breast Cancer Treatment
Given the potential for breast cancer prevention, it’s natural to wonder if green tea could also slow down the growth of cancer cells in people who already have breast cancer.
So far, most studies have been done on breast cancer cells in the lab or in mice , but the results to date are encouraging.
To understand the growth of cancer, and how green tea may work, it’s helpful to think of the different processes that must take place for cancer to grow and spread. In looking at these separate steps, researchers have found that:
- Green tea appears to inhibit the growth of cancer. Several studies have found the division of breast cancer cells and increase in size of a tumor was decreased by green tea components.
- Green tea was found to limit metastases to the lungs and liver, common places for breast cancer to spread, in rodents with breast cancer. Since most breast cancer deaths are from metastases , this is very good news.
- Green tea may help with programmed cell death of breast cancer cells. To understand this, it helps to understand that normal cells “commit” apoptosis when they become injured or old. Cancer cells seem to have found a way to avoid this process, essentially making them “immortal,” so getting these abnormal cells to die off, as they should, is an important step.
Best Greentea For Fighting Cancer And For Overall Health
Matcha green tea is definitely the most potent and beneficial green tea if you can get it . If not, regular green tea will still do the job nicely. Just make sure that whatever type you buy is certified organic. Here’s some of the best green tea’s on the market if you’re interested… Organic Matcha Green Tea
In addition, be sure to combine your green tea with a citrus fruit for added benefit. You can now buy green tea varieties that have been infused with citrus, or instead, simply make your own by adding a slice of orange and lemon to your Matcha green tea. It tastes amazingly good!
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